DEBORAH CROMBIE: This month PBS is celebrating fifty years of Masterpiece Theatre. FIFTY YEARS!
I'm pretty sure that I can blame a good deal of my abiding passion for mysteries, and my desire to be a writer, on Masterpiece. The very first season in January 1971 began with the broadcast of the 1967 BBC adaptation of John Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga. I remember being absolutely glued to the TV (okay, I was a weird teenager...) I then read all NINE Forsyte novels! (Even weirder teenager...) Then the wonderful Alastair Cooke became host, and we were off to the races. Here are just a few of my highlights from the first ten years (after which the mystery programs were shunted into Masterpiece Mystery.)
Cold Comfort Farm, Elizabeth R, the first adaptations of Dorothy Sayers' Peter Wimsey novels, I, Claudius, Poldark, The Duchess of Duke Street, Our Mutual Friend, Testament of Youth--and of course, Upstairs, Downstairs! Those are just a smattering.
And then there was MYSTERY.
How much do we love the Edward Gorey opening sequence?? I even have a signed and numbered Gorey print.)
And the shows! Foyle's War,
Poirot, Morse, Rumpole of the Bailey, Cadfael, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and Prime Suspect are among the early broadcasts.
There is so much more--far too many shows to list. But some of my standouts for the last few years of both Masterpiece and Masterpiece Mystery have been Sherlock, Endeavour,
and, of course, the one we cannot leave out, DOWNTON ABBEY.
Going back to that first decade, one of the defining shows for me was the original series of James Herriott's All Creatures Great and Small. I even set my first book, A SHARE IN DEATH, in the Yorkshire town where Herriott practiced. So I think it's entirely fitting that PBS is celebrating the beginning of its fifty year anniversary with a new version of All Creatures!
REDs and READERS, are you fans of Masterpiece (in all its permutations?) What are some of programs you've loved most?
And who will be glued to the screen tonight watching All Creatures, and the new mystery, Miss Scarlett and the Duke?
I’m definitely a Masterpiece fan . . . Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, and Morse are among my favorites . . . .
ReplyDeleteAfter tuning in to Masterpiece for years, I still love to watch the entire Edward Gorey opening sequence. It's deliciously clever. And the new "All Creatures" is charming. We love Masterpiece! Thanks, Deb, for reminding us of a few of our faves.
ReplyDeleteLove the Edward Gorey opening sequence too!
DeleteI love watching Masterpiece and have watched it since the beginning. All Creatures, the original, was one of my favorites and this new series is just what I need. I can feel my blood pressure lowering when the music comes on and I see the Yorkshire Dales. I’m also watching Scarlet and the Duke and like that also. So many good shows, too many to name.
ReplyDeleteI'm liking Scarlett and the Duke, too. I got cross-eyed yesterday looking at the lists of all shows on Wikipedia!
DeleteLove the Yorkshire scenery too.
DeleteI was a fan of Mystery! (who couldn't love Dame Diana Rigg's intros) but not Masterpiece Theater as it originally was. Now that it is all under the Masterpiece banner, I guess technically I like it. However, I just watch the mystery shows, not the stuffy upper crust British society stuff.
ReplyDeleteSo I loved The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Rumpole of the Bailey and of course the amazing Prime Suspect. More recent stuff I've liked has been Grantchester, Foyle's War and Sherlock.
I've seen other mystery stuff that was okay but didn't quite catch on with me like it did others.
I have The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on DVD (Jeremy Brett is my Sherlock!) as well as Foyle's War and every Prime Suspect series. I will say that Rumpole of the Bailey does not hold up quite as well, at least not the earliest stuff. I tried watching it a year or so ago and it was painfully hard to get through the early episodes.
I had forgotten Rumpole. Thanks for the reminder, Jay. So sorry to hear that it doesn't hold up.
DeleteMe, too! I loved Rumpole!
DeleteGigi, it didn't hold up as well for ME, that doesn't mean others won't enjoy it themselves. It's always a matter of personal taste. I'm sure if I get around to watching the later seasons, I'll probably enjoy them since I remember them a lot better than the earlier episodes.
DeleteBTW, Deborah did mention Rumpole in her post so it's not like I made the first remark about the show.
Yes, I became an Anglophile in my teens watching shows like All Creatures Great and Small on Masterpiece/PBS. Those Yorkshire Dales were idlyllic. And then I became a regular watcher of Mystery! I started with Poirot, Sherlock Holmes and then Morse. I also liked Dalgliesh, the P.D. James adaptation starring Roy Marsden, as well as the short-run Campion series starring Peter Davison (who also played Tristan on All Creatures Great and Small). And Vincent Price, followed by Dame Diana Rigg were great hosts.
ReplyDeleteWhen I travelled to the UK for the first time at 19 and visited Oxford and Yorkshire, I was in heaven.
I also have a copy of the book MYSTERY! A CELEBRATION: Stalking Public Television's Greatest Sleuths by Ron Miller. It has one of the classic Edward Gorey sketches on the cover.
Also, was Brideshead Revisited broadcast on PBS Masterpiece? I remember watching it first on CBC in the 1980s, and my anglophile heart sang. What a cast! Jeremy Irons, Anthony Andrews, Sir Laurence Olivier and Sir John Gielgud.
DeleteIt was absolutely brilliant--but not on Masterpiece. It was Great Performances.
DeleteOops, I see that others thought Brideshead was on Masterpiece. Thanks for the correction, Debs. After watching Brideshead, I visited Castle Howard in the 1980s. The architecture of that building and the gardens were divine.
DeleteWhat a treat, Grace! I'd love to visit Castle Howard.
DeleteOf course! In graduate school only one of my group of friends had a television, so we would all flock to the other Edith's for I Claudius episode. (We've been catching up on Last Tango in Halifax, and I love that Derek Jacobi is still going strong.) Other faves: Prime Suspect, Downton, Grantchester, and now Scarlet and the Duke. Oddly, I haven't been a big Sherlock or Poirot watcher, but that could change. If it weren't for BBC and PBS, I wouldn't have any shows to watch!
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone else automatically think of the Sesame Street versions of the hosts' names? Alastair Cookie was a good one, as well as, "Vincent Twice, Vincent Twice." (Was Vincent Price a Masterpice host?)
Oh, all the wonderful hosts! And how could I have left Grantchester off my list!!
DeleteLoved Alistair Cookie on Sesame Street. I met Victoria, who was the daughter of Vincent Price, one time. She wrote a biography about her dad.
DeleteEdith,
DeleteI think that Vincent Price was the first host of Mystery! on PBS.
Diana
This is reminding me of so many great programs. Rumpole, an all-time favorite. Morse. The Miss Marples with Joan Hickson (the others who've played her are, imhop, rubbish.) Sherlock! with Benedict Cumberbatch. And how grateful was I to have Sesame Street when my kids were toddling.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! The Forsythe Saga, Morse, P.D. James, Jennie, Brideshead Revisited, All Creatures. Oh, I could go on and on. It's funny, though. I haven't watched PBS lately. I'll have to check out the current schedule. I think streaming shows rather ruined it for me as I'm rarely willing to wait out the week to find out what happens next.
ReplyDeleteThey call it "appointment TV" and I find I actually like it. It's fun looking forward to Sunday nights. I record the shows so I don't have to watch then, however, if I'm busy.
DeleteYes, streaming versus appointment is an interesting thing. I find I’m frustrated now if I can’t watch them all in a row, but I agree, Debs, it’s fun to have a treat.
DeleteAppointment TV! Love the term, and so apt. It really is a treat. Of course I always look forward to my weekly fix of Call the Midwife when that comes around in the spring.
DeleteAppointment TV - great term. And if it makes it to my calendar, it usually makes it into my life!
DeleteBrideshead with the wonderful theme music. Morse (morse code theme music), Rumpole (bassoon), Foyle's War, Upstairs, Downstairs, the Harriet Vane and Peter Wimsey mysteries (the realization scene in the punt!), I Claudius, Brother Cadfael, Prime Suspect, and more recently, Endeavor and a remake of All Creatures. And Sesame Street from 4-5pm every afternoon, when I did my grad school studying and enjoyed a phone call with a friend.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, Brideshead was actually broadcast on Great Performances. I read a snippet where a fan was gushingly telling Anthony Andrews that Brideshead was the best ever show on Masterpiece, and he gently corrected her. But the music, oh, Brideshead and all the Masterpiece productions. You hear them, instantly--as well as the Gorey theme.
DeleteBut my favorite music of all the shows is Barrington Pheloung's theme for Morse. He died last year, sadly.
YES, the Morse theme music is haunting and very memorable! So sorry to hear that Barrington P. passed away.
DeleteThe Morse theme music was Morse code? I am going to look at that right now…! Wow— I don’t think I realized that.
DeleteYes, it does have Morse code in it, I think. Variations of the original Morse theme have been used throughout all the series--Morse, Lewis, and Endeavour. Pheloung was Australian, and only 65 when he died.
DeleteDeborah,
DeleteYour mention of Anthony Andrews reminded me of an interview that I read. Someone interviewed him for an American publication and the actor said he was surprised when a fan approached him while he was grocery shopping in Los Angeles.
I wonder if it is different for actors in England since England has the Royal family and we do not?
Diana
I've put my Gorey print up in the post. The colors didn't come up very well in the photo, but the print is absolutely charming. I think it was offered through one of those PBS related catalogues, Signals, or Wireless.
ReplyDeleteDeborah,
DeleteI have seen Edward Gorey art in one of those PBS related catalogues.
Diana
I have been watching and loving Masterpiece for years, but not quite 50 I think. Upstairs, Downstairs was a big favorite and All Creatures great and Small I truly loved. The new one doesn't quite work for me - Mrs. Hall, the housekeeper should be much older. I didn't watch the original Poldark but I loved the recent one. Was Home Fires on Masterpiece? That was so good!
ReplyDeleteNot sure if it was on Masterpiece or not but it was a mystery show - Hetty Wainthropp? - starring Patricia Routledge. I remember watching it and then it wasn't on any more. If it wasn't for PBS I wouldn't see many programs. Does anyone know anything about Hold the Sunset? My DVR guide shows it on Saturday nights and I program it to record but there is never anything there. It sounds like something I'd want to see but the I guess the true mystery is how to watch it at all.
Judi, Hetty Wainthrope was on Masterpiece. So charming. I haven't heard anything about Hold the Sunset, but it sounds interesting.
DeleteI have just the opposite take on the new All Creatures. I love that they'd made Mrs. Hall younger and have given her an interesting story. And I think the actress is terrific.
Oh! What a truly fun thing to talk about. You know how much I love Morse, my hero. And Downton Abbey, of course, and Foyles War. Endeavor was an absolute triumph! . All the mysteries.
ReplyDeleteI never saw Brideshead revisited, I have to say. I’m not quite sure how that happened. Although I know my husband is a big fan. Thinking about it, I did not ever see upstairs downstairs either. I think there was a huge time in my life that I was not much of a television watcher, now that I think of it. (that’s an odd thought.)
And yes, that fabulous opening, both to Mystery, and to Masterpiece Theatre with the trumpets. i’m going to read all the comments now to see what I forgot!
I'm a hit-or-miss Masterpiece fan. I have really loved the mysteries, but rarely get hooked on the dramas. Warren, however, ranked I Claudius as one of his all-time favorites. It's one he watched in real time when it was on (and repeated) and taped when he had that capability. The year I gave him the boxed set of videotapes for Christmas was a banner year for him. I may even have it on DVD.
ReplyDeleteThe other big Masterpiece fan in the family these days is Zoe, my brilliant border collie. She particularly likes shows like All Creatures and Foyle's War--the ones with rural settings, where a scruffy black and white farm dog might wander through a scene.
Of course she does:-)
DeleteThe mysteries were big on my schedule of things to watch, back when I had tv. Morse, Cadfael, and Miss Marple (yes, Hallie, ONLY Joan Hickson's Miss Marple) were my absolute favorites. And, yes, the intro was and remains amazing as were the hosts! I have enjoyed some of Grantchester on dvd and hope to see some of Endeavor the same way (big plug here for our library system!).
ReplyDeleteEndeavour is wonderful, Flora. I highly recommend watching the seasons in order.
DeleteWow! The library has 7 seasons of Endeavor! I didn't realize here would be that many. Season 1 on hold and I'll be awaiting delivery! So many other good shows here, too, I think I'll make a list and start checking my library for them.
DeleteI loved the first year of Endeavor and the middle years disappointed me. I am beginning to like Endeavour again with the new shows.
DeleteThe first thing I watched on PBS, I'm pretty sure, was The Six Wives of Henry VIII. It first aired in England (BBC production), then on CBS in 1971, but I didn't see it until it was shown over six weeks on Masterpiece Classic, years later. All my friends were glued to the TV for it.
ReplyDeleteI didn't watch much TV at all then, and in particular did not watch PBS because, despite the first public television station being here in Cincinnati (WCET), the signal was very weak in those pre-cable days. We only got five channels, and that was the weakest by far.
What a shame, Karen! We've always been fortunate to have a strong signal from our local PBS station. And still are, as we no longer have cable or satellite. We are all streaming now except we get our local stations through a big antenna. Remember those?
DeleteI gave up cable TV 4 years ago and my physical TV antenna does not work for Canadian channels since they discontinued analog cable. But I think you can watch still PBS online, right?
DeleteWe still only have basic cable (it comes with our landline/Internet access), but we also have a whole-house antenna, and still get local channels best that way. Now that they are digital there are dozens of "secret" digital channels that are only accessible via antenna TV.
DeleteYes, it is possible to watch PBS online. With my tv on the blink, I have been watching more PBS shows online.
DeleteThanks for the memories. (Yes, I'm hearing the song in my mind now) I didn't have a tv when it all started,(as a result I didn't recognize one of the stars on the streets of Stratford, very first trip to England) and only saw Forsyte in bits and pieces, when I could catch it on repeat, but I was a faithful viewer of Upstairs,Downstairs and many others over the years. Before VCRs, didn't it partly depend on where we were in our lives? Could we commit to Sunday evening? I saw the first Poldark in bits and pieces , much later - what fun! Foyle's War too - really great. I don't think anyone has said it so far, so I will: I miss Alistair Cook! And I miss the wonderful opening with the camera scanning objects associated with the earlier series! I know why they changed but still...anyone else feel that way? And of course, Alistair Cookie Monster was a brilliant idea at Sesame Street!
ReplyDeleteAlastair Cooke was fascinating, and by far my favorite of all the hosts. I had forgotten that Gillian Anderson hosted for season or two, as did Matthew Goode, who is now starring in A Discovery of Witches! And LOVED Alastair Cookie Monster!!!
Delete"one of the stars on the streets of Stratford," It was Eric Porter, Soames Forsyte himself! 1970 At the height of the Forsyte Saga popularity. My friends laughed at me because I had never seen it.
DeleteI forgot the early quality-setting Elizabeth R with ever-brilliant Glenda Jackson, and The Wives of Henry VIII. Was the First Churchills on Masterpiece? I cant' remember. I watched the first season on video recently, and it was quite good and very entertaining.
ReplyDeleteThe First Churchills WAS on Masterpiece, but I don't remember that one. Is it available to watch somewhere now? I think so much of what we caught depended on where we were in our lives.
DeleteI rented the first season of The First Churchills from Netflix. Very entertaining just as I remembered. Later, it covers some of the same story as recent movie The Favourite.
DeleteI loved the original All Creatures as a kid (yep, I'm dating myself), and my treat to myself after I hit my next deadline (in a week--eek!) is to binge the new version, and order in sushi for lunch. (I know, they don't go together.) As for cursive writing, yes, I still handwrite portions of drafts or notes, or brainstorm solutions when I get stuck by writing ideas out in cursive. Your piece reminded me that in grade school, I entered a cursive handwriting contest, and was so disappointed when I didn't place! (Yep, dating myself again.)
ReplyDeleteI tried watching the Inspector Lynley mysteries on Mystery! but gave up after the first season, mainly because I did not like the actor who played Lynley. The actress who played Havers was ok.
ReplyDeleteGrace,
DeleteThough I was not a big fan of the actor who played Lynley, he was perfect as Inspector Gamache in an adaptation of Still Life by Louise Penny on Acorn TV. The first year was better because the later years became more violent with the murder of the new wife of Lynley. I cannot recall if they were engaged or just married when she died.
DIANA: OK, I agree with you that Nathaniel Parker was better as Gamache than Inspector Lynley, I was a HUGE Elizabeth George fan but when she killed off Lady Helen in the books, that was a real turn-off. I read a couple more books but finally gave up on the series.
DeleteSo many wonderful shows. I loved Foyle's War, the old All Creatures Great and Small (I checked out the DVDs of this one after reading the books and loving them), Poirot, Endeavour, pretty much any Jane Austen Adaptation.... so much to love. Masterpiece has definitely given me a lot of wonderful memories.
ReplyDeleteOh so many to choose from it is hard to pick one favorite. Enjoying All Creatures right now. I loved Downton Abbey, Duchess of Duke Street, Morse and Upstairs Downstairs. I also remember a series about Lillie Langtry that was super good.
ReplyDeleteI remember the Lillie Langtry, too. That was a good one!
DeleteYes! The one about the Jersey Lily was so good.
DeleteDeborah,
ReplyDeleteMasterpiece Theater and Mystery were among the first shows to be captioned on American tv. I'm trying to recall the first shows I saw with captions. I think it was Pride and Prejudice or Love in a Cold Climate.
Love love Mystery! I loved the Gorey cartoons and the staging for Vincent Price. And Dame Diana Rigg. There have been many hosts of Mystery. the new host Alan Cummings just has a blank screen behind him. I do not see him with any props. I met Victoria Price, who is his daughter.
Many favorites on Mystery: I loved Joan Hickson as Miss Marple. She IS Miss Marple. The other actresses who played Miss Marple also had adaptions to the Miss Marple stories. The adaptations are very different from the books. The earlier Poirot stories on Mystery were wonderful. Again the newer Poirot stories on screen are quite a departure from the books.
Loved Inspector Morse, though I never read the books. I did not like Midsommer Murders at first then fell in love with the show on second sight. On Acorn TV, I always watch Midsommer Murders. There are too many to list here. I remember Unsuitable Job for a Woman series by PD James ? the Inspector Allewyn series with that actor whom I see as Inspector Rutledge in the series by Charles Todd. Vera with Brenda Blethyn.
Current favorites: ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL on Masterpiece Theater. Did you know that the actress who plays Helen was on an American show SWITCHED AT BIRTH? Rachel Shenton knows sign language because when her father had cancer treatment, he could not use his voice so the family learned Sign Language to communicate.
Current favoriteS on Mystery! are MIDSOMMER MURDERS and FATHER BROWN.
My TV is quite temperatural these days so I cannot always access the TV so I have been using streaming services more and more.
Diana
DIANA: The earlier series of Morse on TV were totally adapted from the books, so I recommend you read them. Did you see that Colin Dexter (the author) did Hitchcock-like cameo appearances in some episodes? And that he was hard of hearing, so that is partly why he wrote THE SILENT WORLD OF NICHOLAS QUINN? I visited Oxford in the late 1980s and early 1990s when they were filming the series and always hoped I would see Morse's distinctive red Jaguar in the street, but alas, no luck.
DeleteGRACE: Yes!!!! I have noticed Colin Dexter in cameo appearances on the tv series. I remember that he insisted that John Thaw was the only actor he wanted to play Morse. Actually, I spent my studies abroad at Oxford (not quite a junior year abroad). Being hard of hearing is a different bailwick from being profoundly deaf. A classmate gave me a copy of The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn and I hated that story because he was the murder victim. I loved the other stories, though. Back then, I was not interested in reading the books. Now I think I could read the books. Thanks for the reminder.
Deleteso many good ones, but I really got hooked with The Flame Trees of Thika.
ReplyDeleteYes, that was one of the first shows I saw with captions on Masterpiece theater.
DeleteI remember that one! What a treat!
DeleteOh, I'd forgotten that one was on PBS. Hayley Mills!
DeleteBut I just recommended the book to my daughter who just moved to Kenya. She actually has a flame tree in her yard in Nairobi.
Yes, Hayley Mills! I'd love to see that one again.
DeleteOh yes, I remember watching The Flame Tress of Thika...that was a good one.
DeleteHayley Mills appeared on one of the Midsommer Murders shows.
DeleteOuch. I just lost my post. My introduction to Masterpiece was The Six Wives of Henry VIII. After we married we were big fans of Upstairs, Downstairs (I lost it when Hazel died of the Spanish flu), Lord Peter Wimsey (bought all the books and read them), Flambards, Flickers with Bob Hoskins, All Creatures Great and Small, Rumpole (she who must be obeyed). So many wonderful programs. Downton Abbey became a multi-household tradition. Me, my sister, and Mom all watched in our respective homes with strict instructions to the guys for no interruptions, no phone calls. I, Claudius was sensational. I later caught the original version with all the nudity. Holy cow! I also enjoyed the latest Poldark, Indian Summers, Beecham House, Sanditon. They just seem to have gotten better and better in recent years. I still remember Alistair Cooke talking about how when the Great War ended he was a small boy and saw unknown items in a shop window: baked goods with sugar.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you mentioned Flickers! My favorite head and shoulders above all the others. Hoskins and Frances de la Tour were perfect, the script was sharp and funny and the characters really grew on you. I teach that series in screenwriting classes.
DeleteI had just finished reading The Woman in White when I saw my first Mystery episode. I don't remember what was on TV but I remember watching the intro and thinking, "didn't I just read this book?" That into is a wonderful piece of art. Just about any Mystery series was on my watchlist. Prime Suspect, Sherlock, and Endeavour may be my favourites. Thanks everyone here for reminders of stores I had forgotten, especially The Flame Trees of Thika! For me there is still only one Pride and Prejudice worth watching though my all time favourite series is Foyle's War. Was UXB on Masterpiece. That was Anthony Adams, too, I think
ReplyDeleteYes, UXB was on Masterpiece. Anthony Andrews was just dishy.
DeleteIndeed he was.
DeleteMost definitely I remember liking the series a lot. A long time ago.
DeleteDeborah, I forgot to mention another recent favorite!
ReplyDeleteMasterpiece has been showing CALL THE MIDWIFE and I love that series! They showed UXB on Acorn TV recently and I agree that Anthony Andrews was dishy. Recently, he played Tommy Tuppence to Greta Saachi's Tuppence in a Miss Marple mystery. NOW that Miss Marple story on tv was very different from the book because I do not recall Miss Marple meeting Tuppence and Tommy in the books.
Diana
P.D.Jame's 'Taste of Death' on Mystery. An Adam Dalgleish story.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love Masterpiece, but I especially love Mystery! The Edward Gorey opening is absolute perfection. Dame Diana Rigg was my favorite host.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love Masterpiece, but I especially love Mystery! The Edward Gorey opening is absolute perfection. Dame Diana Rigg was my favorite host.
ReplyDeleteI do not think it was on Masterpiece nor Mystery. Among my favorites was AS TIME GOES BY with Judi Dench and the late Geoffrey Palmer who died a few months ago.
ReplyDeleteYes! . . . and the days before VCRs, friends did not call friends during Masterpiece Theater.
ReplyDeleteI showed my Shakespeare class the Sesame Street "Monsterpiece Theater" version of TAMING, first setting them up with an introduction of the serious and scholarly exploration of the the play. <3
I seem to be the only one who fondly remembers “Reilly, Ace of Spies,” about a real life guy who spied for Britain pre, during and post WWI. It starred a young Sam Neill. I remember Alistair Cooke relating an anecdote from Ian Fleming in his introduction. During an interview, someone asked Fleming why James Bond had not done something or other in his latest book and Fleming replied something like, “Well,Bond is no Sidney Reilly, you know.”
ReplyDeleteOther favorites include the 80’s version of Love In a Cold Climate and the Sharpe stories by Bernard Cornwell, which started an obsession with Sean Bean, shared with my three daughters.
Yes, I remembered Reilly, Ace of Spies, which was similar to James Bond without the tech gizmos.
DeleteMiss Scarlett and the Duke is taking me a minute to warm up to, but All Creatures is Masterpiece at its absolute best! Gorgeous scenery shots, delightful characters - everything you could want on a Sunday night!!!
ReplyDelete