Take 4 TV: Two from the BBC

I often use Netflix to catch up or introduce myself to all sorts of television shows, so this time around I decided to check out two series from the BBC. I had my hopes up when they arrived in the mail, but neither really ended up being quite what I expected. To that end, the reviews this week are a little shorter than usual, because...well...I really didn't have that much to say about them.

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Cambridge Spies (2003)

The Premise: Four schoolmates graduating from Cambridge in the pre-World War II era find themselves facing a Europe that is slowly being engulfed by Fascism. Unconvinced that Britain's governmental policies will help combat this growth of Fascism, the foursome decide to embrace Communism as a political weapon, becoming agents of Stalin and Moscow. Once Hitler is defeated in WWII, however, they find themselves still serving and believing in the tenets of communism, and act as double-agents within Britain's governmental corridors.

And I Quote: Donald: "Hello." Woman: "Hi...You're American." Donald: "Does it show?" Woman: "You say 'Hello' with a 'U' where the 'E' oughta be." Donald: "Well, you're American." Woman: "You noticed." Donald: "You say 'Hello' with an 'I' where the 'E' and the 'L' and the 'L' and the 'O' ought to be...I hate America." Woman: "Are you gonna tell me why?" Donald: "For the way you treat workers, the way you treat black people, the way you appropriate, mispronounce, and generally mutilate perfectly good English words. Cigarette?"

Curt's Take: Worth Considering - I don't remember putting this in my Netflix queue, and for some reason thought it was a comedic series on the BBC, when in fact it was a four-part mini-series, based on true events. I found myself getting sucked into it, though, trying to figure out how far the group's faith in Communism could be stretched. Spanning four hours, the four episodes cover a span of close to twenty years, so you get to see their beliefs tested across time in many different circumstances. And if you're not that familiar with this era in history, or in Fascism and Communism, this mini-series provides a good primer. If you stumble across it on TV or at the store, the two discs are a bit of a time investment, but are definitely engaging and intriguing.

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Monarch of the Glen (2000)

The Premise: Archie, a young restauranteur in London, catches word that his father (the Laird of the area) has fallen ill back in Scotland. Leaving the grand opening of his new restaurant, he travels back home in order to find that not only is his father well (Archie's mom over-reacted a bit), but that the castle and property are in dire financial straights...and that the title of Laird has been passed on to him. Against his better judgment, he stays in Scotland to help restore his family name and castle to their former state of dignity.

Curt's Take: Don't Bother - Why the short review? I couldn't get through all eight episodes of Season One. Each is about fifty minutes long, and my mind started to seriously wander after making it through the first of the two discs. The show was reminiscent of Northern Exposure, where a city-living doctor finds himself adjusting to life in the wilderness of an Alaskan town. Kind of a "fish out of water" story, but still pretty weak. I almost didn't write this review, because I'm not sure how you might run across this series, but if you do (it did continue for seven seasons or so), I wouldn't bother giving it a second glance. It wasn't that funny, the characters weren't that engaging, and the storyline wasn't that interesting.