PERIOD & MORE PERIOD: NEW SHOWS & OLD ACQUAINTANCES

The White Princess

Have you seen episode 1 of new Starz The White Princess? I saw and liked The White Queen when it was on, so I have been eagerly waiting for this new series which was announced as a sequel. However, I'm sure it can be seen as an indepent chapter of the tragic Cousins' War, so don't worry if you haven't seen the previous series.
I didn't expect to like The White Princess, though.  Being a Ricardian, I am supposed to watch it with a scowl, despising King Henry VII (Jacob Collins-Levy),  probably as much as Prince Elizabeth of York (Jodie Comer),  who hated him for killing her beloved uncle (and lover?), King Richard III. But just like her,  I unwillingly accepted  to grant him the chance to prove himself the rightful king of England  and I let him be just the hero of a new TV show.  Beware Henry/Jacob, you'll have a very hard task to make Elizabeth and me change our minds!
Jokes apart, I liked what I saw in the first episode: lavish, intriguing, introspective. Little history, much fiction, but good period drama. Right balance of sex & violence, intrigue & politics. Hence, green lights, Starz! (N.B. Those who are in search of historical accuracy as well as perfect 15th clothing and hair style had better look for academic essays and documentaries).

    Interview with Jodie Comer and Jacob Collins-Levy        Preview episode 2

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - WELCOME BACK, OUTLANDER, THOUGH ... THROUGH A GLASS, DARKLY

One more review

I know we are all a bit dizzy having moved from droughtlander to this flood of new inebriating images, events, stories from the Outlander world, but let me add my own musings to the general euphoria,  will you? I promise I’ll be brief.  As brief as a talkative English teacher + enthusiastic  fan of the series can reasonably be. The following ramblings will make sense only if you’ve seen episode one of series 2. So... spoilers ahead, I’m afraid.

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - DOCTOR THORNE, TROLLOPE & FELLOWES ARE A WINNING PAIR

“Conduct! Is conduct everything? One may conduct oneself excellently, and yet break one's heart.”

I've been watching quite a bit of present-day drama series lately,  but not completely neglecting my search for good period drama. I haven't seen anything in a 19th century costume since War & Peace, actually, but being quite taken by my unmissable Wednesday nights' dates with Rev. Sidney Chambers.  I love Grantchester series 2 even more than the series 1 and, mind you, I was deeply fond of that. I have had to convert, ehm, surrender to the charms of the ginger after Outlander and Grantchester. 

We've had plenty of good series to watch, especially on Sunday nights, so you may have missed this lovely adaptation of Anthony Trollope's Doctor Thorne (book 3 in the Barsetshire Chronicles, 1858). Book 1 and 2 were adapted by BBC as The Barchester Chronicles in 1982 with a stellar cast including the late Alan Rickman.

If you were distracted by the Hiddleston/Colman vs Laurie/Hollander battle of talents in BBC One adaptation of John Le Carrè's The Night Manager and you lost Tom Hollander as the lead in Julian Fellowes's adaptation of Doctor Thorne, don't worry, you can catch up thanks to ITV online player or add the DVD to your costume drama collection. 

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - WAR, PEACE AND A RESTLESS PRINCE

Are you watching War and Peace? 

I am and I like it so much!  I knew I had to wait on a bit to understand if I could love or hate this adaptation of Tolstoj's masterpiece, because I was not particularly enthusiastic at the end of  its premiere. But episode after episode,  I started appreciating the cast, the locations, the performances and the rendition of a story I already knew quite a lot about.  I read the book (war scenes included!) a few years ago, what about you? Have you succeeded in going through the whole thick volume?

The Russian Darcy

Have you got a favourite character? I have and I guess he is a favourite of many. Andrew Davies, who adapted and sexed-up the novel for the small  screen, defined Prince Bolkonsky as the Russian Darcy, and who better than Mr Davies would recognize a Darcy-like hero? Brooding and restless, reckelss and complicated he is perfect new addition to our gallery of romantic, charming heroes, isn't he? 

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - SCANDALOUS LIVES FROM THE PAST

BBC spicies up and bets on period drama after their huge hit show,   Poldark, set on a popular literary saga set in 18th century Cornwall and starring Aidan Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson.  Their unbeatable recipe seems to include sex, great literature, awesome costumes, stunning locations and, last but not least, brilliant casting, I mean,  handsome, talented, popular, familiar faces. 

The three BBC productions showcased in this post - two upcoming ones and one just broadcast - focus on very unconventional lives and openly deal with sex: The Scandalous Lady, Lady Chatterley's Lover and Life in Squares.

I TOOK MY TIME AND WROTE ABOUT OUTLANDER

Descent to Hell

It’s been a long ride, a journey in which I didn’t expect I would invest so much emotionally. It’s only a TV series I know, but it is Outlander, the show acclaimed as the bravest on TV this year, as a milestone which will change the history of TV series. Love it or hate it, what you can't do is ignore it. 

To know in advance and in detail what was going to happen was no protection, didn’t help, didn’t save me from the overwhelming wave of powerful emotions that swept me off my feet. That was more Sam Heughan, you say?

Seriously, now.  It was such a gripping experience! It had been some time since I was last so enthusiastically committed and involved in a TV series.   

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - WHO'S THE ROMANTIC HERO OF YOUR HEART? JAMIE FRASER OR ROSS POLDARK?

Sighs and swooning out there? Yes, I know. I've seen polls spring up all over the Net and wasn't surprised at all.  Ross or Jamie? Aidan or Sam? Poldark or Outlander? Cornwall or Scotland?
Starz Outlander and BBC One Poldark are the two hit period drama series of the moment. Blending adventure and romance, historical fiction and stunning locations, talent and beauty they have got legions of passionate fans all over the world. These fans are quite vocal and convey their enthusiasm in their tweets, facebook pages and their blogs, they read or re-read the books on which the series are based, they discuss them in groups, they create fan-fiction and gadgets, they make friends and have fun gathering together. They love the stories and all the characters in them, they are fond of the locations and costumes, they are intrigued by the twists and turns, watch and re-watch their favourite scenes, learn by heart their favourite lines but ... let's be honest ... the main reason of their passionate interest is their fondness for the two gorgeous, fascinating, dashing heroes: James Alexander Malcom MacKenzie Fraser and Captain Ross Poldark.

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - POLDARK, THE MUSKETEERS 2, BANISHED AND ... OUTLANDER!

Being the period drama freak I am, I have been watching quite a few costume drama series recently. Not as many and as I would wish, but enough, I’d rather say,  for a very busy bee like me.

Outlander (Starz)

Now, first things first! Looking around my stuff, you may have noticed I’m slightly hooked by “Outlander”. Aye,  I can’t deny the fact I am verra favourably inclined toward the spicy intriguing  historical romance written by Diana Gabaldon and adapted for Starz by Ron D. Moore. I had bravely resisted Jamie Fraser’s charms as long as he remained a book hero,  while now, and  I must blame Scot-to-the-bone Mr Heughan for my sudden astonishing change, the situation has changed and I'm prone to an Outlander frenzy. Indeed. 

I'm watching the series on Fox Life HD on Monday night. The first two episodes have been broadcast so far. I can watch it in the original language and enjoy Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan , Tobias Menzies and the rest of the talented cast perform in their real voices. 

I can’t wait for April 4th ,  when episode 9 will be on Starz with all its burden of marital issues for the newly married  Claire and Jamie and, especially,  with the announced hot scenes of make-up sex.

DRESS LIKE A CRAWLEY - STYLE INSPIRATION FROM THE LADIES OF DOWNTON ABBEY

If you’re anything like me, you sometimes get a little distracted while watching Downton Abbey.

It’ll be the middle of an important scene, full of subtle dramatic tension and all of a sudden, you realize that you’ve completely tuned out the dialogue because you’re studying one of the character’s outfit so closely. 

You get lost in a sea of dropped waist dresses, intricate beading and gorgeous hats.  And you’re also probably thinking, “Is there some way I can get away with dressing like I just stepped off of a sprawling Edwardian estate?” 

The answer, thankfully, is yes.  Well, sort of. 

You may not want to go whole hog period fashion, or you might risk looking costumey, but there are certainly ways you can incorporate the style into what you wear every day.

Color Me Softly

When it comes to a color palette, if you want to fit in at Downton, you should stick to soft shades.  Think colors like dusty rose, pale mint, creams, grays, lavender, and light blues.  The overall effect you’re going for is delicately feminine, so stick to muted tones as opposed to vibrant ones.  You do sometimes see the Crawley ladies in more saturated colors, but that’s only for formal occasions, and only once in a while.

Art Deco Details

The Art Deco design movement can clearly be seen in the fashion of Downton Abbey.  Everything from the jewelry to the details on dresses is inspired by the symmetrical, geometric elements seen in things like the stained glass, furniture and architecture of the time period. 

GRANTCHESTER PREMIERES ON PBS MASTERPIECE

It was on British ITV last autumn and now, on January 18th 2015,  it will premiere in the US, thanks to PBS Masterpiece. A real feast for all our American period-drama-loving friends  who will enjoy this new 6-part drama series , Grantchester, on the same night as Downton Abbey 5. Each Sunday night they will move from Yorkshire to Cambridgeshire and will follow the adventures of their old and new English heroes and heroines comfortably sitting in their armchairs. Two hours of pure Englishness!

James Norton, we saw in Belle and Death Comes to Pemberley, plays an atypical young vicar, Sidney Chambers,  whose main hobby is crime solving. Robson Green plays  his partner and friend,  Police Inspector Geordie Keating.

TEN GOOD REASONS (NOT) TO WATCH OUTLANDER

Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser

  

  

 1.  Jamie Fraser. 

      

Once you meet him, the least that can happen to you is that you get a crush on him. But,  watch yourself! You risk to fall desperately in love with him, become obsessed with him,  and there’s no way back! Mind you: you're warned.

He is strong, brave, witty, generous, loyal, charming, smart, passionate, principled, sensitive, reliable, honest, charismatic, sexually insatiable and handsome.  

And even if you come to accept he is just a fictional character and renounce finding his alter ego in real life, still you’ll go on comparing every man around you to him and … sigh!

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD: TURN, THE STORY OF WASHINGTON'S SPIES

Jamie Bell as Abraham Woodhull

AMC Turn

This was an amazing series! The season finale was broadcast last Sunday 8 June, with an amazing crescendo of emotions but no news of a second series.  I think this story deserves a second season, I would be more than disappointed if it didn't get it. 

An excellent historical fiction drama series,  starring a blend of great British and US actors, TURN  is a period piece that reveals the story of America's first spy ring. 

A historical thriller set during the Revolutionary War, this TV show is based on Alexander Rose's book Washington's Spies. It was developed and written by Craig Silverstein (Nikita), who also serves as showrunner. It stars, among others, Jamie Bell (Filth, Jane Eyre, Nicholas Nickleby, Billy Elliot) , J. J. Feild (Northanger Abbey, Austenland, The Ruby in the Smoke), Seth Numrich (The Good Wife) and Heather Lind (Boardwalk Empire).

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD: LOOKING FORWARD TO OUTLANDER, POLDARK, THE MUSKETEERS 2 & REIGN 2.

Outlander, based on Diana Gabaldon's best selling saga,  premieres on Starz on August 9th. Sam Heughan - 6' 3" of Scottish handsomeness -  wears Jamie Fraser's kilt and boots, while dark beauty Caitriona Balfe is Claire Randall,  a married combat nurse from 1945,  who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743 and ends up caught in the dangerous events that will lead to the Jacobite rebellion, but also in the protective arms of young Jamie.
If you haven't read the books yet, at least the first one in the series, it may sound quite a confusing story, but I'll assure you,  it won't be once you familiarize with its gripping plot and characters.
In the cast also a few familiar faces, like Tobias Menzies (Game of Thrones, Rome, Spooks) and Graham MacTavish (The Hobbit).

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD: REIGN, JAMAICA INN AND NEW WORLDS

Reign: when history becomes a fairy-tale

This series recently wrapped at its 22nd episode after being on US CW Network for months . Though far from being historically accurate, Reign kept faith to the gist of the true history of Queen Mary Stuart and her life at the French court,  as the betrothed of Prince Francis, Dauphin of France. The two royals  were actually married for one year, until he died very young of an infection.

It is a smart series that winkles at teenage  and young audiences with   captivating photography, a somewhat-anachronistic soundtrack, doll-faced actors and actresses, intriguing love stories and a bit of sex, supernatural events and magic, wicked villains and gorgeous costumes. I am definitely not intended demographic, but I liked it,  anyhow. Well acted and well written, the show caught me at first sight.

ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL, THE MUSKETEERS CHARMED US ALL

Luke Pasqualino & Howard Charles on set for series 2

Sorry for the silly rhyme but isn't that true? Those four charming guys with their swords, leather-clad looks, stilish beards and moustache have conquered us all: women and men, children and grown up. BBC The Musketeers series 1 has recently wrapped up with a very positive outcome, both high viewing figures and enthusiastic acknowledgements rewarded production, cast and crew for their good job. 

Luke Pasqualino (D'Artagnan), Santiago Cabrera (Aramis), Tom Burke (Athos) and Howard Charles (Porthos) are back on set in Prague these days , shooting series two, with Tamla Kari (Constance),  Maimie McCoy (Milady), Alexandra Dowling (Queen Ann), Ryan Gage (King Louis) and Hugo Speer (Captain Treville). We won't see Cardinal Richelieu back at court apparently, since Peter Capaldi has started shooting Doctor Who new adventures.

MUCH ADO ABOUT ... MY WEEKEND

It's been long since I last did so many different things in only one weekend!  But this weekend has truly been pretty busy and special.

On Saturday morning I was at school. What's so special for a teacher? Nothing but it is unusual for me, since Saturday is my day off. I had to be there since I was involved in a project and had to take part in two different meetings with two groups of our students to whom I  presented our "Project Anita B."  for the celebration of the International Holocaust Memorial Day (27th January). I'll tell you more about this possibly tomorrow.

READY FOR THE DUEL? THE MUSKETEERS VS MR SELFRIDGE

Dear classic and period drama lovers,

Have you enjoyed Downton Abbey latest season? And what about Death Comes to Pemberley? I really loved them both. Don't you feel a little bit orphaned after the smartest  Sherlock series ever on screen ended last Sunday?  Brilliant,  wasn't it?

Well, this is a blessed time for us. I don't know if we are allowed to hope it'll last long, since period and costume drama series cost quite a lot and even brilliant productions have been cut off  recently. Anyhow, let's seize the moment and stop worrying for what may come.

Just today a new costume series set in 17th century premieres on BBC One. D'Artagnan and his dashing musketteers are back, ready to refresh their roguish fame in the memory of old nostalgic fans as well as to capture the enthusiasm of young new adventure lovers. BBC One's  The Musketeers has been planned as a 10-episode series, was shot in Prague and is co-produced by BBC America.

Fancy a closer look to the new, charming, Sunday night heroes?

HAPPY (PERIOD) CHRISTMAS! DOWNTON ABBEY SPECIAL & DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY

Happy Christmas Time, everyone and all! It'll be a happy time, I'm sure, especially for  my fellow period drama fan friends. 

Aren't you as excited as I am to know we'll find these very precious gifts under our Christmas trees?

I'm thinking of Downton Abbey Christmas Special which airs on ITV 1 tonight, 25 December,  in the U.K.  (season 4 premieres in the U.S. Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014). Are you ready for the  two- hour special episode? 

Shirley MacLaine will be back as Cora's mother and Paul Giamatti will join the cast as her brother. The episode will also feature James Fox as Lord Aysgarth, Guy Williams as King George V (the grandfather to reigning Queen Elizabeth II) and Oliver Dimsdale as the Prince of Wales (Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth's uncle).

MAURIZIO MALAGNINI, AN ITALIAN IN PARADISE - INTERVIEW WITH THE COMPOSER OF "THE PARADISE" SOUNDTRACK

Are you enjoying The Paradise on BBC One or Masterpiece PBS? Have you noticed how beautiful its soundtrack is? My guest today is the composer of the wonderful music accompanying Denise and Moray's story. His name is Maurizio Malagnini. He  is an Italian composer based in London whose work spans drama, animation, documentaries. His music has been broadcast internationally on the main European networks BBC1, BBC2, ITV, MTV, SKY, RAI. He has produced his scores for the Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, L'Ensemble dell'Opera di Roma and his own ensemble, Cinema Paradiso. 

Maurizio has composed scores for popular BBC Series such as "The Body Farm" and The Paradise (Series 1 and 2). Could this lovely costume series be the same without his brilliant score?  I’m sure you have noticed how good the soundtrack for Denise and Moray’slove story is! Are you ready to meet its composer? Welcome Maurizio Malagnini at Fly High and enjoy our little chat below. By the way, don't forget that The Paradise series 2 goes on BBC1 every Sunday night and, if you live in the US,  season 1 is going to end soon on PBS Masterpiece. 

Maurizio Malagnini rehearsing with the BBC Concert Orchestra

What’s the life of an Italian living in London like? Hard? Very hard? Not hard at all? I mean, are there things you miss terribly or can you easily cope with the differences ?

THE PARADISE: WHAT'S IN STORE FOR DENISE AND MORAY IN THE UPCOMING NEW SERIES?

Emun Elliot as John Moray

US costume drama fans will finally have the chance to make their acquaintance with the charming protagonists of BBC series The Paradise tonight, October 6,  thanks to PBS Masterpiece. Episode 1 will introduce them into the world of Mr Moray, the alluring department store he manages in Durham, a town in the North of England,  where strong-willed and ambitious Denise Lovett starts working as a shop girl. The story is loosely based  on Emile Zola's   Au Bonheur des Dames.

BBC 1 viewers,  instead, were left at the end of series 1 in November 2012 with a romantic cliffhanger and are eagerly waiting for season 2, which premiers on 20th October! (watch trailer) . And they wonder: What's in store for Denise and Moray in the new episodes? What about the Glendennings, Katherine and her father? I've tried to guess what series 2 could be like in one of my posts about this series but, apparently, I was wrong ... well,  not completely though. Now I must warn you: don't read on ,  if you mind spoilers!