The Wednesday Review

Welcome to the first edition of the Wednesday Review!

I will be giving a spoiler-free review of a book or movie or something, always on a Wednesday.*

Today's review:

Season 1

Introduction: Now past its seventh season (8th series, for my British readers), this lovely ITV British detective show set against the backdrop of World War Two stars Michael Kitchen as Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle.  With help from Detective Sergeant Paul Milner (Anthony Howell) and irrepressible driver Samantha Stewart (Honeysuckle Weeks - yes, that is her real name), Mr. Foyle investigates murder, sabotage, and other crimes on the home front.

Blah blah blah.

My Review: This is a fantastic show!  Nobody does detective stories quite like the British - the stories presented here are nicely layered, often involving multiple crimes which may or may not be related.  This makes it hard to guess 'who done it', which is always nice.  The crimes are more complicated than they appear at first, and motives and clues are scattered all over the place.  The stories (there are several in any given episode) are all wonderfully human.

Unlike many period pieces, everyone in this show looks like they stepped out of a 1940s photograph.  It's well directed, the writing is absolutely beautiful, and the acting is very natural and understated (my favorite - the kind that has you leaning forward mentally, wondering what's going on in the characters' heads).

The production values in this season are perhaps not what they could be, but they're not bad, either.  If you're looking for something fast-paced and glamorous, you'd better tune in to Sherlock.  If you want compelling stories, Foyle's War is the way to go.

Statistics:
Episodes in the Season: 4
Episode Length: 98-100 min
Episode Names: The German Woman, The White Feather, A Lesson in Murder, Eagle Day

My Rating: 4.5 stars (out of five)





*Doctor Who Paraphrase: "Every Wednesday?"  "No.  But any Wednesday."

Uninspired and Addicted to Books

There is nothing inspiring about selling a house.

If, like my dad, you're good at landscaping, I suppose it could be an opportunity to create landscape art in the name of curb appeal.

If, like my mom, you're good at interior design, you could potentially flex your creative muscles in a bid to make the inside so welcoming that your buyers insist on keeping all the furniture and accessories (this actually happened once).

I have neither of those skills.  The height of my house-selling creativity has been applying touch-up paint to scuffs on the walls.



I've been taking refuge at Barnes and Noble whenever my realtor needs me out of the house, which is a dangerous thing to do.  I was there for a few hours yesterday, and I was absolutely determined to not buy anything except my lunch.  I was going to completely avoid temptation by not even looking at any books or DVDs.  I even took my netbook to work on a writing project so I wouldn't get bored.

Unfortunately, I brought the wrong cable and couldn't plug it in.

So I got bored.

I played it fairly safe.  I stopped by the reference section.  I glanced at the plays.  I flipped through a couple books about television shows.  I meandered over to the poetry section.  I picked books up and put them back down.  I read bits and pieces and set them aside.  I was doing very well.

Then I started skimming The Mousetrap And Other Plays by Agatha Christie.  And after that I saw the copy of Beowulf as translated by J.R.R. Tolkien, which I'd heard was coming out back in June at the Glen Workshop.

I didn't stand a chance.  I bought them both.

On the plus side, I did get an idea for a Beowulf-related story while reading that book's introduction.  So, basically, I can justify that purchase by calling it research.  As for the Agatha Christie volume...character study.  Yes.  You see?  Research again.  A legitimate, even necessary expense.



Don't judge me.  :)