Thank the Lord for the flippin' Durrells - that's what I say. My Family and Other Animals is one of my favourite books so adaptations make me nervous but this was great. It is a ray of sunshine in a sea of programmes where people are having horrible things happen to them. HOH follows them all - he especially likes a Scandi drama. But even he came into the kitchen after watching Marcella - the new drama with Anna Friel - and remarked "Good grief - that was nasty." Of course he said she was very good, which she obviously is and it's written really well but I'm just not bothering with it. Same with Line of Duty - you know, when the Film "Seven" had a severed head in it, it was so shocking every one I knew talked about it for days. Now we'll be getting them in Blue Peter soon, along with the obligatory tortured/imprisoned female. I really miss Morse sometimes.
Anyway - while I am ranting. Be careful what you wish for drama wise. I stopped watching The Night Manager because halfway through the second episode I realised that I had read it. (Pin sharp as usual, I am) I had read it and not enjoyed it. I thought the ending was downbeat and unsatisfying and SPOILERS - the baddie did not get what was coming to him. So when I heard that they had changed the end, I sat down and had a watch and, indeed they tied a lot of loose ends up and everything was all rosy and.. and.. I didn't like it! Maybe the end was meant to be less than satisfying. Maybe when someone writes a story they have that unhappy ending running silently through it so anything else jars a bit. I don't know. Anyway - for the record I am probably the only person in the universe to say this but I didn't think Hugh Laurie was all that as the villain. I thought he did "deranged genius" really well in House but I just couldn't see him as the kingpin of an international arms group. Quite frankly, he never looks as if he can be bothered to put in the amount of effort that being an international criminal would take. Just my opinion. Nothing to get worked up about.
Loved the Durrells, all that warm greek sunshine. Just the thing on a Sunday evening after church. Then we watched Home Front. I suppose Episode 1 of a new series has to re-introduce characters, for people who are new to things..but I found it very slow going. Hadn't read Night Manager, so probably enjoyed it more for that reason. But odd watching Tom Hollander and Olivia C on opp sides, when they were married in "Rev". Not caught up with Marcella yet, and my eldest says she thought Undercover was excellent on Sunday BBC1 9pm. Enjoying latest series of NCIS though. Mainly cos I thought David McCallum was cool when I was 10 and he was "the man from UNCLE" and I like Mark Harmon's acting. Am I also perverse in liking these 2 actors for having long and happy marriages?
ReplyDeleteNo! I am exactly the same. I didn't know about David McCallum but I am certainly influenced by the fact that Mark Harmon has been married to the nice lady from mork and Mindy for all these years.
DeleteMy Family was the first book of GD's that I read, in the school library, and I remember being convulsed with giggles over it, when I should have been studying. We liked the TV adaptation especially the fact that more was made of Mrs D. than in the book. Don't remember anything about Lesley, maybe he grew up to be a big game killer.
ReplyDeleteThat would fit wouldnt it? Unfortunately, I think he died of a heart attack in a pub in the Eighties
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