Smörgåsbord 68

Smörgåsbord 68

Death Comes To Pemberley is a TV adaptation of the PD James continuation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice....with Anna Maxwell Martin, Trevor Eve, etc.

"Anna Maxwell Martin, Matthew Rhys and Jenna Coleman star in this sequel to Pride and Prejudice, adapted from the best-selling novel by PD James, which brings Jane Austen's world back to life in a highly original way - with a murder mystery plot at its centre. The drama picks up six years on from the marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy, as the couple prepare for the lavish annual ball at their magnificent Pemberley home. However, the unannounced arrival of Elizabeth's wayward sister Lydia brings the event to an abrupt halt when she stumbles in screaming that her husband, Wickham, has been murdered. Darcy leads a search party out to the woodlands and finds a blood-soaked corpse - but it's not the body they were expecting to find. Trevor Eve, Rebecca Front, James Fleet and Matthew Goode co-star."

Gangsta Granny 

"Family comedy based on the children's novel by David Walliams. Schoolboy Ben is bored witless after being made to stay with his grandma. All she ever wants to do is play Scrabble and eat yucky cabbage soup. But it turns out there's a whole lot more to this old age pensioner than cardigans and toffees when she tells him how she used to be an international jewel thief - and when she admits there was one heist she never quite managed in her heyday, the pair set out on a criminal adventure. Julie McKenzie stars as the shady senior citizen, with Walliams and Miranda Hart as the boys' ballroom-dancing parents, alongside Joanna Lumley, Rob Brydon and none other than Robbie Williams, with Reece Buttery as Ben."

Moonfleet

"Ray Winstone stars in this two-part adaptation of John Meade Falkner's 19th-century novel following the adventures of an orphan and a grizzled smuggler thrown together on a dangerous quest to find a fabled diamond. Young John is bored of his life in the coastal village of Moonfleet and longs to join the smugglers on their risky raids. But local magistrate Mohune is determined to stamp out the smugglers' activities - by whatever means necessary. Aneurin Barnard, Phil Daniels and Ben Chaplin co-star."

The Thirteenth Tale

"Biographer Margaret Lea (Olivia Colman) is summoned to the home of reclusive and terminally ill novelist Vida Winter (Vanessa Redgrave) to document the author's life. Vida reveals the secrets of her dark and unsettling childhood at ancestral home Angelfield, forcing Margaret to face up to the tragedy she herself suffered as a young girl. Psychological mystery adapted by Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher Hampton from the novel by Diane Setterfield, with Robert Pugh, Tom Goodman-Hill, Steven Mackintosh and Alexandra Roach."

The Tractate Middoth

"In a quiet academic library, John Eldred seeks the help of young Mr Garrett in his search for a seemingly obscure Hebrew text. But there is something unusual about this book and something not entirely scholarly about Eldred's intentions, and Garrett's quest unleashes terrifying apparitions and a vengeful menace from beyond the grave. Adaptation of MR James's tale, written and directed by Mark Gatiss and starring Sacha Dhawan, John Castle, Louise Jameson and Una Stubbs."

Two Doors Down

"Arabella Weir and Alex Norton star in this one-off comedy about Scottish couple Eric and Beth Baird, who are throwing a Hogmanay party for a selection of family and friends, including Norwegian neighbours Henning and Nina, aspirational acquaintances Colin and Cathy, their son Ian's outgoing partner Tony, and Beth's unpredictable sister Caroline. As the drink flows, secrets are revealed, scores are settled and a gazebo is destroyed. Daniela Nardini, Doon Mackichan, Jonathan Watson, Greg McHugh and Sharon Rooney co-star."

======================================================

This is the final post here for 2013. As with other years, old friends of this blog seem to have disappeared sometime during the past year while new friends were made. One old friend who disappeared a few years ago, Geordie-born Ken in Ontario, reappeared sharing his amazing experience of near-death in a car crash, a chance encounter with "the right" neuro-surgeon after a lengthy time of non-cognitive existence, and being re-born! So, people come and people go....things change and life goes on. Thanks to those of you that helped make this effort worthwhile during the past year. Happy new year.