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.
