I think I’m living my life in English TV shows and books

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have met my people on this thread. Thank you all for your comments and suggestions many of which I was unfamiliar. Also early forties lawyer. Do not discriminate based on career or age. Will discriminate based on television and book choices. Am feeling warm and fuzzy just from reading all posts. Will be bookmarking thread for future reference. Currently on season 7 of Foyle’s War (tbh I preferred seasons 1-5), but genuinely believe I am in love with DCS Foyle. Dying for Hotel Portofino’s next season.

I have serious beef with Christopher Foyle. And that Sam. They have stolen my husband from me and I can't get him back. He rewatches Foyle's War endlessly and I expect that one day I'll find he's simply disappeared; I'll turn on the TV, and he'll be there inside it, in an episode with them. But he'd look handsome in those period suits!

Foyle's War was an addiction for me and DH!

Beware. "Shetland" also got my DH and now he wants to visit there--when he's not watching Foyle. These British shows, they never let you go!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I enjoy how British tv shows have actors/actresses who look like real people. I'm a huge Olivia Coleman fan. I think she's superb. I wish the U.S. was more accepting of people who don't all look like Barbie.

When the US remade "Broadchurch" the producers let David Tennant reprise his role but said Olivia Colman was too unattractive for US audiences. The show was renamed "Gracepoint," and Anna Gunn took the Olivia Colman role. Gracepoint as a flop. If you haven't seen Broadchurch, it's fabulous.

WHAT? That is infuriating. Olivia Colman is one of the best actresses working. As for her appearance - which is completely fine and should NOT have been a deciding factor in hiring her or not - she looked very pretty in her role in Fleabag. She did such a great job with that character, played it to perfection.

Totally agree but I have to say Jodie Whittaker in Season 1 of Broadchurch gave the performance that blew me away. I was there with her emotionally in a way I don’t know that I ever had been before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently lived in the UK for a few years. Your professional salary will be about half of what it is here, in a lot of places the infrastructure is pretty run down, and many people are like football hooligans. The sense of humor does contain a lot of biting sarcasm, which can feel like white men punching down. I witnessed a lot of overt racism, sexism, antisemitism and homophobia. I am a WASP woman, though, so I have a limited perspective on how that compares to a lot of places in the US. I might not entrust my old age to the NHS.

On the plus side, the excellent tv has even more offerings, with the BBC, Channel 4, and ITV putting many of their shows on streaming options to all with tv licenses. Many game shows are challenging and literate. You can jump on the excellent public transit to castles and stately homes. There are free museums, as well as reasonably priced theater and live music. A lot of people are very down to earth.

Villages are highly varied. Some are prosperous bedroom communities for nearby cities like Oxford or Birmingham. Some are just a pub and a church nursery school, since everyone shops at big box stores 10 miles away. Some are fading, as the transit and job situation are poor. All of these types have fields of sheep.

Yes, there’s a lot of sarcasm. I’m surprised by your comment about it feeling like white men punching down. I have many mixed race British friends (mainly women) and we share this sense of humour. However, I’m Australian and we are much more culturally similar.

Many people are like football hooligans? Yes, there obviously are louts. Many? No more than in the US, possibly less. Nobody’s storming Westminster. I actually think there’s a lot less hooliganism than a couple of decades ago. We must be due a good riot.

Less hooliganism does not mean there’s a not good amount. Brexit suggests there are some deep seeded problems as well.

I love the UK and it’s culture but getting off the train in a Yorkshire town, finding out the bus I was to take was on strike and having to walk half a mile to the other bus stop along a high street lined with pubs and betting shops was the most frightened I’ve ever been of white people - and I’m a white man. It was as ROUGH as anything I’ve seen in the US and I was accosted more aggressively than anywhere in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently lived in the UK for a few years. Your professional salary will be about half of what it is here, in a lot of places the infrastructure is pretty run down, and many people are like football hooligans. The sense of humor does contain a lot of biting sarcasm, which can feel like white men punching down. I witnessed a lot of overt racism, sexism, antisemitism and homophobia. I am a WASP woman, though, so I have a limited perspective on how that compares to a lot of places in the US. I might not entrust my old age to the NHS.

On the plus side, the excellent tv has even more offerings, with the BBC, Channel 4, and ITV putting many of their shows on streaming options to all with tv licenses. Many game shows are challenging and literate. You can jump on the excellent public transit to castles and stately homes. There are free museums, as well as reasonably priced theater and live music. A lot of people are very down to earth.

Villages are highly varied. Some are prosperous bedroom communities for nearby cities like Oxford or Birmingham. Some are just a pub and a church nursery school, since everyone shops at big box stores 10 miles away. Some are fading, as the transit and job situation are poor. All of these types have fields of sheep.

Yes, there’s a lot of sarcasm. I’m surprised by your comment about it feeling like white men punching down. I have many mixed race British friends (mainly women) and we share this sense of humour. However, I’m Australian and we are much more culturally similar.

Many people are like football hooligans? Yes, there obviously are louts. Many? No more than in the US, possibly less. Nobody’s storming Westminster. I actually think there’s a lot less hooliganism than a couple of decades ago. We must be due a good riot.

Less hooliganism does not mean there’s a not good amount. Brexit suggests there are some deep seeded problems as well.

I love the UK and it’s culture but getting off the train in a Yorkshire town, finding out the bus I was to take was on strike and having to walk half a mile to the other bus stop along a high street lined with pubs and betting shops was the most frightened I’ve ever been of white people - and I’m a white man. It was as ROUGH as anything I’ve seen in the US and I was accosted more aggressively than anywhere in the US.

What the actual f**k, PP? Did you think the "of white people! And I'm white!" addition was...somehow useful to us?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently lived in the UK for a few years. Your professional salary will be about half of what it is here, in a lot of places the infrastructure is pretty run down, and many people are like football hooligans. The sense of humor does contain a lot of biting sarcasm, which can feel like white men punching down. I witnessed a lot of overt racism, sexism, antisemitism and homophobia. I am a WASP woman, though, so I have a limited perspective on how that compares to a lot of places in the US. I might not entrust my old age to the NHS.

On the plus side, the excellent tv has even more offerings, with the BBC, Channel 4, and ITV putting many of their shows on streaming options to all with tv licenses. Many game shows are challenging and literate. You can jump on the excellent public transit to castles and stately homes. There are free museums, as well as reasonably priced theater and live music. A lot of people are very down to earth.

Villages are highly varied. Some are prosperous bedroom communities for nearby cities like Oxford or Birmingham. Some are just a pub and a church nursery school, since everyone shops at big box stores 10 miles away. Some are fading, as the transit and job situation are poor. All of these types have fields of sheep.

Yes, there’s a lot of sarcasm. I’m surprised by your comment about it feeling like white men punching down. I have many mixed race British friends (mainly women) and we share this sense of humour. However, I’m Australian and we are much more culturally similar.

Many people are like football hooligans? Yes, there obviously are louts. Many? No more than in the US, possibly less. Nobody’s storming Westminster. I actually think there’s a lot less hooliganism than a couple of decades ago. We must be due a good riot.

DP and I agree the humor can feel like white men punching down. My BIL is Australian and he goes after anyone--my aunt and uncle, even my two-year-old son. Fortunately, my toddler son didn't understand he was being mocked and just stared at BIL.

Also, miss me with calling everyone a c*nt. I get that the word doesn't carry the same punch it carries in the US, but fact is, he's living in the US and could maybe show a little more awareness about how badly he's insulting people over here. Also accosting everyone he meets about his atheism--dude, we don't care! Funny thing is, he considers himself pretty lefty, so it's not MAGA arrogance, it's some other kind of white man arrogance that's apparently permissible in Sidney.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently lived in the UK for a few years. Your professional salary will be about half of what it is here, in a lot of places the infrastructure is pretty run down, and many people are like football hooligans. The sense of humor does contain a lot of biting sarcasm, which can feel like white men punching down. I witnessed a lot of overt racism, sexism, antisemitism and homophobia. I am a WASP woman, though, so I have a limited perspective on how that compares to a lot of places in the US. I might not entrust my old age to the NHS.

On the plus side, the excellent tv has even more offerings, with the BBC, Channel 4, and ITV putting many of their shows on streaming options to all with tv licenses. Many game shows are challenging and literate. You can jump on the excellent public transit to castles and stately homes. There are free museums, as well as reasonably priced theater and live music. A lot of people are very down to earth.

Villages are highly varied. Some are prosperous bedroom communities for nearby cities like Oxford or Birmingham. Some are just a pub and a church nursery school, since everyone shops at big box stores 10 miles away. Some are fading, as the transit and job situation are poor. All of these types have fields of sheep.

Yes, there’s a lot of sarcasm. I’m surprised by your comment about it feeling like white men punching down. I have many mixed race British friends (mainly women) and we share this sense of humour. However, I’m Australian and we are much more culturally similar.

Many people are like football hooligans? Yes, there obviously are louts. Many? No more than in the US, possibly less. Nobody’s storming Westminster. I actually think there’s a lot less hooliganism than a couple of decades ago. We must be due a good riot.

Less hooliganism does not mean there’s a not good amount. Brexit suggests there are some deep seeded problems as well.

I love the UK and it’s culture but getting off the train in a Yorkshire town, finding out the bus I was to take was on strike and having to walk half a mile to the other bus stop along a high street lined with pubs and betting shops was the most frightened I’ve ever been of white people - and I’m a white man. It was as ROUGH as anything I’ve seen in the US and I was accosted more aggressively than anywhere in the US.

What the actual f**k, PP? Did you think the "of white people! And I'm white!" addition was...somehow useful to us?

PP. It was useful to me because otherwise this could have been read as "I'm a racist who was forced to walk through the 'Paki' part of town."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have met my people on this thread. Thank you all for your comments and suggestions many of which I was unfamiliar. Also early forties lawyer. Do not discriminate based on career or age. Will discriminate based on television and book choices. Am feeling warm and fuzzy just from reading all posts. Will be bookmarking thread for future reference. Currently on season 7 of Foyle’s War (tbh I preferred seasons 1-5), but genuinely believe I am in love with DCS Foyle. Dying for Hotel Portofino’s next season.

You’ll have to fight me for Christopher Foyle. He is absolutely my dream man. (If I were 20 years younger a young Morse, as in Endeavour, would be my dream man, though I’d have to divorce him before he turned into old Morse, who I didn’t care for).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did PBS buy eternal rights to Keeping Up Appearances and As Time Goes By?

People in Britain haven't watched these for decades

Are there other series you would recommend, then? As opposed to criticizing just because some viewers here enjoy these older shows and PBS was smart enough to nab rights to show them here?

I watch a lot of British detective shows.

Watching the old shows is like only watching reruns of M*A*S*H or Andy Griffith or Mr Ed.

Recent British reality shows I enjoy include Portrait Artist of the Year on Prime and DNA Journey on Youtube. I listen to different BBC podcasts and often tune in to live broadcasts of BBC4 radio.

Have been thinking about getting BritBox just for the detective shows. Any recommendations?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently lived in the UK for a few years. Your professional salary will be about half of what it is here, in a lot of places the infrastructure is pretty run down, and many people are like football hooligans. The sense of humor does contain a lot of biting sarcasm, which can feel like white men punching down. I witnessed a lot of overt racism, sexism, antisemitism and homophobia. I am a WASP woman, though, so I have a limited perspective on how that compares to a lot of places in the US. I might not entrust my old age to the NHS.

On the plus side, the excellent tv has even more offerings, with the BBC, Channel 4, and ITV putting many of their shows on streaming options to all with tv licenses. Many game shows are challenging and literate. You can jump on the excellent public transit to castles and stately homes. There are free museums, as well as reasonably priced theater and live music. A lot of people are very down to earth.

Villages are highly varied. Some are prosperous bedroom communities for nearby cities like Oxford or Birmingham. Some are just a pub and a church nursery school, since everyone shops at big box stores 10 miles away. Some are fading, as the transit and job situation are poor. All of these types have fields of sheep.

Yes, there’s a lot of sarcasm. I’m surprised by your comment about it feeling like white men punching down. I have many mixed race British friends (mainly women) and we share this sense of humour. However, I’m Australian and we are much more culturally similar.

Many people are like football hooligans? Yes, there obviously are louts. Many? No more than in the US, possibly less. Nobody’s storming Westminster. I actually think there’s a lot less hooliganism than a couple of decades ago. We must be due a good riot.

DP and I agree the humor can feel like white men punching down. My BIL is Australian and he goes after anyone--my aunt and uncle, even my two-year-old son. Fortunately, my toddler son didn't understand he was being mocked and just stared at BIL.

Also, miss me with calling everyone a c*nt. I get that the word doesn't carry the same punch it carries in the US, but fact is, he's living in the US and could maybe show a little more awareness about how badly he's insulting people over here. Also accosting everyone he meets about his atheism--dude, we don't care! Funny thing is, he considers himself pretty lefty, so it's not MAGA arrogance, it's some other kind of white man arrogance that's apparently permissible in Sidney.

Sydney

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have met my people on this thread. Thank you all for your comments and suggestions many of which I was unfamiliar. Also early forties lawyer. Do not discriminate based on career or age. Will discriminate based on television and book choices. Am feeling warm and fuzzy just from reading all posts. Will be bookmarking thread for future reference. Currently on season 7 of Foyle’s War (tbh I preferred seasons 1-5), but genuinely believe I am in love with DCS Foyle. Dying for Hotel Portofino’s next season.

You’ll have to fight me for Christopher Foyle. He is absolutely my dream man. (If I were 20 years younger a young Morse, as in Endeavour, would be my dream man, though I’d have to divorce him before he turned into old Morse, who I didn’t care for).

PP from earlier, whose DH is a Foyle fan. I would love to watch TV with you and the "met my people" PP! While you're all distracted by Foyle I'll nip down to (fictional) Devon to solve almost murder-free crimes in picturesque "Beyond Paradise." Which I recommend for the "cozy mystery" crowd. I get worn down by shows with constant murder as the sole crime, and realism palls after a while; this series so far has not been terribly murder-y but has had some clever mysteries. And you do NOT have to have watched "Death in Paradise" (of which it's a spinoff) to pick it up instantly. I didn't like "Death in Paradise" and never watched much of it but I do love "Beyond Paradise." (Britbox)

And yeah, that sensitive, tortured Endeavour is tempting. Seriously though, the final episode of Endeavour gutted DH and me. We just hadn't realized we were as invested in him, and especially Thursday as we were, by the end. Thursday is one of the great characters in British detective/cop TV for us, but never gets talked about much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have met my people on this thread. Thank you all for your comments and suggestions many of which I was unfamiliar. Also early forties lawyer. Do not discriminate based on career or age. Will discriminate based on television and book choices. Am feeling warm and fuzzy just from reading all posts. Will be bookmarking thread for future reference. Currently on season 7 of Foyle’s War (tbh I preferred seasons 1-5), but genuinely believe I am in love with DCS Foyle. Dying for Hotel Portofino’s next season.

You’ll have to fight me for Christopher Foyle. He is absolutely my dream man. (If I were 20 years younger a young Morse, as in Endeavour, would be my dream man, though I’d have to divorce him before he turned into old Morse, who I didn’t care for).

PP from earlier, whose DH is a Foyle fan. I would love to watch TV with you and the "met my people" PP! While you're all distracted by Foyle I'll nip down to (fictional) Devon to solve almost murder-free crimes in picturesque "Beyond Paradise." Which I recommend for the "cozy mystery" crowd. I get worn down by shows with constant murder as the sole crime, and realism palls after a while; this series so far has not been terribly murder-y but has had some clever mysteries. And you do NOT have to have watched "Death in Paradise" (of which it's a spinoff) to pick it up instantly. I didn't like "Death in Paradise" and never watched much of it but I do love "Beyond Paradise." (Britbox)

And yeah, that sensitive, tortured Endeavour is tempting. Seriously though, the final episode of Endeavour gutted DH and me. We just hadn't realized we were as invested in him, and especially Thursday as we were, by the end. Thursday is one of the great characters in British detective/cop TV for us, but never gets talked about much.

Yeah, I don’t often lose sleep over TV shows, but some of the Endeavour episodes were big, including the final. And agree that Thursday is a truly great character.
I haven’t seen Death in Paradise or Beyond Paradise, but will check them out. I can’t take anything too scary — one of the reasons I enjoyed Foyle is that it was rarely in your face frightening (save the last 2 seasons maybe). These both sound right up my alley!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have met my people on this thread. Thank you all for your comments and suggestions many of which I was unfamiliar. Also early forties lawyer. Do not discriminate based on career or age. Will discriminate based on television and book choices. Am feeling warm and fuzzy just from reading all posts. Will be bookmarking thread for future reference. Currently on season 7 of Foyle’s War (tbh I preferred seasons 1-5), but genuinely believe I am in love with DCS Foyle. Dying for Hotel Portofino’s next season.

You’ll have to fight me for Christopher Foyle. He is absolutely my dream man. (If I were 20 years younger a young Morse, as in Endeavour, would be my dream man, though I’d have to divorce him before he turned into old Morse, who I didn’t care for).

PP from earlier, whose DH is a Foyle fan. I would love to watch TV with you and the "met my people" PP! While you're all distracted by Foyle I'll nip down to (fictional) Devon to solve almost murder-free crimes in picturesque "Beyond Paradise." Which I recommend for the "cozy mystery" crowd. I get worn down by shows with constant murder as the sole crime, and realism palls after a while; this series so far has not been terribly murder-y but has had some clever mysteries. And you do NOT have to have watched "Death in Paradise" (of which it's a spinoff) to pick it up instantly. I didn't like "Death in Paradise" and never watched much of it but I do love "Beyond Paradise." (Britbox)

And yeah, that sensitive, tortured Endeavour is tempting. Seriously though, the final episode of Endeavour gutted DH and me. We just hadn't realized we were as invested in him, and especially Thursday as we were, by the end. Thursday is one of the great characters in British detective/cop TV for us, but never gets talked about much.

Yeah, I don’t often lose sleep over TV shows, but some of the Endeavour episodes were big, including the final. And agree that Thursday is a truly great character.
I haven’t seen Death in Paradise or Beyond Paradise, but will check them out. I can’t take anything too scary — one of the reasons I enjoyed Foyle is that it was rarely in your face frightening (save the last 2 seasons maybe). These both sound right up my alley!

I'm PP to whom you're responding. Enjoy! I will note that Death in Paradise isn't set in the UK, which is fine, but it does...go on a loooot of seasons. It's about British detectives assigned to a Caribbean island. I don't know how scary/gory it gets, since I didn't watch much of it, but I think every episode is a murder.

Beyond Paradise is (so far) much less death-filled than most British detective series. It does have its sad storylines, but is mostly quite gentle and humorous, and isn't ever gory. Beyond Paradise follows one of the detectives from Death in Paradise as he returns to the UK with his fiancee and they settle in her hometown in Devon, where he joins the local police. It's comparable to Doc Martin in setting and humorous tone, but the characters are much more engaging (to me!) than in Doc Martin.

I've been to Devon countless times, as the family was all there until my in-laws passed away, and Beyond Paradise makes us very homesick for Devon--even though it's actually filmed next door in Cornwall!

[Anonymous]

Meant to add above, you can watch Beyond Paradise without ever seeing Death in Paradise first. There are a few references to the Death in Paradise characters and one quick scene back in the Caribbean so far, but that's it. Good job of a spinoff which doesn't require a viewer to know the original in order to enjoy the spinoff.

Both show are on Britbox.

[Anonymous]

You all are my people too.

I don't think I've seen mention here of my favorite new discovery... William & Mary with a pre-Doc Martin Martin Clunes. It's a delightful romance + family comedy/drama. He's an undertaker, she's a midwife, both single parents and meet through a dating service. Complications ensue.

It's on Tubi and Freevee
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0339907/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_6_nm_2_in_0_q_William%2520%2526%2520Mary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have met my people on this thread. Thank you all for your comments and suggestions many of which I was unfamiliar. Also early forties lawyer. Do not discriminate based on career or age. Will discriminate based on television and book choices. Am feeling warm and fuzzy just from reading all posts. Will be bookmarking thread for future reference. Currently on season 7 of Foyle’s War (tbh I preferred seasons 1-5), but genuinely believe I am in love with DCS Foyle. Dying for Hotel Portofino’s next season.

You’ll have to fight me for Christopher Foyle. He is absolutely my dream man. (If I were 20 years younger a young Morse, as in Endeavour, would be my dream man, though I’d have to divorce him before he turned into old Morse, who I didn’t care for).

PP from earlier, whose DH is a Foyle fan. I would love to watch TV with you and the "met my people" PP! While you're all distracted by Foyle I'll nip down to (fictional) Devon to solve almost murder-free crimes in picturesque "Beyond Paradise." Which I recommend for the "cozy mystery" crowd. I get worn down by shows with constant murder as the sole crime, and realism palls after a while; this series so far has not been terribly murder-y but has had some clever mysteries. And you do NOT have to have watched "Death in Paradise" (of which it's a spinoff) to pick it up instantly. I didn't like "Death in Paradise" and never watched much of it but I do love "Beyond Paradise." (Britbox)

And yeah, that sensitive, tortured Endeavour is tempting. Seriously though, the final episode of Endeavour gutted DH and me. We just hadn't realized we were as invested in him, and especially Thursday as we were, by the end. Thursday is one of the great characters in British detective/cop TV for us, but never gets talked about much.

Yeah, I don’t often lose sleep over TV shows, but some of the Endeavour episodes were big, including the final. And agree that Thursday is a truly great character.
I haven’t seen Death in Paradise or Beyond Paradise, but will check them out. I can’t take anything too scary — one of the reasons I enjoyed Foyle is that it was rarely in your face frightening (save the last 2 seasons maybe). These both sound right up my alley!

We rewatched all of Inspector Lewis - DC library has the DVDs. Sergeant Hathaway and his brain are something.