DVD Review: All Creatures Great and Small: Season Three

All Creatures Great and Small: Season Three
(DVD All)

I just recently viewed the third season of All Creatures Great and Small which aired on PBS this Spring and decided that it was time to do a recommendation for this marvelous series. I am a huge fan of James Herriot (aka James Alfred Wight) and have read all of his books and every book that the library owns on him and his beloved Yorkshire. Part biographical, part fictionalized accounts of experiences that he and his son had as veterinarians in the Thirsk area of Yorkshire, James recounts life working in the Yorkshire Dales for the incredible owner of the veterinary practice, Siegfried Farnon (aka Donald Sinclair). This series had been televised before with Robert Hardy as Siegfried and Christopher Timothy as James Herriot back in the 1970s-80s, but this new series has many things going for it to rival the original production. First and foremost, the new All Creatures cast brings a more realistic edge to each character, giving them more emotional growth as they move from childish banter in the early episodes to serious topics such as the beginning of World War II in season three. With this season we see James happily married to his beloved Yorkshire farm girl, Helen, but the possibility of James enlisting as a soldier threatens to tear them apart. The theme for season three seems to be finding love and losing the ones you love as the young men are leaving for war. There are wonderful performances from all of the main characters, but especially from the characters of Siegfried (Samuel West), Tristan (Callum Woodhouse) and James (Nicholas Ralph), the three veterinarians in the practice. I look forward to the next season!

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try James Herriot’s Favorite Dog Stories, all of the books in the All Creatures Great and Small series by Herriot, James Herriot’s Cat Stories, James Herriot’s Yorkshire, The Real James Herriot: A Memoir of My Father by Jim Wright, and the original All Creatures Great and Small series (1978-80 and 1988-90) with Robert Hardy and Christopher Timothy.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film ) | ( official All Creatures Great and Small web site )

 

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

DVD Review: Magpie Murders + Just Desserts meeting reminder for tonight

Magpie Murders
(DVD Magpie)

This is a whodunit that takes place in present day and the 1950’s. Both the original book and this Masterpiece Theatre production were written by author Anthony Horowitz.

 

In the present-day story, author Alan Conway, who is famous for the fictitious Atticus Pünd murder mysteries that take place in the 1950’s, has recently died, apparently of a suicide. He had just turned in his most recent manuscript, but the final chapter is missing! Now his editor is trying to locate that chapter or figure out whodunit in the book so she can publish his final mystery, and also determine what happened in real-life to Conway. Did he actually kill himself?

 

This dramatization constantly criss-crosses between the mysteries of the two time periods – the 1950’s characters in Conway’s book and present-day. Everyone in the Pünd manuscript is based on someone in Conway’s life — and the same actors play them both. It was fascinating to watch how seamlessly this story moved between the two timelines. One of my favorite transitions was watching our contemporary character take a left turn in her car and drive out of our view, and the oncoming car contains our 1955 Pünd and we continue the manuscript’s 1955 story with him.

 

Both storylines kept the suspense going as we tried to solve all of the mysteries. The DVD version did an excellent job of abridging the book while remaining true to the characters and the mysteries.

As usual, an excellent production from the folks at Masterpiece Theatre. You can easily binge this two-disc, six-episode series in an afternoon and evening.

 

If you decide to read the original Magpie book (which I also enjoyed), keep in mind that the presentation is different from the DVD. The first part of the book tells the 1955 mystery as told in the manuscript (but we won’t know its ending yet because that chapter is missing), and the second part follows our editor as she tries to find that missing chapter and sort out Conway’s death. I actually preferred the DVD version of moving between both storylines at the same time.

 

And yes, we find out whodunit in all the mysteries including that missing chapter.

 

(Also available in traditional print format.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this mini-series ) | ( official PBS page for Magpie Murders on Masterpiece )

 

See Scott C.’s review of Magpie Murders in the June 2021 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

 

The print version of Magpie Murders was used as the book for discussion at a Just Desserts meeting in 2021.

 

If you're a mystery fan, you're invited to join us for this month's Just Desserts meeting tonight, February 23rd, at 6:30 p.m. in the 4th floor auditorium of the Bennett Martin Public Library downtown at 14th & "N" St. -- this mystery-themed discussion group meets on the last Thursday of each month, January through October. This month's book assigned topic of discussion is the first three novels by American author S.A. Cosby.

 

Even if you haven't read anything for this specific discussion, you can still participate, and learn about great new mysteries to try! For more information, check out the Just Desserts schedule at https://lincolnlibraries.org/bookguide/book-groups/#justdesserts

DVD Review: The Gin Game

The Gin Game

[DVD Gin] 

 

I picked this film up on DVD from a library display mainly because I was intrigued at seeing Mary Tyler Moore in something other than either The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show or a comedy-variety special. (Sadly, I’ve never seen her Oscar-nominated performance in Ordinary People [1981]). I was familiar with the background of this Pulitzer Prize-winning stage play by D.L. Coburn, knowing that it is most often associated with Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, who performed it on stage for many years, and also appeared in a filmed version in 1981. This made-for-TV film version was from 2003.

 

Moore plays Fonsia Dorsey, a somewhat repressed, and definitely depressed older woman who is uncomfortably trying to settle into life in a senior care facility. She misses her previous life, and can’t bring herself to participate in the forced social activities at “the home”. One day, avoiding interacting with the group activities, she stumbles into the facility’s sun room and finds Weller Martin (played by her former TV spouse Dick Van Dyke), playing cards by himself at a folding table. They strike up a conversation, and discover that they both consider themselves “outsiders” to life in the old folks’ home. Against her protestations, Weller convinces Fonsia to join him in playing the card game Gin.

 

Over the course of multiple encounters, they play Gin, and Fonsia continually wins, exasperating Weller, who thought he’d found an easy mark. Their congenial conversations become more heated and more personal, as Weller becomes more and more frustrated at losing. Ugly truths are shared with each other, making for major dramatic performances from both of these gifted actors.

 

This TV-movie version of this story is fairly low-budget but the performances are top notch. I don’t think I’ve ever been more impressed by Mary Tyler Moore’s range. I strongly recommend this film, but can’t score it better than an 8 because of its abrupt and somewhat unsatisfying ending. My recommendation comes with the caveat that these are NOT Rob and Laura Petrie…so don’t be expecting a genial laugher with this film.

[If you can track down the 1981 version of The Gin Game with Cronyn and Tandy, it’s definitely worth seeing as well.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Review: Won't You Be My Neighbor (on DVD)

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
directed by Morgan Neville [DVD Biography Rogers]

I had the immense pleasure of seeing this documentary biography film about beloved Fred Rogers while it was in the local theaters a few months back, and am excited and proud to have added it to my personal DVD collection as soon as it came out in that format.

This is an absolute charming and well-constructed look at the life of Fred Rogers, particularly focusing on his development of the PBS educational television series, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Through a marvelous combination of archival footage, home movies, and recently-conducted interviews with Fred’s colleagues, family and friends, we see a picture of what influences led Rogers to his ultimate career path. We then also see examples of the thousands and thousands of children, whose lives he touched. I particularly enjoyed seeing him face down a hostile congressional hearing to plead for continued funding for public television.

Though there are many in today’s harsher cultural climate who claim that Mister Rogers had a damaging influence, my own experience was completely the opposite — Rogers was a huge influence on making myself and other kids of my general into better human beings than we might have been had he not had the calling to make his show. I was not the only viewer to leave the theatre with moist eyes after watching this documentary. And I cannot recommend this well-made documentary highly enough. If you’re young enough that Mister Rogers was not a part of your childhood, this film may help you understand some of the quirks of your parents’ generation, and if you grew up with the kind, gentle, reassuring presence that was Fred Rogers and his television Neighborhood, this will certainly bring back some good memories and warm feelings.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Good Neighbor by Maxwell King, or I’m Proud of You by Tim Madigan.] [ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Won’t You Be My Neighbor? web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Wolf Hall on DVD

Wolf Hall
[DVD Wolf]

 am the kind of person who enjoys reading Historical Fiction, especially English or French history. A friend had recommended this series to me and I took the opportunity to watch this over the holidays. The films depict the life of Thomas Cromwell, a lowly blacksmith’s son who rises to become a man of power and influence in the court of Henry VIII. The story is one of intrigue and scandal in a time of great change in England. Thomas Cromwell is at the heart of it all. The sets, costumes and cinematography in this production are simply superb. I am looking forward to seeing more from this series.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Poldark, or Henry V.] [Also available in traditional print format.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this mini-series ] | [ BBC’s official Wolf Hall web site ]

 

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

The World of Downtown Abbey + new Downton Abbey booklist

The World of Downton Abbey
by Jessica Fellowes [791.457 DowYf]

This book delves deeper into the wildly popular television series Downton Abbey. The book is filled with behind the scenes photos of the cast, crew and sets. It also has historical information pertaining to the period in which the series is set. This is a great read for fans of the show who would like to learn more about its historical context. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Below stairs : the classic kitchen maid's memoir that inspired "Upstairs, downstairs" and "Downton Abbey" and Lady Almina and the real Downton Abbey : the lost legacy of Highclere Castle.] -- recommended by Alyse S. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ official Downton Abbey web site from PBS ] | [ official Jessica Fellowes web site ] | [ new If You Like Downton Abbey booklist from Lincoln City Libraries ]

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

If you're a fan of Downton Abbey, and are looking for similar reads, we recommend checking out Scott's brand-new booklist on the libraries' BookGuide readers advisory site -- If You Like Downton Abbey. It recommends dozens of other novels, DVD sets and non-fiction titles that should appeal to fans of PBS's recent hit series.

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.