All Thing PBS

skatesindreams said:
Among other problems, where's the "chemistry" between these people?
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I guess we see what we are looking for. I see plenty of chemistry in the new series- but then I have seen the whole thing already, and the episodes blend together- the chemistry develops, believe me. I am a book loyalist- I have read the series at least five times. I saw the original TV production many years ago and loved it, but I did have issues with some of the deviations from the books, especially later in the series (so did Winston Graham, apparently). This new series is shorter, so some things had to be cut out or abbreviated, but I think they have done very well with the time they had- in some ways it is closer to the books in feeling. I think that the new Elizabeth is better than the old one -although in both versions (and in the books, for that matter) it is clear that she isn't the right one for Ross. I actually like Verity too, and with the new George, I can see a bit of his attraction for various characters, whereas the old one, I couldn't. Each series has its own merits, and I try not to compare the two, but take each for what it is.

And the scenery is beautiful- I could watch it all day. I have hiked those paths in Cornwall and seeing it brings back some great memories.
 
I didn't see the original "Poldark" and admit I am enjoying this new series. I love all of the costume dramas but I like quiet, modern slice-of-life dramas too and "Last Tango in Halifax" has been a delight for me. One of my favorites from years ago was another modern production that was part drama, part comedy and part mystery. It was called "Summer's Lease" and I loved the Italian locales along with John Mortimer's entertaining story.
 
I found the Poldark remake to be awful, truly awful; the casting is absolutely.horrendous. I can't imagine a worse Elizabeth or Verity. Or Francis, for that matter. I was screaming at my TV screen through the whole hour. I just don't get it.
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Among other problems, where's the "chemistry" between these people
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If by episode 4 (which I consider the best out of the series), you haven't changed your mind, return here for a refund! And let me know what you think afterwards.
 
I watched the 1st episode of Poldark on Sunday and have been streaming it during the week at night. I love it. Love it, love it, love it. I haven't read the books and I didn't see the original TV adaptation. It helps that I love Aidan Turner and think he's incredibly handsome and that I thought Eleanor Tomlinson was great in the (really bad) adaptation of Death Comes to Pemberley. So I already liked the leads. And I think the actor who plays Francis is great, and I'm really enjoying Elizabeth.

It's been a huge hit for me.
 
It's rather "old news".

Ben Affleck didn't want his family's past as slaveholders to be discussed.
The whole thing was/is strange since several of Dr. Gates interviewees have confronted this truth without issue.

I wish that he has simply reminded Ben that he wasn't the only person whose family has slaveholding as part of their history.
 
skatesindreams said:
It's rather "old news".

Ben Affleck didn't want his family's past as slaveholders to be discussed.
The whole thing was/is strange since several of Dr. Gates interviewees have confronted this truth without issue.

I wish that he has simply reminded Ben that he wasn't the only person whose family has slaveholding as part of their history.
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Yes, the fact that Affleck didn't want that revealed is old....the fact that PBS has postponed the show isn't.....or I didn't think it was. It just happened yesterday, according to the article.
 
skatesindreams said:
It's rather "old news".

Ben Affleck didn't want his family's past as slaveholders to be discussed.
The whole thing was/is strange since several of Dr. Gates interviewees have confronted this truth without issue.

I wish that he has simply reminded Ben that he wasn't the only person whose family has slaveholding as part of their history.
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Uh, yeah. I would imagine there are a lot of us with slaveholding pasts. Various of my ancestors were in the US since before the Revolution, so I would be surprised to *not* see some evidence of participation in slavery, although my ancestors were northerners (Connecticut, mostly). Of COURSE I would be unhappy about it but that was the reality.
 
Watched my recording of Poldark today. I did see the old version - several times. I have read part of the books, not all.



I like Aiden Turner. He has compelling looks. However, I find him too refined. I miss the raw, barely suppressed anger of Robin Ellis. Ellis overdid it a bit and Turner is probably a bit more acceptable to the society he lives in. However, Turner's portrayal lacks the power that Ellis had in the role.

I like Ruby Bentall as Verity. I also liked Norma Streader as well. It's sort of like apples and oranges in the way they play the role. Both are believable.

I find this Jud and Prudie look the part of personal servants better than the originals. On the other hand, the originals were more fun.

I'm reserving judgement on Eleanor Tomlinson as Demelza. I really miss the broad accent Angharad Rees used in the original. I also miss her spunk and her teasing manor, and her passion. She went after her father every bit as much as Ross did.

On the whole I find the original had much more enthusiastic character portrayals which were very individual. I feel like this version has many of the rough corners smoothed away and I miss many of those rough corners.

The scenery is beautiful, but the music is not to my liking. It weakens the whole thing. I'm also having problems with make-up and such. Ross' scar on his face looks really fake. He should have a limp and his leg should still be bothering him. Elizabeth's hair should be up and dressed.

Mostly, I think the whole series suffers from being only 8 episodes, rather than 29. It seems jerky to me. Dialogue, pretty scenery, dialogue, ride horse, dialogue, ride horse across pretty scenery.

The modern filming will make the old version seem very dated, but it had much more passion and power - at least so far.
 
Alas AH, you will miss the spunkiness and cheekiness from this Demelza. She's sort of tame but curiously when Demelza married Ross in the book, she was sort of tame too and 'respectful' while still having and acting on her views. The Demelza of the 70's was NOT tame at any point. She gave Ross as good as he did. And that made that coupling explosive and entertaining. Also you will miss the humor the older version had between them.

And I agree with everything you said. That was my whole summation after seeing the whole series.

I hope the Series 2 will remove some 'scenery' and inject more dialogue.
 
tamuno said:
Alas AH, you will miss the spunkiness and cheekiness from this Demelza. She's sort of tame but curiously when ...
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Might I suggest you edit your post to include spoiler tags around the text that comes after what I just quoted above? Not everyone has read the books or seen the original series, and that's a pretty big spoiler.
 
Oops! Sorry! I thought it was fairly obvious where the whole thing was going even without reading the books. I have no idea how to use those tags.
 
OMG yes about the fake-looking scar on the new Poldark actor. When the scar brings attention to itself that's really a problem. I find it very distracting, but I'm trying to just go with it/ ignore it.

The original series was so long ago, but I still remember its power and romance, despite being a bit young and naïve to get all of it with any great depth at the time. Robin Ellis and Anghard Rees were originals, very hard to follow in their footsteps. But I will remain open to taking in this new series as it progresses. Only the second episode debuted this evening on PBS.

ITA with @cygnus about the scenery, and its nice to hear from someone who has seen this new series already in its entirety.
 
FiveRinger said:
Has anyone seen this? Interesting....
http://www.people.com/article/finding-your-roots-pbs-suspends-ben-affleck-controversy

Forgive me if it has already been discussed....I haven't read the entire thread.
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I think its a shame that the show has had to be suspended because of this flap. I do hope they are able to work things out quickly to where the show can continue to be aired. It's just unfortunate that Ben made the request and that private emails were made public. Clearly the host, Gates, was concerned about the show's integrity which prompted him to write to the producer. Perhaps it was best discussed in person.

In the process of working on a project like this a number of editorial decisions are made and necessarily not every single detail of each individual's genealogy is going to be aired anyway. Ben was being overly sensitive in requesting that particular ancestral detail be excluded from possible broadcast consideration. Plenty of famous individuals on the series have ancestors who were slaveholders (even some gamblers, shady characters, gunfighters), as well as ancestors of great character and stature. The show makes a point of weaving the backgrounds of several prominent individuals together, and Gates tends to focus on highlighting specific positive themes in how he puts shows and personalities together. The show with Derek Jeter, as well as the episodes with many others including Ken Burns, Anderson Cooper, Billie Jean King, etc., are quite fascinating, entertaining and informative.

The past shows of Finding Your Roots are available on DVD at local libraries (including the broadcast featuring Ben Affleck: Season 2, Episode 3 also with Khandi Alexander, and NAACP President, Benjamin Jealous).
 
I enjoyed the second episode of Poldark more tonight, and am looking forward to next week as well. :)

I also really liked the second episode of the The Crimson Field as well. I need to look up the show on IMDB, because some of the nurses look so familiar, but I can't place them.
 
shan said:
I also really liked the second episode of the The Crimson Field as well. I need to look up the show on IMDB, because some of the nurses look so familiar, but I can't place them.
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Hermione Norris (Matron) = best known from MI5/Spooks, Cold Feet, and Wire in the Blood, though she's done lots of other stuff too. Suranne Jones (who plays the motorbike-riding sister Joan) is Bailey from Scott & Bailey among other things. And Oona Chaplin (Kitty) was in The Hour and Game of Thrones.
 
aftershocks said:
I think its a shame that the show has had to be suspended because of this flap. I do hope they are able to work things out quickly to where the show can continue to be aired. It's just unfortunate that Ben made the request and that private emails were made public. Clearly the host, Gates, was concerned about the show's integrity which prompted him to write to the producer.
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One wonders if Ben had ever watched any of the episodes.
Would he want part of his professional "legacy" to be that he caused such a program to be delayed or cancelled?

Why agree to be a subject if you don't want your history to be discussed; or want to "censor" what is discovered?
I'm sure there is more material on each person than can be used in each segment of a one hour program.
The website often offers additional video.

I believe that the program is important; and hope that the issues which have caused the "delay" can be solved as soon as possible.
 
I agree with others that Poldark got a lot better in episode 2. I'm now relatively sure I'll stay with it for the rest of the season, whereas last week it was 50/50.
 
Artemis@BC said:
I was underwhelmed by Poldark. I love seeing the gorgeous Cornwall scenery, and Aidan Turner is pretty easy on the eyes too. But I just wasn't in the mood for that kind of story, and I found it very slow indeed. But I'll give it one more week at least.

The Crimson Field, oth, I liked very much. It had some soapy elements to it, but I thought they did an excellent job of establishing the characters right away without them being stereotypes. It helps that I'm a big fan of Hermione Norris, and also of Suranne Jones -- tho it will take some getting used to hearing her talk with a Scouser accent! And it was fun to see "Mr Molesly" in a nice character like that -- everything I've seen him in other than Downton he's played a really bad dude.
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I was enchanted by the original Poldark 40 years ago and I was so inspired by the scenery that I made a pilgrimage to Cornwall on my own a few years later, driving in those tiny lanes and hiking all over Cornwall & Devon visiting so many of the places I saw in the show. I would watch the new Poldark just for the scenery alone but it's actually quite good, though my heart will always embrace the original cast.

I am also enjoying The Crimson Field and discovering so many of my favorite actors playing large and small roles. My favorite bit of casting had "Molesly" putting "Spratt" in his place. :)
 
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