Kudos to PopWatchers Jonas and Rodney (Fixer fans unite!) for voicing their anger at BBC America’s importing of so many reality shows but not enough dramas. Now, I won’t bite the hand that feeds me some very good stuff. It’s my preferred channel after all. I never miss a Gavin & Stacey. And I owe them for introducing me to Dylan Moran in Black Books. Moreover, I actually enjoy BBC America Reveals (476-lb teenagers, man whores, mums-who-are-really-dads, and all). But that doesn’t mean I’m not frustrated when I curl up hoping to catch some MI-5 or maybe a Green Wing and I’m stuck watching You Are What You Eat. Trust me, I already know that if you cut me open you’ll only find tuna fish sandwiches. I can also do without ever witnessing someone else’s waste matter whiz out through a plastic tube during her colon cleanse.
Conversely, there are several projects airing in Britain this fall that I want to see. BBC and ITV2 released their autumn promos last week (watch them here and here) and the pickings are mighty good. Some we’ll definitely get: Kenneth Branagh’s Swedish detective show Wallander hits Mystery! next summer, along with the new Marples and Poirots. God on Trial airs on Masterpiece Contemporary this fall. And Merlin, starring y’alls favorite Anthony Head, drops on NBC soon (check the seductive trailer here). But I’m yenning for more. Find some excellent options after the jump…
1. Andrew Davies’ adaptation of Little Dorrit with Matthew Macfadyen (pictured). Masterpiece will show Oliver Twist and The Old Curiosity Shop in 2009, so I’m betting Dorrit isn’t far behind.
2. Peter Moffat’s Einstein and Eddington with David Tennant (pictured). HBO co-produced this biopic — thus, it better be in our future.
3. Mutual Friends with Marc Warren, Macfayden’s real-life bride Keeley Hawes, and Coupling’s Sarah Alexander. Whether he’s Danny Blue (Hustle), Elton Pope (Doctor Who), or Dominic Foy (State of Play), Warren’s flawless. Just see the ad.
4. MI-5 with Richard Armitage (sample that BBC promo again). Did we not dutifully watch the previous seasons on A&E and BBC America? Crikey.
5. Tess of the D’Urbervilles with Hans Matheson. Sure, the1998 adaptation featuring Justine Waddell and Jason Flemyng doesn’tseem that long ago. But with The Street’s David Blair directing and The Tudor’s Matheson starring as evil Alec, I’d tune in.
6. Lost in Austen with Hex’s Jemima Rooper. Critics call it “Life on Mars meets Pride and Prejudice.” Austen’s already airing in the U.K. and some kind person put the pilot on YouTube.
Runners up: Britannia High (not digging an English HSM, but if there’s a British show I can get my ten-year-old cousin stoked for, this is it), Apparitions (much like my old favorite Strange), and The 39 Steps (my pet spy story meets my pet Hitchcock movie meets my pet actor Rupert Penry-Jones).
Now tell me, what British shows are you dying to see? Criminal Justice with Ben Wishaw? Burn Up with Penry-Jones? Marple: A Pocket Full of Rye with Macfadyen?
And here’s your Bits and Bobs Calendar for the week:
Monday (Sept. 8th): Keira Knightley guests on CBS’ Letterman at 11:35pm. Sophia Myles visits Craig Ferguson to promote Mister Foe at 12:35am on CBS.
Tuesday: To The Manor Born: The Complete Series premieres on DVD. Paul Weller performs on Letterman.
Wednesday: This week’s Must Listen: BBC Radio 4 airs a special one-off radio broadcast of Torchwood. At 9pm, BBC America plays the all-star comedic charity show The Secret Policeman’s Ball.
Thursday: Leona Lewis performs on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (check local listings).
Friday: At 11:35pm, Ricky Gervais talks to Letterman about Ghost Town and hopefully Karl Pilkington (who has a new book!). Download the free clip advertising their upcoming podcast here. Hugh Laurie hits the The Tonight Show.
Saturday: At 7pm, the Daleks take Manhattan in a rerun of a season three 1930s NYC-set Doctor Who (followed by the Primeval season finale at 9) on BBC America.
Sunday: Mystery! reairs Ruby in the Smoke, starring Billie Piper as Philip Pullman’s orphan/sleuth Sally Lockhart at 9pm.
I wish David Tennant was a bigger star in the US – I love him! I am not really a huge Dr. Who fan, but watch it just for him.
I’m a history buff, so Einstein and Eddington looks like it will be pretty cool. Hopefully, HBO will air it soon.
Aubry, you have more than made up for your omission of Matthew Macfadyen in previous columns by featuring him so nicely in todays (an interview would be a nice bonus, not to be greedy or anything!). Thank you! Little Dorrit promises to be British television at its period costumed best – there is quite an excellent cast to back up Mr. Macfadyen. Miss Marple will probably air here before we get Little Dorrit on DVD, though (heaven forbid it air on BBCA!) – but luckily I will have him in theaters in Frost/Nixon to tide me over. It is going to be a great fall for Matthew Macfadyen fans!
I so want to see Einstein and Eddington! I did a double take when I first saw your photo of David Tennant and then figured you had to be talking about Einstein and Eddington after the jump.
Yay Marc Warren! He did a guest spot on Life on Mars too, so different from his role on Doctor Who that it took me a while to figure out where I recognized him from.
Also, Little Dorrit, Freema Agyeman’s in that, right?
Yup, rebecca, she plays Tattycoram.
If I lived in England I would just watch television all day long.
Two from Stephen Fry: KINGDOM (drama) and QI, the funniest, most informative game/panel show in the world! (Both currently on YouTube)
Most importantly however, TORCHWOOD. Luckily that will be back on BBCAmerica next spring.
Can’t wait for Einstein and Eddington! There are outlets online that those of us in the colonies can use to access shows that BBC never airs for us. tvfreeload.com
Matthew Macfadyen in Little Dorrit, Miss Marple and Frost/Nixon. I’m betting on Masterpiece Theater airing Little Dorrit (fingers-crossed).
So glad to see more mention of Matthew!!
Aubrey, I think I’ve just died and gone to heaven. So many fantastic looking series. My excitement is only matched by the pain of not knowing when I’ll get to see these series. Did I spy the excellent Paddy Considine? I’m also with you on Penry-Jones. There is no excuse for BBCA to not air Spooks or even Casualty.
And I can never get enough Dickens. Looking forward to Little Dorrit.
I just finished the first episode of Lost in Austen (thank you YouTube angel) and I am smitten. I hope that I’ll be able to see more, even if I have to wait for the DVD.
I read about Criminal Justice. It sounded good and Ben Wishaw was great in Brideshead Revisited. I’m looking forward to seeing him again. I never tire of watching Marple and Poirot. I also read a blurb today about the casting of the British version of Law & Order. I may be a ways off, but I hope we can see that, too. And, I’m still hoping to see Ashes to Ashes.
I’m waitng for “Ashes to Ashes” and “Little Dorrit” along with “Mutual Friends.” I almost hope BBCA doesn’t air them because their editor needs to use something other than a hacksaw to edit them. Although, they do edit the comedies with s surer touch.
I’ve seen “Lost in Austen” and color me unimpressed. I’m not a purist but it didn’t work for me. She’s read one book and is hooked?
Kurt Wallander coming to Mystery! Yea! With Kenneth Branagh on board it can’t be too f***d up, can it? Henning Mankell is a genius. I am sure some of the creepier bits have been toned down for tv. Off to google the series right now….