Television Drama

Television Drama
Television shows have a longer shelf life than most entertainment media so it's being divided into a few categories. Any program that starts to take over it's category might end up with a thread of its own. Here's where you can discuss your favorite dramas.

Well, maybe PBS belongs in a separate, non-network TV thread, but anyway... Masterpiece Theater starts it's Complete Jane Austin series on January 13th with Persuasion. Actually, they've revamped the MC setup. Winter & spring will be Masterpiece Classic, summer brings in Masterpiece Mystery!, and fall will be Masterpiece Contemporary. Each "season" will have it's own host, starting with Gillian Anderson (yes Scully, as well as Bleak House.) They haven't announced the hosts for the other two seasons yet. :sniff: I still miss Alistair Cooke, Russell Baker and even Vincent Price. I was browsing the list of every title ever aired on Masterpiece Theatre. My God - some of the best TV ever: I, Claudius, Forsyte Saga, Jeeves & Wooster, Fortunes of War, Prime Suspect, Jewel in the Crown, Reckless, House of Cards, Upstairs, Downstairs, Wives & Daughters, Elizabeth R, Henry VIII, Shakespeare. (OK, Brideshead Revisited was a Great Performances, and Holmes, Peter Wimsey, Poirot, Rupole, Morse, Marple, Foyle and the first few Prime Suspects were the previously separate Mystery!, but who's to quibble...) House would say, "You got nothing to be ashamed of."

They missed Casanova from that list. They need to show it again (so I don't have to buy it - and FYI, it's a chance to see something rated "MA" on PBS and still say it's "historical"). I grew up watching PBS as we didn't have cable, and I remember watching Masterpiece Theater all the time. Loved it. It's good that they're getting a bit of an update however, especially with Gillian Anderson hosting. (and yes, I did get through all those music literature classes by reading about which composer was sleeping with the lead soprano!)

They missed Casanova from that list. They need to show it again (so I don't have to buy it - and FYI, it's a chance to see something rated "MA" on PBS and still say it's "historical"). I grew up watching PBS as we didn't have cable, and I remember watching Masterpiece Theater all the time. Loved it. It's good that they're getting a bit of an update however, especially with Gillian Anderson hosting. (and yes, I did get through all those music literature classes by reading about which composer was sleeping with the lead soprano!) LOL, arizonamyrie! I got a male friend hooked on PBS when I, Claudius first aired. "Wh-what?! They can show that on television!" And PBS can still beat what cable offers most nights! Besides Casanova, I just know there's something else missing from that list. I'm too tired to remember at the moment. I've also taken PBS intravenously since the beginning, but the facelift sounds like a good idea to me as well. My only gripe is that they shave a few minutes off some shows to fit the US timeslot. I only realize it if I get the DVD or friends from the U.K. send me a "fix". That's when a scene pops up that I know I didn't see before. (Foyle's War is one I know gets this trimming. Grrr.)

Each "season" will have it's own host, starting with Gillian Anderson (yes Scully, as well as Bleak House.) Ah yes, but will she be hosting in her American accent voice or the British accent voice she now has after living in London for the past 4-5 years? (And, I guess, spending a good portion of her childhood there.) I (heart) Gillian Anderson. Gotta admit, she's one of maybe 3 females I'd remotely consider going gay for. :oops:

Hi, I'm Galaxygirl and I'm a Lostaholic. 27 days to go.

galaxygirl you hit a nerve! Lost is like a serious obsession in my family... :lol: We just finished watcing the Season 3 DVD's (me for the third time) and we're counting the days till Season 4. Of course it won't air here until next year (they haven't even aired Season 3 yet--it starts sometime this week), but God bless the internet! I heard that the 4th is only going to be a 16-episode season (AND the last one)...

galaxygirl you hit a nerve! Lost is like a serious obsession in my family... :lol: We just finished watcing the Season 3 DVD's (me for the third time) and we're counting the days till Season 4. Of course it won't air here until next year (they haven't even aired Season 3 yet--it starts sometime this week), but God bless the internet! I heard that the 4th is only going to be a 16-episode season (AND the last one)... The producers have said that there will be three more seasons of 16 episodes. They have the whole story planned out. I'm feeling very hopeful knowing that they have it all mapped out. I've been hanging out here the last few hours. It's one of those Lost experiences games that give clues to season 4. It's very interesting.

Oh, Lost fan here too... So, despite the strike, they already finished the 4th season?

I doubt it. I remember reading they had something like 8 episodes done, or am I dreaming things up again? At least, they have 48 episodes planned to finish their story, so they might just move some episodes to next season.

I doubt it. I remember reading they had something like 8 episodes done, or am I dreaming things up again? At least, they have 48 episodes planned to finish their story, so they might just move some episodes to next season. No, I think that's right. They finished 8 episodes before the strike which constituted some sort of logical arc and people won't be left hanging. At least not anymore than they usually would.

Cool, thanks bailey :) Did everyone hear that ABC is moving Lost into Grey's timeslot? I guess because Grey's is out of new episodes or they are holding on to them. I'm not entirely sure what to think of that, I mean CSI reruns still catch a ton of viewers and Lost hasn't been doing too great in the ratings, I'm not sure moving it to a different night is a great idea.

Cool, thanks bailey :) Did everyone hear that ABC is moving Lost into Grey's timeslot? I guess because Grey's is out of new episodes or they are holding on to them. I'm not entirely sure what to think of that, I mean CSI reruns still catch a ton of viewers and Lost hasn't been doing too great in the ratings, I'm not sure moving it to a different night is a great idea. I stopped watching Grey's after the 3rd season and Lost after the 1st but what the hell, I'm going to weigh in anyway because I'm bored and stuck at work doing grunt tasks on a Saturday. Sigh. At any rate, maybe ABC is just throwing their best weaponry at maintaining respectable numbers for their Thursday nights? Perhaps the aim is to have some consistency for their advertising dollars that night. And even though it's on at a different night, the run of "Lost" will represent actual new, scripted programming that in and of itself should be enough to draw in viewers that are used to seeing it on Wed. BTW, GG, are you glad to have the gasbags out of your state now? :-)

BTW, GG, are you glad to have the gasbags out of your state now? :-) You have no idea how happy I am.

My only gripe is that they shave a few minutes off some shows to fit the US timeslot. I only realize it if I get the DVD or friends from the U.K. send me a "fix". That's when a scene pops up that I know I didn't see before. Well, they shaved stuff from Casanova, but after seeing the UK version, they had to tone it down a bit to make it fit the "MA" rating. Geeg! I cannot wait until that week! Not only is it premiere week, but my class is done by then! Lost! Believe it or not, Henry is my favorite character on the show. Good to hear they actually planned out the rest as it seemed for awhile to just take one turn after another. I think by doing this they'll be able to fill in some of the plot holes. …and Lost hasn't been doing too great in the ratings, I'm not sure moving it to a different night is a great idea. I see what they're doing though - probably moving it to Gray's spot to try to get the viewers who didn't know about the move to watch it and keep watching it. ABC has done some questionable ratings things in the past, including getting rid of Six Degrees while it was still good, but I’m going to trust them on this. And I'm sad. Three episodes left total for Life on Mars on BBC America. :cry:

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