Thursday Movie Picks: Period Dramas - TV Edition
1) Boardwalk Empire
This show took place in Atlantic City in the 20's. It was very well acted and produced. Not perfect, in fact, they killed off one character far too early that really damaged the show, but not badly enough to stop watching. Plus Michael Shannon got to lose his shit and kill a a few people, which is always fun.
2)The Crown
Having heard good things about this Netflix drama and seeing all the awards they won, I decided to give it a shot and it's pretty good. I'll definitely watch season 2. I didn't realize Prince Phillip was such a dick. (Maybe he isn't, I'm too lazy to research the Monarchy to find out)
3) Mad Men
Here's my somewhat of a stretch. I tried to get into Mad Men but never found it to be very interesting, though I've probably seen at least 20 or so episodes of it. I think if I sat down and watched, I'd probably enjoy it more. It was very well acted and pretty to look at.
Good choices. I've seen episodes of two of them but never was a regular watcher of either. I've liked the few eps I've seen of Boardwalk Empire and plan now that it's ended to start at the beginning but haven't done so yet. It's got a great cast lineup.
ReplyDeleteLike you I could never quite get into Mad Man but again I came to it late and didn't have time to catch up. Wonderful period detail and it's another I'll probably give a go one of these days when I have time to start at the beginning.
Haven't seen a single minute of The Crown but it seems like something I'd enjoy. I've read that Prince Phillip is to put it mildly a bit of a pill, autocratic, remote and often officious.
The theme is wide ranging this time so I'll be interested to see what others come up with for me when I think period drama the first thing that comes to mind is English & BBC and that's the direction I went in.
Poldark (2015-present)-In the 1780’s Ross Poldark returns to his ancestral home on the Cornish Coast of England after fighting in the American Revolutionary War to discover in his absence the advent of several distressing facts. His father has died leaving their lands in disarray, he himself had been presumed dead and Elizabeth, the woman he loved in despair has married his cousin. Times are hard and Ross has to find a way to rise out of penury, resolve his feelings between the now out of reach Elizabeth and Demelza the woman he has turned to while dealing with a despicable and shameless foe. Brooding and frustrating at times but consistently interesting.
Call the Midwife (2012-present)-Wanting to help others young, well to do Jenny Lee becomes a midwife in London’s East End during the late 50’s and early 60’s. To do so she must live in a convent among sisters trained in midwifery as well and slowly loses her naiveté about the way the world really works. Terrific mix of pathos, joy, triumphs and sorrows played by a cast of great British actresses with nice period detail. Based on Jennifer Worth’s memoirs and narrated by Vanessa Redgrave.
The Grand (1997-1998)-As WWI comes to a close the Bannerman’s reopen the family’s hotel The Grand in London after a refurbishing done in hopes of revitalizing business in the postwar boom. They are also hoping to provide a comfortable return for their soldier son who has come back from war with what was then termed battle fatigue. However problems quickly arise forcing the inclusion of an unwanted partner. From here the series deals with the conflicts that arise within the family and the guests, some of whom are there for a day and others long term. The excellent ensemble includes the great Susan Hampshire and as the shell shocked son Stephen Moyer who is better known as Bill Compton from his years on True Blood.
I haven't seen any of them myself but I've been hearing a lot about Call The Midwife recently. I didn't realize it started back in 2012. I know British shows tend to have weird seasons but I was under the impression it was new.
DeleteI hope you like Boardwalk. It was a great show, even though it made some very terrible choices at times.
I haven't seen any of these but I kinda feel the same way about Mad Mad. I started watching the first episode once but it wasn't that interesting so I quit.
ReplyDeleteI have a group of friends that rave about Mad Men. I know I should give it another shot.
DeleteOH how I tried with Mad Men! I even own the first three seasons on DVD, but had trouble getting through the first. It just wasn't giving me what I wanted (which was more of the advertising stuff). To put it mildly, I just never gave a damn about Don Draper, where he came from, why he is the way he is, etc. It's interesting that his entire life is a lie but that's about it.
ReplyDeleteI really need to watch The Crown since I've heard such good things. I tried Boardwalk Empire but wasn't enamored of it. I'd like to give it a second chance but there are only so many hours in a day...
I think that was my issue with Mad Men too, I didn't find Don interesting. Plenty of other characters were, but not him. I liked his scenes with Betty though because that was just toxic fun.
DeleteI'm still on episode 1 of the Crown, have one season of Boardwalk left to see and gave up on Mad Men near the end. I'm just rubbish at watching TV series...but Boardwalk I'd like to finish
ReplyDeleteI am too, hence why I'm still trying to watch Deadwood. lol
DeleteI've never seen Mad Men as I wanted to watch it but never got around to it. I've heard of the The Crown but never seen. I'm glad we share one show that we love.
ReplyDeleteYes! I'm happy to see Boardwalk Empire get some love today.
DeleteI would love to see Boardwalk Empire since I think Steve Buscemi is such a great actor. I have not seen The Crown and am not an expert on the royals but, yeah, Prince Phillip is a bit of a jerk. He would have been the king of Greece but he had to deal with walking behind his wife....not something he liked to deal with. I like Mad Men but I'm not in love with it. It's well written and so very stylish but there is something oddly cold about it. It didn't make me feel warmth to any of the characters.
ReplyDeleteBuscemi is excellent in Boardwalk Empire. The entire cast is. The Crown is very well acted too. That bit about Prince Phillip not wanting to walk behind her is in it.
DeleteI had 2 of the same choices as you :)
ReplyDeleteNice! I saw you the other is a show I hadn't heard of. Homefront.
DeleteThis is where my lack of TV watching caught up with me, as I literally had nothing this week. In other words, I haven't seen one minute of anything listed, here. Sad, I know.
ReplyDeleteI think you might like Boardwalk Empire. Not perfect, but a great show.
DeleteI do love Boardwalk. Never got into Mad Men but the few episodes I saw I liked but I could see I was going to get annoyed pretty quickly with the men.
ReplyDeleteAh The Crown...I got to ep5 and gave up. Meant to be amazing but really just dull history skimming. As with all things about people still alive, there has been a lot of controversy about how accurate it really is and I am betting its not at all. but I bet Prince Philip was/is a douche.
Yeah, I skimmed some of that controversy but I know so little about the royal family pre-Diana that I just gave up.
DeleteThe Crown - didn't realize that about Prince Phillip either, though I think the way it was acted probably made him look worse, but like you I'm too lazy to actually to look it up. I'm far more interested in monarchs that have been dead for hundreds of years, fascinating from a very safe distance...they had more power where they were part of game of thrones style political intrigue.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one refusing to do simple research lol.
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