Unforgotten on BBC/PBS

 There are 6 seasons of Unforgotten on PBS available with a passport subscription. I love this series. 

Unforgotten started with the fabulous Nicola Walker.

At some point there were cast changes, I like it just as much. 

WILTY

I am back to regular once a week posting starting today. My intention is to post photos of flowers blooming in my yard this year. So there might be a different schedule then. 

 

 

I had forgotten all about this show. I watched many of the early seasons, years ago. 

Oldest and I watched, Would I Lie To You, in 2016. At that time, we watched it (separately) on YouTube. So I think I watched all the early seasons, but nothing after 2016.

Luckily I stumbled upon Season 16 on BritBox, just before my short term subscription expired. 

My husband and I watched season 16 which broadcast 2023. Season 17 is running now (2024), but I am not sure it is available in the USA yet.

So, unless the count got altered around Covid, probably I have not seen seasons 10-16. I think there are 12 shows per season.

We started back with the earliest season available on BritBox, season 8, which I probably saw before, but do not remember. And we are watching all of them available on the system. 

To us, they are very funny. 

I am not sure the British humor translates to everyone, but it does me. I find the show laugh out loud funny, which is unusual for me. 

There are four guests per show. Usually I do not recognize any of the guests. So yes, I am missing some level of the references, but it does not matter. I find the show fabulous. 

Too easy, The Plot

I enjoyed this book, but I have to say I figured out the plot very early in the book. 

Not only did I figure it out, I was confident I had it correct. 

I think I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if I had not. 

So, I am not planning on reading any more by this author.

https://www.npr.org/2021/05/16/996976488/the-plot-works-as-literary-satire-but-its-mystery-fizzles

Watching

Very interesting. I am watching on Acorn, but I think it is on Prime too.

Mr Whicher

If you like BBC, these may be new to you.

I just found them on Amazon Prime.

Starting on the first one today.

Call the midwife, season 9, started last week

On the PBS app and website, shows that have already broadcast, are available for a short time.

One of my favorites / PBS

We no longer have cable.

New shows appear on PBS’s website and app for a short time when they are broadcast. Or PBS members have access to them all the time.

Austen

I discovered all of Sanditon was available on Passport/PBS. So my husband and I finished series and  really enjoyed it.

My husband commented he was not sure he had read any Jane Austen or seen any of the movies. So I pulled up a list of her books in order. And I looked for the BBC (what used to be called miniseries that are now called seasons) multi part versions. I would rather watch 3-6 hours/parts instead of a 2 hour movie. And I love BBC.

I appreciate the fact that one can pick up one month of Brit-box on Prime or Passport on PBS for $5-6. Sign up and then immediately cancel it and it runs for 1 month and does not automatically renew.

So we watched Sense and Sensibility and I do not think I had seen that version previously. Very good. Fabulous scenery.

Pride and Prejudice is next. Rewatching THE version, Firth/Ehle.

I guess Sanditon should be added to that list, only as BBC series, not a book.

New Jane Austin Masterpiece series running on PBS now, I watch thru app

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/shows/sanditon/#

We watched the first two episodes, we think it is quite good so far.

If you are not familiar, PBS only leaves shows up for a short time on its app and website (for the general public). So if you are interested, catch it now before it is too late.

Finding Your Roots

Current season (6) just resumed on PBS.

Season 6, Episode 3 is now available on their website and app for a short time.

If this show is new to you and you love this episode, there are 5 previous seasons available a couple places (PBS members and maybe Amazon Prime). Wide variety of ethnic backgrounds and family stories covered. Sometimes episodes have a theme (African American performers in this one for example).

Call the midwife, Scotland, xmas special

Call the Midwife’s Christmas episode is now available on PBS app until mid January.

The midwives travel to Scotland and are in a coastal village, so the scenery is breathtaking and very Scottish.

Middle and I enjoy this series so much. And it is fun, they do a special episode each Christmas.

Silent Witness

I spotted a young Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch yesterday, so they are old, but well written.

BBC’s Silent Witness, on Amazon Prime, 22 seasons.

I am on season 7. My mother is in the teens. We are both enjoying it.

Mrs Wilson on PBS

I really enjoyed it. So did my husband and mother.  True story. It is on pbs website for a short time and then it will be gone. Three parts.

Endeavour (Morse), season three with four episodes, is running on PBS now, I had to go back and watch the first two seasons on Amazon Prime to remember, the original Morse is available on Netflix, and Inspector Lewis is on Amazon Prime, FYI

Podcast post

These are the Podcasts I download each week -



The Moth

"Since its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of true stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. Moth storytellers stand alone, under a spotlight, with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers. The storyteller and the audience embark on a high-wire act of shared experience which is both terrifying and exhilarating. Since 2008, The Moth podcast has featured many of our favorite stories told live on Moth stages around the country. For information on all of our programs and live events."

Vinyl Cafe

"CBC Radio presents the stories and misadventures of Dave, the owner of the "Vinyl Cafe", the world's smallest record store, where the motto is "We may not be big, but we're small." The show also features Dave's wife, Morley, their two children, Sam and Stephanie and assorted friends and neighbours."

This American Life

"Official free, weekly podcast of the award-winning radio show "This American Life." First-person stories and short fiction pieces that are touching, funny, and surprising. Hosted by Ira Glass, from WBEZ Chicago Public Media, and distributed by Public Radio International."

The first two are new to me and recommended by our oldest. The third, This American Life, is
beloved. If I am ever in a coma, the kind where I might be aware, please have one of my kids buy the complete archives and play it for me, one show at a time, all day, to keep me sane. Really great.

Jennette just wrote about another podcast, Serial.

My books - Things Fall Apart (1958) by Chinua Achebe

NOTE: One of my book group facilitators sent me this link:
NPR Best of the Summer: 6 Books the Critics Adore.







 Wiki notes:

Things Fall Apart is an English-language novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe published in 1958. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, and one of the first African novels written in English to receive global critical acclaim. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. The title of the novel comes from William Butler Yeats' poem "The Second Coming".

The novel depicts the life of Okonkwo, a leader and local wrestling champion in Umuofia—one of a fictional group of nine villages in Nigeria, inhabited by the Igbo people (in the novel, "Ibo"). It describes his family and personal history, the customs and society of the Igbo, and the influence of British colonialism and Christian missionaries on the Igbo community during the late nineteenth century.

I have certainly not read as much African literature as someone who majored in that area in school. But it does seem to be assigned pretty regularly by my three book groups.

This was a totally new book for me. I had never even heard the title.

To be honest, it was assigned with Heart of Darkness. The two books were paired as one month's reading. My husband picked up this (Heart of Darkness) CD from the library, brought it home and said he didn't think I should listen to it. I did read it long ago (maybe for lit class). So, I decided to just read the new one, Things Fall Apart, and let the other go.

Yes, this is an African book. It is not a starving children, African book (just so you know).

"Things Fall Apart is set in the 1890s and portrays the clash between Nigeria’s white colonial government and the traditional culture of the indigenous Igbo people."

The entire book is NOT about the 'clash'. Instead the majority of the book sets up the culture. And it is very interesting. It is the last part of the book which addresses the clash.

As I read the SparkNotes context section, where I got that quote (above), I could understand why my book facilitator assigned Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart together. The SparkNotes section talks about both of these books. Things Fall Apart was written as a response to Heart of Darkness.

I thought this book was most excellent. I really enjoyed it. If you remember, I loved Cry, The Beloved Country. I would put this on that same level.

It took me a little bit to get used to the African names. But the author does a good job of putting context with the name, most of the time (his third wife, his good friend, his uncle).

I listened to this whole book, straight through on a major driving day. In fact the driving was so massive, I finished The Red Pony before this book, listened to the whole of this book, and then started next week's book, all on the same day.

Things Fall Apart (very much) held my interest once I got used to the rhythm of it, early in the book.

The version I listened to was narrated by Peter Francis James. He was most excellent for this book (in my opinion). Bless his heart for getting all the African names (assumedly) correct.