The Website for People Who Love Britain - Anglophiles
If authors and screenwriters are right, then the 1920s was chock full of jazzy, high class sleuths. It’s not wonder that the years between the two World Wars is considered “The Golden Age of Detective Fiction.” Great writers like Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie kept readers in suspense with well-written, but formulaic, tales of … [Read more...]
Released on DVD by Acorn Media in a two-disc set, The Syndicate is kind of television that earns British television its well-deserved reputation as a provider of quality, intelligent fare for discriminating viewers. This five-episode drama written by Kay Mellor and shown on BBC One in 2012, follows the fates of five supermarket employees who … [Read more...]
Based upon two detective novels written by Hitchhiker’s Guide author Douglas Adams, Dirk is a “holistic detective” who solves crimes based on seemingly unconnected events. Adams only wrote two books featuring the character before his death in 2001, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul. In 2010, a … [Read more...]
Based on Helen Castors’ history book She Wolves: The Woman Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth, the DVD She-Wolves: Early Queens of England by Athena, recounts the struggles, triumphs, intrigue and tragedies surrounding the early Queens of England. The three-episode set, hosted and narrated by Castors, briefly tells the story of these … [Read more...]
As Foyle's War fans are well aware, there's new episodes coming later this year that take place after the war. This has created an opportunity for Acorn Media, the DVD distributor and now producer of the show) to gather together all the previous episodes in a new giant DVD set. For those that aren't familiar with Foyle's War, a brief … [Read more...]
I’ve never read Boris Pasternak’s classic novel Doctor Zhivago, but I grew up with the dashing image of Omar Sharif’s Doctor Zhivago in my head. The 1965 movie was one of my mother’s favorites and she loved a good romance! So when I sat down to watch the 2002 TV mini-series remake of the classic movie, I wasn’t sure what to … [Read more...]
When a former police offices is found murdered in a drug den, young DI Ann Travis (Kelly Reilly of Sherlock Holmes) teams up with DCS James Langton (Ciarán Hinds of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) to investigate the case. Emotionally involved because the victim was a friend of Langton, the detectives struggle to keep their feelings in check while … [Read more...]
This fantastic 3-Disc DVD set released by Acorn Media was directed by John A. Davis and Tony Wharmby and features James Warwick and Francesca Annis as Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, a madcap couple who banter and bluff their way through eleven smashing London-in-the-Twenties whodunits drawn – sometimes directly– from a book of the same name … [Read more...]
Try to imagine a time when a person could be accused of a crime with little but another person’s word, had no right to an attorney, and the sentence for nearly every crime was death. This was the state English courts of the 18th century, until one young barrister stepped up to become a leading defence counsel and usher in the modern adversarial … [Read more...]
Agatha Christie, who wrote more than 70 novels in her lifetime, is one of the best-selling novelists to ever live. Many of her beloved mysteries have aired on the large and small screens, including on PBS’ Masterpiece Mystery. Now fans of Agatha Christie’s PBS television mysteries have voted for their favorites and a Greatest Hits DVD … [Read more...]
Yippee! Another season of New Tricks on DVD! This long running cop show on BBC One just released in three-disc set on Acorn DVD is just right for a long winter’s night curled up in front of the tube. Or a hot summer day in the comfort of your air conditioning, for that matter! The series follows a group of retired detectives who form … [Read more...]
Brenda Blethyn has wowed us on the big screen with Secrets and Lies and Saving Grace (among others,) and in the crime drama series Vera, she shines. As Vera Stanhope, CDI of the fictional Northumbria and City Police, Blethyn gives us a complex character that is at once crusty and vulnerable. She lives alone in a seaside cottage she inherited … [Read more...]
My husband and I are in the beginning stages of planning our first joint trip to England. We thought we had an idea of where we wanted to go and what we wanted to see and then I got Cornwall with Caroline Quentin in the mail. Now, we’re back to the drawing board, trying to figure out how much of Cornwall we can cram into our 10 day … [Read more...]
I was on holiday when I got my newest package from Anglotopia, so I immediately popped in the first DVD that fell out of the package. Megacities, featuring BBC journalist Andrew Marr takes the viewer on a 3 episode tour of five megacities in the world. Marr visits London, England (the oldest megacity); Dhaka, Bangladesh (the fastest growing); … [Read more...]
Fans of Upstairs, Downstairs might be surprised to learn about a related television series, Thomas & Sarah. When production of Upstairs, Downstairs ended in 1975, fans still wanted more. Thomas & Sarah was television’s response, picking up with two characters who departed from Upstairs, Downstairs during season two. Thomas & Sarah … [Read more...]
I’ll state up front that I am not a big fan of the “crime drama” kinds of shows, so when I opened up my latest Anglotopia package, I was a little dismayed to see Kidnap and Ransom staring back up at me. I perked up a bit to see that one of the guest stars was John Hannah, whom I adore from his other films, and so I gamely put in the DVD and … [Read more...]
A police show filled with sarcastic humor, Vexed is a unique television show that doesn’t fit into one television genre at all. Crimes are being investigated, however it is the humorous personalities and private dramas of the investigators that take center stage in this BBC comedy/drama. Season One of Vexed stars DI Kate Bishop (Lucy Punch of … [Read more...]
Acorn Media has released a new DVD box set of the Forsyte Saga. They'd previously released separate sets of each series and now they've helpfully combined both series into one set at a lower price point. We'd never seen the Forsyte Saga so we were quite excited to review this set. We sat down one night to begin watching and found ourselves … [Read more...]
I was asked to watch and review Garrow’s Law, Series 3. Here goes. I think I would have enjoyed this more if I could have started with the first of the series – there are a lot of subplots going on that I confess lost me. As with all of the BBCdramas, this is beautifully filmed and the costumes are wonderful. Parts of this were a little like … [Read more...]
Asylum of the Daleks was indeed a very wild ride filed with lots of possible ramifications for down the line. It was a breakneck thrill ride of an opener that pleased many fans who have been eagerly waiting new episodes. SEASON 7 NEWS Ashley Walters (Outcasts) has been cast as a guest star in Season Seven. Cameron Strefford will … [Read more...]
I was given the first two DVDs in the Young James Herriott series – LOVED THEM. I was a big fan of the All Creatures Great and Small and these were almost as enjoyable as was that series. This series shows James in the veterinary college in Glasgow. He has a rocky start but soldiers on and succeeds – in true Herriott fashion. I will warn … [Read more...]
William Travers is an honest London lawyer who always believes 100% in his client’s innocence. When Travers learns that he successfully defended a man who was actually guilty of a horrible crime, Travers suffers a mental breakdown and leaves London to settle in quiet Suffolk. After an old college pal is accused of murdering his beautiful … [Read more...]
I should hang my head with shame, here I am, a self-described Anglophile, obsessed with all things British—and I’ve never seen Poirot. Not once, not even half an episode….mostly because I operated under the impression that it was “old” and “outdated”. So, when I opened my latest package to discover Agatha Christie’s Poirot … [Read more...]
One of the things Anglophiles usually like to do is watch British television. Since BBC America seems to have gone in an odd direction lately (Not that there’s anything wrong with Star Trek The Next Generation or Battlestar Gallactica…but really??), I’ve focused on getting my fix through PBS and Netflix. I’ve spent years mining the … [Read more...]
Single-Handed 2 is the second installment of an Irish television drama I’d not heard of prior to viewing this 2-disc set released by Acorn Media. A gritty crime drama that plays out against a backdrop of stunning beauty in a remote place in the west of Ireland, it reminded me of nothing so much as the FX series Justified... You know the show … [Read more...]
I'm fascinated by the 20th century so I'm an easy mark for any documentary series about it. James May's 20th Century is the latest DVD release from Acorn Media / Athena that offers up an assessment of the 20th century as only James May could do. Most of us know James May from his role on Top Gear - one of the most popular shows in the world. But … [Read more...]
What influences man to create art? Why did some cultures create images of their Gods as half man, half animal while others sought to represent their God in an abstract way? What part does art play in answering the "big questions" in life? In This is Civilization, art critic Matthew Collins attempts to answer these questions as he guides the viewer … [Read more...]
As America prepared to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial in 1976, John Jakes became a phenomenal best-selling author with his 8-volume series of historical novels that chronicled the early history of the United States. Beginning in 1974 with the publication of The Bastards and concluding in 1979 with The Americans, Jakes brought history to life … [Read more...]
If you’re reading this, then doubtless you’re a fan of Downton Abbey. I mean you ARE reading a page on a website called “Anglotopia: The Website for People Who Love Britain,” and, frankly, who ISN’T a fan of Downton Abbey (yes, I initially typed “Downtown.”) I have friends of both sexes, from every walk of life who can’t get enough … [Read more...]
I was asked to watch and review Set 5 of the Trial & Retribution series. I wish I was able to watch 1-4 – the series is excellent. Although it follows the general formula of a police drama – crusty older commanding officer, young beautiful ambitious female detective and their co-workers in various stages of quirky – it all works in this … [Read more...]
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Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas in 2007 in a closet in Chicago. Anglotopia is for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia is now our full time jobs and we spend our time working on the site and planning our yearly trips to Britain. Join us as we explore Britain and everything it has to offer!
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