Bertie Carvel is probably better known as a stage actor and he is currently appearing in the West End playing... Donald Trump no less... in a play called The 47th. I am slightly tempted to go.
Adam On Sun, May 8, 2022 at 3:39 AM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > I also binged the season recently, and loved it. I was not familiar with > Bertie Carvel but he is really stellar. As you say we don’t learn > explicitly about all the character’s losses until later, but somehow we do > know as soon as we meet him. > > On Sat, 7 May 2022 at 5:09 PM Diner <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Xfinity is having a "free movie" week, which allowed me to check out >> Acorn TV and the first season of "Dalgliesh." >> >> I was familiar with P.D. James' character of Detective Chief Inspector >> Adam Dalgliesh from the Roy Marsden-starring adaptations that ran on PBS' >> "Mystery!" in the 80s and 90s. I also saw one of the later adaptations >> starring Martin Shaw. (I think the only James novel I've read was "An >> Unsuitable Job for a Woman," which did not feature the Dalgliesh character. >> And I've also listened to a few of the BBC Radio dramatizations.) >> >> The Marsden series were told in a leisurely fashion - my recollection is >> that each novel was dramatized over six one-hour episodes. This time >> around, each novel gets two 45-minute episodes (the season is three stories >> told over six episodes). But the stories move briskly, and you won't feel >> like you're missing anything. And the production values are much higher >> this time around - the Marsden series were shot on videotape. >> >> The cases are complex and challenging - you have to pay close attention, >> and not just because of the British and Irish accents. (The show is set in >> England but filmed in Northern Ireland.) And Bertie Carvel's subtle, >> restrained take on the title role is perfectly suited to the material. >> >> Two things struck me while watching this that I didn't remember from the >> last time around. One is that Dalgliesh is an example of the "Crusading >> Widower" trope - when we meet him, his wife and child have died recently of >> unstated causes. But since the character first appeared in print in 1962, >> this could be seen as an early example. And the stories do not go overboard >> in using it to establish pathos - we don't find out about the son's death >> until about halfway through the second story, for example. >> >> Another is the subtle way that this version of Dalgliesh strikes blows >> for feminism, and against racism, as the series progresses. The series is >> set in 1975 (which explains the sideburns, smoking, and lack of seat >> belts). In the first story, Dalgliesh's assistant Charles Masterson (Jeremy >> Irvine) is a jerk who seems more concerned with screwing a nubile suspect >> than finding the killer. The second story, "The Black Tower," is set in the >> Dorset countryside, and Dalgliesh gets help from highly competent local >> sergeant Kate Miskin (Carlyss Peer). By the third story, "A Taste for >> Death," Miskin has moved to London and joined the team - and her solid >> professionalism leads to Masterson's jealousy, sexism and racism bubbling >> to the surface. Casting a POC as Miskin for the first time really pays off, >> and moving the stories to the 1970s places Masterson's behavior in a >> different context than it would have if it were set in the present day. >> These are smart moves by the producers, and things you'd miss if you stop >> watching before the season ends. >> >> Anyway, it's an absorbing, entertaining series that is worth watching >> closely. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/cebae77b-52c5-4904-82ec-1df10a1e4f2dn%40googlegroups.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/cebae77b-52c5-4904-82ec-1df10a1e4f2dn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > Sent from Gmail Mobile > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYKVrvjE_3oXowEvnuLG%3DrayWbR5h%2BaFT%2Bo1Pnwj0uTqRw%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYKVrvjE_3oXowEvnuLG%3DrayWbR5h%2BaFT%2Bo1Pnwj0uTqRw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAD_sJGCSxDtOon5Xvc335DwVPRBExb6prAO9f%2BpJ%2B9VF01G2pw%40mail.gmail.com.
