Mission Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 I've seen (and enjoyed) the Sharpe's, Horatio Hornblower and Brother Cadfael series. What else is there out there like those? Mycroft: "My brother has the brain of a scientist or a philosopher, yet he elects to be a detective. What might we deduce about his heart?" John: "I don't know." Mycroft: "Neither do I. But initially he wanted to be a pirate."
jendobyns Posted August 19, 2011 Posted August 19, 2011 By the Sword Divided was an inspiration for 17C. Haven't seen that available anywhere except a couple of pieces on YouTube lately.
seabaroness Posted August 20, 2011 Posted August 20, 2011 Anybody remember Young Blades on the Family channel a few years back? BBC America was running a Robin Hood series, but I'm not sure if it's still on.
Matty Bottles Posted August 20, 2011 Posted August 20, 2011 This might be later than interests you, but Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes is, in my mind, not only the best of the Mystery! series, but he gives the best performance of Holmes EVER. "The time was when ships passing one another at sea backed their topsails and had a 'gam,' and on parting fired guns; but those good old days have gone. People have hardly time nowadays to speak even on the broad ocean, where news is news, and as for a salute of guns, they cannot afford the powder. There are no poetry-enshrined freighters on the sea now; it is a prosy life when we have no time to bid one another good morning." - Capt. Joshua Slocum
Mission Posted August 20, 2011 Author Posted August 20, 2011 Ah, yes, I forgot Holmes. I enjoy the Jeremy Britt Holmes series so much that I bought the entire set. I completely agree with you about Britt - he's one of my favorite Holmes characterizations. (I think he's better than any of the movies I've seen, past or present.) In fact, it was thanks to that show that I went out and got the books. I've read them several times, I enjoy them so much. I watched three or four Robin Hood episodes and it seemed off to me so I stopped. While we're on that, I do enjoy the BBC Merlin series. (Now why I like that and not the similarly modern take on Robin Hood, I couldn't explain.) And I enjoyed the similarly modernized Robinson Crusoe they did a few years ago as well. I've never heard of Young Blades. I'll have to see if I can find it. Mycroft: "My brother has the brain of a scientist or a philosopher, yet he elects to be a detective. What might we deduce about his heart?" John: "I don't know." Mycroft: "Neither do I. But initially he wanted to be a pirate."
Daniel Posted August 28, 2011 Posted August 28, 2011 Not only is Brett a wonderful Holmes, but I love both the guys who play Watson. It's so much better than Nigel Bruce playing Watson as a dunderhead. In the Brett version, Watson is a smart man, who knows Holmes is smarter than he is, and takes genuine pleasure in seeing Holmes out-think him. You can tell that Holmes, if the situation were reversed, would resent seeing himself surpassed, and in that one respect Watson is a greater man than Holmes. I second the recommendation of By the Sword Divided, and would add I, Claudius. Centennial, Michener's fictionalization of Colorado's history, is superb. Masada is more of a miniseries than the type of thing you're talking about, only four episodes, but it's unmissable all the same (be sure you see the full miniseries, though; on no account should you watch the butchered feature film version of it).
Mission Posted August 29, 2011 Author Posted August 29, 2011 After watching the wonderful Derek Jacobi in the Cadfael series I tried I Claudius but could not get into it. There were no real sets on the one I saw, so I kept losing the feeling of immersion. Thanks for the others, Daniel. I'll check them out. Mycroft: "My brother has the brain of a scientist or a philosopher, yet he elects to be a detective. What might we deduce about his heart?" John: "I don't know." Mycroft: "Neither do I. But initially he wanted to be a pirate."
Matty Bottles Posted August 29, 2011 Posted August 29, 2011 After watching the wonderful Derek Jacobi in the Cadfael series I tried I Claudius but could not get into it. There were no real sets on the one I saw, so I kept losing the feeling of immersion. Thanks for the others, Daniel. I'll check them out. Is "I, Claudius" the one where everything is shot in front of curtains? "The time was when ships passing one another at sea backed their topsails and had a 'gam,' and on parting fired guns; but those good old days have gone. People have hardly time nowadays to speak even on the broad ocean, where news is news, and as for a salute of guns, they cannot afford the powder. There are no poetry-enshrined freighters on the sea now; it is a prosy life when we have no time to bid one another good morning." - Capt. Joshua Slocum
Mission Posted August 29, 2011 Author Posted August 29, 2011 After watching the wonderful Derek Jacobi in the Cadfael series I tried I Claudius but could not get into it. There were no real sets on the one I saw, so I kept losing the feeling of immersion. Is "I, Claudius" the one where everything is shot in front of curtains? As I recall the one I saw, yes. Mycroft: "My brother has the brain of a scientist or a philosopher, yet he elects to be a detective. What might we deduce about his heart?" John: "I don't know." Mycroft: "Neither do I. But initially he wanted to be a pirate."
Matty Bottles Posted August 29, 2011 Posted August 29, 2011 As I recall, they were nice curtains. "The time was when ships passing one another at sea backed their topsails and had a 'gam,' and on parting fired guns; but those good old days have gone. People have hardly time nowadays to speak even on the broad ocean, where news is news, and as for a salute of guns, they cannot afford the powder. There are no poetry-enshrined freighters on the sea now; it is a prosy life when we have no time to bid one another good morning." - Capt. Joshua Slocum
Mission Posted August 30, 2011 Author Posted August 30, 2011 I guess I'm a modern child - I prefer realization to interpretation. Give me Sharpe and Patrick scaling a fortress wall over speeches in front of curtains and columns any day. I see on eBay that you can find seasons of By the Sword Divided for Region 4. They're kind of pricey, tho'. Mycroft: "My brother has the brain of a scientist or a philosopher, yet he elects to be a detective. What might we deduce about his heart?" John: "I don't know." Mycroft: "Neither do I. But initially he wanted to be a pirate."
Matty Bottles Posted August 30, 2011 Posted August 30, 2011 (edited) Oh, I agree - I was just pointing out that they at least used nice curtains. :) It reminded me a lot of the first time I notice that Batman was filmed on a stage. Cesar Romero and his goons (appropriately named Goon #1 and Goon #2) walked into the hideout as the camera descended and I remember thinking "How can I see over the walls of the hideout? And then it occured to me that it was a room built inside another, larger room, and suddenly, just like that, the whole series sucked. In other news, I caught an episode of Garrow's Law last night. Seemed interesting, although I think the fashions of the female lead more resemble early/extended Regency than the Georgian 80's. I'm not sure, though. It just seems that way to me. Edited August 30, 2011 by Matty Bottles "The time was when ships passing one another at sea backed their topsails and had a 'gam,' and on parting fired guns; but those good old days have gone. People have hardly time nowadays to speak even on the broad ocean, where news is news, and as for a salute of guns, they cannot afford the powder. There are no poetry-enshrined freighters on the sea now; it is a prosy life when we have no time to bid one another good morning." - Capt. Joshua Slocum
William Brand Posted August 31, 2011 Posted August 31, 2011 If you don't mind reading subtitles, the Zatoichi series has 26 films and 100 television episodes. Classic anti-hero/samurai.
Matty Bottles Posted August 31, 2011 Posted August 31, 2011 I second Zatoichi. There's a heavy irony that runs through the series, and not a cute, tongue-in-cheek kind. Whenever he tries to do something selfless, everybody suffers. "The time was when ships passing one another at sea backed their topsails and had a 'gam,' and on parting fired guns; but those good old days have gone. People have hardly time nowadays to speak even on the broad ocean, where news is news, and as for a salute of guns, they cannot afford the powder. There are no poetry-enshrined freighters on the sea now; it is a prosy life when we have no time to bid one another good morning." - Capt. Joshua Slocum
Mission Posted August 31, 2011 Author Posted August 31, 2011 I actually own an episode of Zatoichi - the one with the wonderful Toshiro Mifune in it. (Toshiro Mifune is the Patrick Hand of samuri flicks.) I also saw an episode of Lone Wolf and Cub somewhere along they way which I liked. I don't mind subtitles a bit - half the movies I watch seem to have them. Mycroft: "My brother has the brain of a scientist or a philosopher, yet he elects to be a detective. What might we deduce about his heart?" John: "I don't know." Mycroft: "Neither do I. But initially he wanted to be a pirate."
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