Picky about telly

Summer of Rockets starts tonight on BBC2
I mentioned the Miss Fisher spin-off Ms Fisher’s MODern Murder Mysteries some time back. It’s been airing in the UK but I haven’t spoken about it because… well… I don’t like it! I’ve been hankering for a vintage-set TV series, preferably crime drama, but none of the ones that come on have really hit the spot for me, and I’ve been trying to work out why that is.


Really, I think it’s often a question of attitude towards a time period, and strength of story. The ones I have enjoyed fall into two categories. First there’s stuff like Father Brown, based on actual vintage fiction. The storylines are true to the time period, not a modern story in fancy dress, and the main characters also act like people from their time period. (Within reason; no-one wants the dreaded Attitudes Of Their Time in the background to everything, but there's a middle ground between the prevailing racism and sexism of past decades, and making a hero/heroine a modern person in vintage fancy dress.)

The other sort of vintage-set dramas I’ve enjoyed are those based on a series of novels that give a strong foundation of character even while the setting and behaviour can be rather anachronistic. Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and Murdoch Mysteries are good examples there. Murdoch is very silly now and consciously revels in its anachronism to the point where it’s an enjoyable feature of the programme, making it a feature, and happily bringing in side characters like Nikola Tesla, Harry Houdini and Orson Welles. I don’t mind that because it’s acknowledged, and the way it’s done is unique, and the series’ main characters have weight. Ms Fisher and the 1920s-set Frankie Drake Mysteries have spun off from those shows, and don’t have the same depth; it’s as though we’re expected to accept their weaknesses because we accept them in the parent programmes, but the characters and/or plots that hold the parent programmes together just aren’t there. I could probably forgive the predictable storylines and cliched characters if the visuals felt more authentic; an intricate story would make me overlook the too-21st century aspects of the design*. But the two together is just too much – or rather, too little.

Summer Of Rockets, a miniseries written by Stephen Poliakoff, is due to start on the BBC tonight, and I’m looking forward to that, though I often find the endings of Poliakoff’s dramas a letdown as they start so well. (Dancing On The Edge was an exception.) It’s set in 1958, and is about a Russian-Jewish inventor and his family in Britain at the height of the Cold War. The BBC versions of Poliakoff’s work always have really high production values, so the sets and costumes ought to be up to snuff, and with Toby Stephens, Keeley Hawes and Timothy Spall on the cast list the acting talent is definitely there. It’s not going to be the long-term series I’d like, but if a miniseries is the best we’ll get, I’ll take it.

There are plenty of old novels – crime or otherwise – that would make great TV series. I’d love to see a new televisation of the Peter Wimsey stories, for example. Here’s hoping programme-makers draws on one or two of those for inspiration in future.

Have you been watching and enjoying anything particular of late?


*Hairdos. Always. LET YOUR HEROINES LOOK OLD-FASHIONED, TV PEOPLE.

Comments

  1. I haven't been watching anything at all. Hoping to correct that soon before I forget how to plug in the television.

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    1. I don't think there's much on, to be honest. I have been watching a few of my superhero series, but I don't know many people into those.

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  2. We tend to rely on DVD box sets for vintage - particularly Agatha Christie stuff like Marple, Poirot and Partners in Crime. My partner is a real Christie buff and my first introduction to Tommy & Tuppence was the adaptation starring David Walliams as Tommy. My pet peeve is that nowadays they really have to tinker with plots, add characters, change when the story was set etc.WHY - they're classics!!?? The costumes always look wrong too. Anne with an E seems like a different thing altogether than the charming books and adapations I remember. I didn't know there was a Miss Fisher adaptation - will approach with caution!

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    1. Yes, monkeying with things can cause problems. I quite enjoyed the Walliams Tommy & Tuppence in the end, once I'd separated it in my mind from the books. Can't abide the ITV Marples, though.

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  3. We meant to watch Summer of Rockets last night but haven't as yet. Might have a go on catch up but I have to admit that every Poliakoff series I've ever watched (didn't see Dancing on the Edge) seemed a case of style over substance and left me a bit cold. I do love Timothy Spall and Keeley Hawes though.
    We're currently obsessed with the French cop series Spiral, watched series 1 & 2 when they were on BBC4 but the subsequent series clashed with India. A friend bought me the entire series on DVD and I'm midway through season 4. x

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    1. I watched the first series but never the others of Spiral; I should try to track them down. My most recent hard crime drama was Cardinal on BBC4, though the last episodes were last weekend. I did enjoy that a lot, though the constant linking shots of forests from above made me chuckle - it's like the programme-makers were going LOOK, CANADA! constantly.

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  4. I love Miss Fisher but really didn't like Ms Fisher! I loved the fashions but the stories just felt flat? I also love Father Brown. Have you seen the Mrs Bradley Mysteries?

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    1. I have! And they're very good too. All hail the mighty Diana Rigg!

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  5. Great post!.
    And I agree on Father Brown series or Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (I watched only first season), both of them were fab. However, Frankie Drake made me feel angry and dissapointed, such a waste of time!.
    Looking forward to know more about Summer of Rockets, it looks appealing to me!. I've been missing Agent Carter a lot!
    besos
    besos

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    1. Agent Carter was so, so good. I wish there were more retro superhero shows on telly.

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  6. I sometimes wonder why we're paying good money for digital TV when we hardly ever watch it. A mini series is about as much as I can commit to. Can you believe we've only just started watching Father Brown? I bought a box with the full series at Christmas. It's quite intertaining, but I keep getting diverted by Mrs McCarthy's collection of brooches and her handbag, as I used to have its twin sister. I quite like the sound of Summer of Rockets, though. xxx

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    1. Heh, you do get out and about loads - your life is more interesting than the telly. I've been watching less since getting more into sewing, though probably still watch more than is good for me.

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  7. Yes, I watched summer of rockets and am enjoying it - especially the clothes! Haven't watched anything vintage other than that but have been enjoying the BBC4 detective drama series on Saturday nights. I've also been watching with great interest the three mental health programmes on anxiety; psychosis and depression fronted by Nadia (forgotten her surname); David Harewood and Alistair Campbell.

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    1. I only caught the Alistair Campbell one but it was brilliant. Such an interesting look at his condition.

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  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. I removed this Ronni so no naughty people could scrape your email address! I'll be in touch.

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