magdalene

After watching the repeat of the first couple of hours of the superb PBS classic THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN with its compelling and tragic love affair this evening just before Downton ABBEY Mary and Gillingham come across as especially irrelevant and tedious.

Well, I am glad to have the show back. I know it's just as staged as all the other shows on HGTV but I find the positive tone lovely to watch. No whiny and entitled clients and no snooty and put-upon designers. As for Chips goofiness - I would guess he is probably a bit goofy in real life but they make him extra goofy for the show. Maybe one day Joanna will get to do a different kind of design. I would like to see her do a Mid-century Modern kind of home - though I assume those kind of homes are probably rare in the area the show is filmed in.

I like Thomas. I think he is one of the more interesting characters on this soap opera. About once or twice each season the character does something heroic that keeps him from going off into total villain territory for me. And like some of the other characters I think Thomas is a victim of inconsistent writing. And the way Thomas always lands on his feet like a particularly surly and bristly tom cat makes me suspect that one day he will be butler. If the show runs another couple of seasons. I really hope Gillingham is not "the one" for Mary - he and Mary have zero chemistry. Come on - there has to be someone out there with whom Mary will generate genuine sparks.

I am currently rewatching the first series and remember my thoughts on the first episode - the one where Phryne meets both Dot and the Inspector for the first time. I basically thought this was going to be one of those mystery series where the maverick detective has an antagonistic relationship with the police who get to look bumbling to make the maverick look especially competent. I am so glad I was wrong about this.

Thank you! I checked Netflix and it doesn't look like the show is available on DVD in the US.

Have the previous seasons also aired on PBS? I certainly never knew about the show.

I watched last night on PBS for the first time ever and it was so engaging and interesting. And I say this as somebody who is at best an adequate cook and baker with no ambition to improve my skills.

I watched the final episode of Poirot last night and thought it was a very depressing episode. Of course part of it was Poirot dying in it. But mainly I found the way Poirot went out depressing and also the whole case and the atmosphere. And well, everything about it.

My PBS station took Miss Fisher series 2 off their programming for their pledge drive but I checked the schedule and according to it it is coming back December 27.

Is this show completely faked and scripted? I am trying to figure out whether a lot of the home owners could really be as obnoxious and full of outrageous expectations as they come across on the average episode. IMO a good decluttering could solve many of their problems without even any renos. I just saw the episode yesterday where the country guy husband derails the entire reno with his insistence on having a wood burning stove included in the design plans. Mr "I want to participate in the heating of my home" was so annoying.

I will consider it a happy ending if those kids have a chance of a good life without being involved with the club.

I am wishing for an ending that will do justice to the show and the characters. Even if it means that either Raylan or Boyd, or both "don't leave Harlan alive". And Ian McShane please.

Fun episode. And Phryne's sexual escapade of the week made me laugh. I am so fond of her and all these regular characters.

Jack's ex-wife got on my last nerve in that one.

Perfect scene at the end between Jack and Phryne. And lovely how far Dot has come as a character since the series began.

I think this was my least favorite episode of the second season. I totally understand Jack panicking after he thought Phryne had been killed and then distancing himself from her but as a viewer who loves their fantastic chemistry I much prefer when they are grooving along together in perfect accord.

After watching the episode where Jack goes undercover at the radio station and where he plays the piano at the end and he and Phryne sing together I am now totally convinced he is her match.

Wolves are much better parents to their young than the characters on this show.

Yes, I hope your wish will come true. That was an amazing scene for Venus and Tig - and so touchingly played by Kim Coates and Walton Goggins.

Well, Weston is right - Moray is trying to hold Denise back and he is definitely afraid she will outshine him. She is already outshining him. I am very conflicted watching Weston. The character is despicable but I have found the actor awesome ever since I saw him years ago in a series called THE STATE WITHIN. And I dislike Moray so much I want him to be crushed by Weston.

I don't like Moray and I don't like Denise with him. She deserves a man who isn't intimidated by her talent and drive.

This was very disappointing. I found Wickham and Lydia more compelling than this Darcy and Lizzie which just feels wrong to me. Zero chemistry between the leads. And the costuming was awful, especially for the leading lady. I was completely confused too by the characterization of the colonel.

Phryne Fisher. I want to be her and I want her wardrobe. Donna Noble.

Ah, thank you.

I watched the first four episodes of the second season now. Judging by those episodes I think the second season is even better than the first. How I love Miss Fisher and her family and friends and her relationship with "her" police inspector. My favorite so far was the episode where they solve the murder in the Queensland beach town - great scenery and some of the best Jack and Phryne moments yet. And the boxing episode made me laugh at the end when Phryne chose taking a rollercoaster ride with Jack over spending another minute with the vainest would-be-lover ever.