Anthony Trollope may not be as well known, but his novels are making for such interesting period miniseries for the BBC that he's starting to give Jane Austen a posthumous run for her money. After all, just how many times can Pride and Prejudice be redone since its perfection in 1996 with Colin Firth?

The newest incarnation of Mr. Darcy, to Keira Knightley's Elizabeth, is Matthew Macfadyen and here he is nothing less that excellent as the ne'er-do-well, gambling, bumbling fool of a son who finds himself at the end of an era: the era that once kept bumbling aristocratic fools like himself in business.

Change is coming to Victorian England. The wealthy Jew Melmotte (played by David Suchet, of Poirot fame) has settled in town and demands the respect of those that would otherwise have scorned him with their bigotry. Cillian Murphy makes a gaunt, gorgeous appearance as a railroad man making his way in the new economic landscape. Crowning the cast is adorable weirdo Shirley Henderson.

This is a humorous and enlightening series about a time and a place of great social change, but don't let me completely mislead you. There's romance and gossip enough for any self respecting Austen watcher. It's a shame that PBS fails so often to promote these lesser known miniseries.

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Posted on April 23, 2007

This spy drama is for people that can complete the Times crosswords without cheating, prefer their reading material long and non-fictional, sip brandy from snifters in leather scented libraries, and have lived through World War Two… but it can be for you too, if you just give it a chance!

I can never get any of our peers to view this John le Carre “Smiley” series. The first part, which was previously recommended by Jim is called Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. We were taken aback by its complexities and realism. This series, the third in the saga, but the only other one adapted for television, is equally absorbing, and we found ourselves having to pause and get the elaborate, twisty plot straight.

Alec Guinness is unbelievably good as a world weary and tough old spy sucked into the world he'd left behind one last time, following an obsession with his old enemy, Karla (played with stoic gravitas by Patrick Stewart–come on, Obi Wan and Jean Luc Picard as arch enemies? Someone out there must be interested). These programs are not the easiest, but they are rewarding and mesmerizing. We found out that le Carre used to be a real life spy, which makes a lot of sense, all the characters feel authentic and the spying world he portrays is less 007 gadgets, sex and explosions and more double, triple crossing and investigations by flawed but brilliant men.

I highly, highly recommend this intelligent and riveting piece. But make sure to watch Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy first.

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Posted on April 9, 2007

Jim and I decided that of all the shows we watch, the one that we'd be most embarrassed to have on if someone super cool (like Limp Bizkit or Joan Didion) dropped by is this goofy documentary show with segments about amazing subject like the crazy lady that loves M&Ms. “They all have their own personalities, red is slutty,” she says (or something like that–I'm paraphrasing) in her M&M ball cap stuck in her M&M bean bag chair; the best LITTLE [insert something like pretzel stick or mini marshmallow] that's actually… [wait for it]… BIG! on taste; or the barrage of cookie factory footage. You want to know how these things get made? In factories on machines, just like they were in Mr. Rogers's day.

But then I got to thinking about all the other Marc Summers projects that we also watched all the time. Sure, I was a kid when Double Dare aired, and when you're a kid, what's the harm in watching a family dive through fake vomit or throw nerf shit into each others wacky helmets? But I was not a kid when we stayed up late at night watching What Would You Do? A sad rip off of Double Dare that I'm sure would have eventually put Summers's head in the oven if Food Network hadn't come a calling.

I swear we weren't stoned when we watched it but we may as well been. The show was shot on the Universal Studios lot in Orlando and the audience were paying park visitors who had to perform 'challenges' like drinking milk really fast with phrases like 'Eat a Twinkie with Gravy' taped to their foreheads and finally had to go through an obstacle course (that would never have made the grade on Double Dare) fashioned entirely out of pies. There was the Pie Pod, the Pie Slide, the Pie Pendulum, Pie Roulette, Pie Wash, Pie Coaster, and Pie in the Sky. All are intensely detailed on Wikipedia by someone who must be a huge fan AND a huge weirdo.

Please watch all of these clips and laugh like we are including “mom sent to the pie pod“,”Teenage boy goes down the pie slide“, and “Boy puts foot in worms“

I just learned that Marc has OCD which must have made all that pie mess really difficult for him. He has a book about the affliction, but I draw the line at his literary work.

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Posted on March 26, 2007

Who would have thought that watching a cooking show hosted by an arrogant know-it-all jerk could be so darned enjoyable? Maybe the pleasure is in knowing that the show and its staff obviously truly do care about cooking and all its accoutrements. And that they really want to help us create the best meals possible in the kitchen and make the most informed decisions at the store as possible.

He's like the tough drill sergeant that turns you into the best you can be with a souffle.

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Posted on March 12, 2007

I was so saddened to hear (belatedly) that Dermot Morgan, the actor that ingeniously portrayed the titular character in this fantastic BBC comedy died in 1998, years before I saw the show.

See, BBC America waits years to show their hit shows, continuing to believe that we Americans only deserve to watch every single house, yard, and attic sale, and self-make over show under the sun all day until it's time to suffer through hours and hours of Whose Line Is it Anyway all night.

Still, in those rare moments between how clean is your house and whose line, they did introduce me to this laugh out loud show and for that I am so grateful. All three seasons are available on DVD, so don't hesitate to start enjoying this sitcom about three… flawed priests on Craggy Island.

There is the stressed out Father Ted, who was caught stealing at his last church and is now stuck with old, drunk and insane Father Jack, and the affable, hilarious moron Father Dougal, played expertly by comedian Ardal O'Hanlon, whose stand up is equally funny. One of the great absurdist comedies of its decade.

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Posted on February 26, 2007