Wolf Hall Blues

Starting to worry about Wolf Hall - the tv production, that is.

I worried a couple of years ago about the book being such a hit, and now I'm worrying about the tv show. The locations are excellent, the lighting is brilliant, the diction perfectly audible. The costumes are well done - though I'm not so sure about the weird dress Anne Boleyn wore last night. The pattern of the fabric reminded me of flock wallpaper, but I have to admit I have seen similar designs in portraits of the Tudors. The style and colour did not suit the actress who plays Anne. In fact, if I'm honest I'm not convinced by her portrayal, But then I didn't like Anne in the book, so it was to be expected I wouldn't like her in the tv production. Mantel did a hatchet job on Thomas More, too. Even Henry doesn't come out of this too well, and I had high hopes for Damien Lewis's portrayal. he so looked the part. Only Cromwell shines as a man who walks a fine line, knowing who is corrupt and when to make his play. I'm only surprised at the number of ladies who seem ready to throw themselves at him and they include Mary Boleyn. Possibly I'm misreading what is being portrayed. Perhaps they saw Cromwell  as a man on the rise and therefore worth cultivating.

But why am I worried? Because the plotline, for want of a better word, is thin.. We all know what the theme is, and every scene relates to that in some way. The editing is sharp. We move from scene to scene at a rate of knots and to my mind without having a scene finished or completed. Several times last night I was jerked to a fresh set of characters while still expecting more from the previous one. Perhaps I should watch it again and see if that feeling still holds.

Gruesome and Graphic

Ann Cleeves, who writes the Vera and Shetland stories, claims Scandinavian fiction treats women victims badly. She doesn't like graphic violence against women and children. Her work is less violent because "we tend to write what we want to read." 

There have been studies on violence against women in the thriller genre. Is it necessary, or for entertainment? Some say it reflects sexism in society. Others think if a strong female predominates, such as Gillian Anderson's character in The Fall, then it is OK to have such violence against women. What do you think?

I think there is graphic violence right through tv these days, and often it is so gruesome I won't watch. Luther was one of these, and The Wire another. Somehow it has become a race for tv shows to show more and more graphic violence, often but not always against women. I don't want to see a man or child or a woman - or an animal - tortured. I don't read enough thrillers to know if the violence is in the text before it translates to the screen. I do know it is labelled as realism, sometimes gritty realism. I now know enough to be very wary of programmes hyped with this sort of label. 

It is possible to buy and read, or borrow and read, non-fiction accounts of forensic investigations into murders which - you would think - would turn the stomach of the ordinary citizen. Yet murders and stories of murderers have always had a fascination. When I worked in a public library the murder/war crimes section was one of the most popular. It seems the general public wants to be horrified, or turned on by graphic violence in the same way they want to be scared by vampire and ghost stories. 

 "I'm aware families sit around the telly to watch Vera, which is making entertainment out of murder," said Cleeves. "But I don't enjoy reading about people's pain. I tend to put myself in that position and it's not somewhere I want to be."

 I'm afraid that Ms Cleeves and I buck the trend. A lot of people do enjoy reading about people's pain and watching actors deliver it on screen.  Until they start avoiding or switching off, it will go on being delivered and will very likely get even more gruesome, if that is possible.

Telly Adict

What I wonder, will replace Borgen on our Saturday night tv screens? This series did not have the punch of the earlier ones, but even so, it was enjoyable, with competent acting and adequate storylines. Everybody settled down into a happy ending, except perhaps for the buxom redhead who leaked secrets to the other political party. Kaspar simply moved on after separating from Katrina while she wallowed in recriminations and bitterness for a while. Probably typical of many breakups. Birgitte is happily settled with her Englishman, who seemed too good to be true in many ways - there when needed, happy to take a seat in the background of her life when not. I often wondered how he made his living.

The other joy of tv for me at the moment is Last Tango in Halifax. Anne Reid is a delight, Jacobi looks alternately frail and robust depending on which sweater he wears. The daughters Caroline and Gillian are so well written and cast - so different in every way, but each with an urge to reach out and confide in the other. I laughed aloud at the scene in the hotel where they went for lunch and went on to discuss a venue for Alan and Celia's Big Wedding (as opposed to the Small One). Offered champagne, they drank it, and fell about in giggles when they realised the staff thought they were planning to marry...

Then there's John and Judith - she's a librarian, and full of angst about writing a novel, which John has already done. Squabbling about women starting wars, John listens, his saturnine face the picture of defeat as Judith demands "How many women do you know who started wars? It's always men!"
"Thatcher!" John snaps, and then, gathering steam, reels off a whole list of women from Cleopatra to Elizabeth I  and beyond while Judith sulks in silence.

I must discover the writers and see what else they've done. They may even have written novels.

My favourite policeman

Why do I like Inspector Montalbano?
Hard to  pin down. The long promised series of four began on Saturday night on BBC 4, and did not let me down. I've been watching the Young Montalbano for the last six weeks, and while I enjoyed them, they did not have quite the same pull. It was interesting watching the friendships form, and the actress who played Livia was certainly prettier than the original. But now we have a third actress playing the character in the new series. It's odd that  the character seems to never quite gell - either that, or the original actress moved on to other work . It's a pity, because the character is Salvo's long term girlfriend, so she is important.

I like the scenery, but that's not what makes me watch it. I like the fact that it is sub-titled because then I can catch all of the plot. (So many actors mumble or talk away from the microphones today that I miss quite a bit. Maybe the sound engineers are not so well trained? Just a thought.) I like the characters. Ingrid, the very tall Swedish lady for instance, who drives like Fernando Alonso. Fazio who always looks worried. Mimi Augello, who cannot resist an attractive woman. Catarella, who mangles every message and constantly falls into Salvo's office instead of walking through the doorway like everyone else. I was happy for him when it was discovered that he was a whiz with computers.

I like the actor who plays Salvo Montalbano. He's in his early fifties, like the character written by Andrea Camilleri, and he's nicely relaxed in his well-cut Italian jackets that fit his chunky frame so well. He's somewhat bandy-legged, but that only adds to his charm. There's a warmth to him that comes over even when he shouts at Catarella for mangling messages, and the way he handles grieving widows and frightened orphans makes me blink back the tears. He's cunning, easily roused to jealousy and goes into raptures over seafood. All in all, a real character. Long may he continue to delight me. To discover more reasons for my affection, click and read this piece :
 http://www.crimetimepreview.com/2012/11/inspector-montalbano-why-its-best-show.html. 

The author did not write until he was 53, and he's now 81 and still writing, so there's hope for us all.

The photo comes from Lucca Zingaretti's Facebook Fans page.

Downton and other TV Blues

The Black Bull at Matfen

Like 9.5 million other people, I welcomed the return of Downton Abbey at the weekend, but I have to say it had better pull its socks up because the first episode was very close to boring. The most exciting thing to happen was O'Brian disappearing into the night leaving only two notes behind on the mantelpiece. Not that she's a loss, really. I never liked her, and she is the one who spoilt the Granthams' last chance of producing an heir.

But the programme didn't sparkle. Perhaps it is hard to sparkle when there are widows and relatives in black all over the house and neighbourhood. Lord Grantham is being absurdly dictatorial and instead of giving stick-thin Mary a shake or two, he continually urges everyone to let her be; let her grieve in peace. Silly man.

New Tricks is not what it once was, either. I cannot warm to Nicholas Lyndhurst, and James Bolam was right when he complained some time ago that the story lines were getting decidedly stodgy. I miss Alun Armstrong. Dennis Lawson is OK but he has little to work with scriptwise or colleague-wise. Lets hope Tamzin Outhwaite can inject a bit of life into the show.

And then there's Doc Martin. I loved this series and have watched the old series more than once. But this time the stories have lost their originality, and Louisa has become a nag. The focus could well switch to Ruth Ellingham if they're not careful. Penhale is still a delight in well meaning stupidity, and Bert and Al are as good as ever. Even Morwenna raises a smile. But I wish Martin would give Louisa a taste of his usual medicine sometime soon. Very soon.

Autumn and the young Montalbano

Many people seem to be leaving Yahoo and setting up groups on Facebook. I've had a look at the FB page for one of my groups and no doubt I'll get used to it as I once got used to Yahoo, though at the moment I don't see how to upload anything to anyone. It will be interesting to see what Yahoo does in response to the general voting with feet that is taking place.

Autumn is setting in here. There's no doubt about it. Our central heating has tripped in for a couple of mornings now, and the leaves are starting to turn. Acknowledging the seasonal change, I've booked our usual autumn short break away on the west coast of Scotland late in October. We've been to Crinan before and the hotel is right on the edge of the sea with wonderful views and a great seafood restaurant. It will be Tim's first trip away, but I'm sure he'll cope. Dogs are allowed everywhere in the hotel but the dining room.
Meal times might well be the only problem, as I'm not sure how he'll react to being left while we eat.

Autumn tv is good at the moment. There are plenty of good things to look forward to, and one of the best is The Young Montalbano. This is a spin off of the first series with Lucca Zingaretti as the charismatic Inspector Montalbano. It is a real joy - slow-paced but with intriguing stories
and enjoyable excursions into the comedy and tragedy of Scicilian life. There
are many aged actors playing smaller parts with  gusto and integrity. For those who speak Italian the series must be a joy, and even for those of us who rely on sub-titles, the voices and the rhythm and speed of the dialogue is great fun.

The scenery makes me want to go to Scicily, particularly Ragusa, where the cathedral  perches on its hill like a wedding cake on its stand. There's great attention to food, since Montalbano, in both incarnations, is a foodie, and he visits people who live in ancient farmhouses, pig pens and crumbling mansions with wonderful courtyards behind blank facades. Above all, the allure is the slowly unfolding of characters and the minor happenings of everyday life add moments of pathos and comedy.

The younger Montalbano is Michele Riondino, and he has captured many of Zingaretti's mannerisms - including his thoughtful grunt on being given information. He's taken up swimming in the Med, which always opened the programme, and he has found his beautiful house on the beach. Fazio has appeared, so now we have to meet Livia, his long time girlfriend. All the actors have changed, but the characters are the same and it is delightful to see how the friendships were formed in the years before the Zingaretti series. I'll be watching, and hoping for more than a series of six.

The same cannot be said for What Remains, which aired it final episode on Sunday. The programme descended into stupidity with almost every occupant of the house having murdered someone. If you haven't watched it, don't bother catching up on it.

Late plots

There, he's got the cup, won the match, worn his
Thunderbirds-are-go jacket and it's all over for
another year.

Good thing, too, as we've had horrendous rain today. I am, at last, back to work and wondering why it is I only have INSIGHTS into plot development once I've written the damned chapter. I romp on to chapter Eleven and in the middle of the night realise I should have had Mary turn up at the dance in Chapter Seven and flirt with Holbrook. She is conspicuous only by her absence.
So back I go and insert all the relevant bits, and wonder what I'm going to think about chapter eight, nine and ten once I've reached fifteen, sixteen and seventeen.
I think I'll go for a walk and ponder before I go any further.
There's lots to ponder. Why, for example, the media currently rules the world. Why people seem to go into national hysteria mode when a famous person dies these days. Or perhaps they don't, perhaps I only think they do because the media tells me they do. Was it like this for Valentino? Lennon? Or do the subjects have to be realtively young and goodlooking? I noticed no hoo-ha for Sinatra, but maybe I was looking the other way.
24 hour news on hundreds of channels requires 24 hour stories to tell and there are so many journalists trying to make the grade out there...am I a cynic for thinking that sometimes they well, tweak a story to make it interesting? On the one hand I hope I am; on the other, I'm sure I'm not. I am divided, and let me tell you, it is uncomfortable!

Squirrels in the snow

We had a dusting of snow yesterday. It was hard to tell if it was a severe frost or snow at times, but it certainly looked pretty and the temperature was minus 1.5C in the sun mid afternoon. We went to Wallington and had the beautiful grounds to our selves. I think we passed only a dozen people in two hours.

We saw this little squirrel foraging like crazy and I have lots of pics of them with heads down and tails up! The National Trust have taken down the feeding stations because they fear they spread the pox that the greys carry, which is good, but it means the little fellows - and they are little - have to work that much harder in this cold hard world.

This is the landscape in which they live. Overnight we've had more snow, and it is snowing as I look out of the window so I'm not going into town for shopping and lunch with a friend as planned. "Half and inch of snow in the UK and chaos ensues on the roads as every one drives as if they are an old-age pensioner" commented someone on the radio this morning, and much as I resent the Old Age Pensioner tag I have to admit it is true.

So it is back to work again. I'm running through Till the Day Go Down (the new title I've given Warden's Bride) before offering it to my publisher. I knew I needed a better title because the heroine never became the bride of a Warden, but it gave me a tag to hang on to until I thought of something better. The next thing is to try my hand at loglines for it. I find it really hard to condense the story down to one sparky sentence. "Confident Harry finds his mission and life endangered when he runs foul of Alina's brutal father. " Doesn't seem like enough, does it?

I have to add that I'm revelling in the ITV3 concentration on historical fiction this week. The Jane Austen films and tv specials are being re-run, and there's a lovely series on Costume Drama running alongside. It is a fascinating compilation of clips from old and new historical dramas from Brideshead to Sharpe via Pride and Prejudice. Wonderful! The only problem is deciding wether to watch The Devil's Whore, a new first showing of the Civil War story about Angelica Fanshaw or Billie Piper's Mansfied Park. What a choice - I opted for Angelica. It's pretty gory in parts, but the cast is good and the story sound.

TV

What do I watch on tv? And what does it say about me? If anything at all!

There are some things I'll make an effort to watch. New Tricks. Foyle's War. Doc Martin.
Some I'll watch if they're on and I'm in the mood (ie with nothing better to do.) Frost. Neighbours. Dine With Me.
Sport? - Tennis, Formula 1, Gymnastics when its on the Olympics.
Documentaries? stuff on Volcanoes, Earthquakes et al, Climate Change. New stuff on animals. Some psychology stuff like the new one - What makes me - if that is the correct title. I watched the one on John Barrowman and found it interesting, so I'll watch the next. Stuff about people going to live in France, because we thought about doing it and decided not to.
Films? Nothing too dark, gory, camera jumping all over the place sort of stuff. I watched The Horse Whisperer last week.
Can't think of anything else. How about you?