30 Days of TV Meme -- Day 17
Day 17 - Favorite miniseries.
Oh, this one is EASY. No contest at all.
Left: Jeremy Irons as Charles Ryder. Center: Aloysius the Bear. Right: Anthony Andrews as Sebastian Flyte. Background: Castle Howard in North Yorkshire as Brideshead.
This is, of course, the eleven-part 1981 version (which didn't come to America until 1982); I haven't seen the remake, mostly because this version was so perfect. (Seven BAFTA awards, two Golden Globes and an Emmy. Nothing to be sneezed at.)
It was an utterly gorgeous production: lush, elegant, opulent, and almost mythical, with outstanding actors, a great script (largely written by the producers, though John Mortimer has writing credit) based on a classic novel, a story that just flowed...honestly, it was the most flawless miniseries I've ever seen. (And apparently I'm not alone, as there's an entire heritage industry based on the miniseries.)
Brideshead actually directly affected my life, because this is the show that convinced my aunt that it was all right for me to go to Hertford College, Oxford University for a summer session. The first portion of the story is largely set at Oxford; so much of the university was shown in the series that my aunt didn't feel any fear about letting me go there a year later. (We also saw a lot of Inspector Morse mysteries set at Oxford, but that was later. Brideshead came first.)
I do regret that I never got to see the inside of Castle Howard in real life. The closest that I got to seeing it was from the window of a tour bus.
Brideshead was also my first exposure to homoeroticism--as well as homosexuality that wasn't being played for laughs in a sitcom. It was likewise my first introduction to Evelyn Waugh, and I spent most of that summer reading every book by an author named Waugh that I could find---which meant that I read not only Evelyn's novels but also those by his elder brother Alec. (Most of Waugh's books were not like Brideshead being infinitely more satiric, but they were still good. And Brideshead remains one of my favorite books to this day.)
Overall, I don't know of another series that had such a deep and lasting effect on my life.
And if you have not seen it, run, do not walk to the local movie rental place or to Netflix's or Blockbuster's site. Because I cannot recommend this series highly enough. And you need to see it. You really do.
Completed Questions
Day 1 - A show that never should have been canceled.
Day 2 - A show that you wish more people were watching (or that you wish more people had watched).
Day 3 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season).
Day 4 - Your favorite show ever.
Day 5 - A show you hate.
Day 6 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show.
Day 7 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show.
Day 8 - A show everyone should watch.
Day 9 - Best scene ever.
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving.
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you.
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times.
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show.
Day 14 - Favorite male character.
Day 15 - Favorite female character.
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show.
Day 17 - Favorite miniseries.
***
Oh, this one is EASY. No contest at all.
Left: Jeremy Irons as Charles Ryder. Center: Aloysius the Bear. Right: Anthony Andrews as Sebastian Flyte. Background: Castle Howard in North Yorkshire as Brideshead.
This is, of course, the eleven-part 1981 version (which didn't come to America until 1982); I haven't seen the remake, mostly because this version was so perfect. (Seven BAFTA awards, two Golden Globes and an Emmy. Nothing to be sneezed at.)
It was an utterly gorgeous production: lush, elegant, opulent, and almost mythical, with outstanding actors, a great script (largely written by the producers, though John Mortimer has writing credit) based on a classic novel, a story that just flowed...honestly, it was the most flawless miniseries I've ever seen. (And apparently I'm not alone, as there's an entire heritage industry based on the miniseries.)
Brideshead actually directly affected my life, because this is the show that convinced my aunt that it was all right for me to go to Hertford College, Oxford University for a summer session. The first portion of the story is largely set at Oxford; so much of the university was shown in the series that my aunt didn't feel any fear about letting me go there a year later. (We also saw a lot of Inspector Morse mysteries set at Oxford, but that was later. Brideshead came first.)
I do regret that I never got to see the inside of Castle Howard in real life. The closest that I got to seeing it was from the window of a tour bus.
Brideshead was also my first exposure to homoeroticism--as well as homosexuality that wasn't being played for laughs in a sitcom. It was likewise my first introduction to Evelyn Waugh, and I spent most of that summer reading every book by an author named Waugh that I could find---which meant that I read not only Evelyn's novels but also those by his elder brother Alec. (Most of Waugh's books were not like Brideshead being infinitely more satiric, but they were still good. And Brideshead remains one of my favorite books to this day.)
Overall, I don't know of another series that had such a deep and lasting effect on my life.
And if you have not seen it, run, do not walk to the local movie rental place or to Netflix's or Blockbuster's site. Because I cannot recommend this series highly enough. And you need to see it. You really do.
Completed Questions
Day 1 - A show that never should have been canceled.
Day 2 - A show that you wish more people were watching (or that you wish more people had watched).
Day 3 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season).
Day 4 - Your favorite show ever.
Day 5 - A show you hate.
Day 6 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show.
Day 7 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show.
Day 8 - A show everyone should watch.
Day 9 - Best scene ever.
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving.
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you.
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times.
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show.
Day 14 - Favorite male character.
Day 15 - Favorite female character.
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show.
Day 17 - Favorite miniseries.
***