General Chat

I fell asleep in part two :-( :-( :-( but enjoyed last nights episode.

It's a very good production :-) :-) :-)

Pat I agree the acting is superb.

Good to hear you are also enjoying it Von.

Well that makes three of us :-)

Well I am watching it top notch tv dramatisation.
The casting is spot on.

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/feb/04/wolf-hall-recap-episode-three-purse-strings-cromwells-hands

If you have never read "Wolf Hall / Bring Up the Bodies" and know little of Tudor history then this series provides little education. If your main source is "A Man For All Seasons" then the plot seems all wrong... Wolf Hall is for middle English history aficionados ... or anybody who found Machiavelli's "The Prince" entertaining and thought provoking e.g. Tudor kings, Russian presidents.

How many people today know who William Tyndale was?

Another problem is the lighting. Peter Straughan is trying to provide the right ambiance which was of course of an era lit by candlelight if it was lit up at all. He seems to be aiming for the look of a painting brought to life...

If you have a late model high contrast HDTV then you have a reasonable chance of picking up the subtleties especially with the house lights turned down. On a budget 19in standard def. tv the picture is decidedly muddy.

Bones ? Yet another pot boiler from the HQ of dumb TV and news Fox TV. I wouldn't give it 10 seconds. "Silent Witness", "Waking the Dead" and "Spiral (en Grenages)" are far better.

US justice in real life is notable for its cavalier disregard of evidence which diminishes what little credibility Bones has even at the get go..

Well that's 4 - anymore out there???????????? :-D

I'm loving it too - when there was talk of making a series, I thought of David Morrisey for the part of Cromwell, but Mark Rylance is superb, as are the other cast members. I love 'A Man for All Seasons' too - interesting how More's character is often polarised. Perhaps the truth is somewhere in the middle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyndale_Monument

Great place for a walk on a nice day...and surprisingly popular. Our dog got very playful with a large family of very friendly, very red-haired Americans who were bowled over by the place and surrounding countryside.

Oh good our numbers are growing :-)

I read a load of books on English history which I find
enjoyable, must get round to reading about my own
Scottish history, but can't find a book/author that fits the bill.

I love it too and I think the daylight/candlelight lighting works well.

I was talking with friends about it only this morning and, while they are enjoying it, they are finding it a bit confusing sorting out the different relationships. Neither are really history buffs nor have they read the books, so I wonder if numbers have dropped a bit because people are finding it a bit confusing and not quite what they were expecting.

Could be Vera which is a shame because they
could always Google to read up a bit on the subject.

As you say not everyone is into history.

Still have the 2nd and 3rd episodes to watch.

Even though OH said he was pleased to have seen Ep 1, its a fine balancing act between what he wants, I want and we want to view of an evening.

BTW Rollo - we ARE watching Spiral on a Saturday evening, even though our French is very very basic. ;-)
Bring back Montalbano (sp) - that was far more visually expressive
The common denominator? Dead people :-D

I was going to mention the monument Sheila so you saved me the trouble. I don't think anyone who studied history at school when I did in the fifties would have a problem, the tudors tended to be popular then. A good series it is a little dark to watch but I think that works to add atmosphere.

"BTW Rollo - we ARE watching Spiral on a Saturday evening, even though our French is very very basic"

Good job too a lot of the French is very coarse and an accurate translation in the sub titles would get the program into hot trouble. Those who do understand Parisian argot it are the least likely to object.

English bad language has not changed much since the days of Chaucer and Wolf Hall is accurate about that.

Nudge for tonight :-)


Edit..... And congratulations to the author on becoming a Dame.

This is by far the best period production that the BBC have produced since "Great Expectations". All on its own with no ads it stops me griping about the license fee.

Audience numbers ? Who cares more people go to watch Spurs than see Tosca. That does not make Tosca rubbish. The Beeb is happy with 2.5M or 3M inc catch up.

(purrs)

It seems strange airing it mid-week. It has more of a Sunday feel to it.

The " One Show" on BBC 1 is coming from Hampton Court. Very interesting.

If you aren't watching it will be available on I player.

Another good episode last night.

The acting is wonderful and imo the actors were
cast in the right roles.

Watched the latest episode last night. Wonderful acting, hope it gets the recognition it deserves when the awards are given. :-)

Some people don't know what they are missing but world TV moguls are happy...

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/feb/15/bbc-worldwide-showcase-wolf-hall

Mark Rylance is on Desert Island Discs R4 ... now!

Nudge for tonight

Such a shame that this series finishes next week.