Sonoma Country Life

The Question is - Didya Downton?

Not only did I wake up this morning feeling blue that Series Two of blockbuster best of British tele in decades, Downton Abbey drew to a belated Christmas cracker of a close last night, I have to confess to spending large portions of the day (well, it is a bank holiday this side of the pond) reading all sorts of reviews and motley assessments of the epic upstairs, downstairs-style period costume drama's outrageous success here in the States.

There's really something very smug-making for a longtime Brit-abroad to be able to relish in the ramblings of incredulous reportings such as yesterday's New York Times Magazine's RIFF, questioning at great length why we're so intent in the masses of indulging in a bygone era that we're actually (supposedly) thankful is gone.

Let's not over analyze Downton Abbey to an early death, for I for one, would be perfectly happy to tune in every bleak mid-Winter for the next few years.

Undoubtedly, it is the strength and collective community of this prime cast of characters who have captured the hearts and imagination of millions upon millions of viewers, here in the U.S as we've agreeably gone along for the ride of an extraordinarily fast-paced, largely dining room, family plot - in impeccable setting.

Last night's season finale served up all of the juiciest prerequisites to keep us coming back - traditional Christmas dinner (downstairs and upstairs), a murder trial, mischief, intrigue, suspense, snowflakes, romance and the Edwardian era's race towards modernity.

The question is, if you didn't Downton, it's time to hit your Netflix Queue and get yourself caught up. There's plenty open-ended plotlines to ponder for Season Three, starting here in the States in January of 2013. In the meantime, my take on Downton Abbey's broad appeal is precisely that of its comfortable routine and sense of place. If someone were to ask which character you'd most identify with, I doubt it would be an issue today of whether it were someone specifically designated to an upstairs or downstairs lot. Our modern lives are so interwoven with running the bases and juggling a multitude of roles, the whole idea of the cards falling in one specific designation of post are, perhaps, not quite as appalling as one might otherwise assume.

Main theme emerging from all the pre-Season Three media chat is the much anticipated shake up in splenndid form in the arrival of one Shirley MacLaine at Downton as classic and inimitable U.S. grandmama. 

Phil Ochs: There But for the Fortune - A Documentary Must-See for Folk Music, Politics and History Fans

Captivating, historically rich and extremely moving - the 2011-released, feature-length documentary Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune, charting the American artist/activisit, politcal/folk singer songwriter's prolific seven-album career makes for poignant viewing at the ouset of this present-time presidential election year.

This beautifully made film by director Ken Boswer immerses viewers in a well documented era of immense political unrest through scores of archival footage, evocative photos and personal remembrances by Och's close friends, his family, fellow activists and music industry veterans, including the likes of Billy Bragg, Sean Penn, Joan Baez to Pete Seeger. 

Renowned for his sharp wit, sardonic humor and haunting voice, Ochs' hundreds of songs written before his death at age 35, touched on many of the most troubling social and political issues at the heart of the folk and protest song movement in the 60s and early 70s, raising critical questions through lyrics ripped directly from the day to day stuff that filled the pages of the New York Times.

By the time of his death in 1976, the FBI had a dossier on him that was more than 400 pages long, believing Ochs to have had no respect for government policies during a time of war. The Ochs we get to know in this detailed, hour-and-a-half-long film was of the firm belief that he and his music would change the world.

Phil Ochs' lyrics were far more complex than those of mass appeal penned by the more mainstream folk hero of the day, his contemporary, Bob Dylan. It's perhaps not hard to understand how Ochs' passionate and enthralling pursuit of justice would eventually lead to a mental health breakdown that would bring an untimely end to such an inspirational and remarkable musician.

 

 

 

 

 

Actual 'We Bought a Zoo' - in Dartmoor, England

Loved the touching movie "We Bought a Zoo" and couldn't wait to go online to find out more about the real Benjamin Mee who must be tickled pink (stripes) to have himself depicted on the big screen, Hollywood version of his real life story by none other than the man himself - Matt Damon! The zoo is actually Dartmoor Zoological Park, in Devon, England, about as far from its California screen version as geographically possible, though still a terrific tale of adventure and determination to succeed in the face of tragedy and an uphill struggle with funding. Penning his book of the same title, intrepid widower, Wee caught the attention of BBC 2 documentary makers and the rest, as they say, is now movie history. Go see this sweet film and keep the lions in steak chops a while longer!

Go Behind the Scenes of 1950s BBC Newsroom in Brit-Style Mad Men Series 'The Hour'

Meet the press, Wednesdays at 10pm Pacific Time, as BBC America's stylish and highly promising new offering 'The Hour' takes us behind the scenes of one of its own newsrooms, circa 1950.

An aspiring team of broacast journalists decked out in slightly less flamboyant attire than their American Mad Men advertising peers are up to their news hound ears in a ground-breaking political news show, a passionate love triangle and unfolding murder mystery, to boot.

When it rains it pours, all the decent tv pickings at once, it seems, come September's longer nights. Though I will give a word of advice in recommendingt 'The Hour' - be sure to digitally record episodes so as not to endure extraordinarily dreary and overpopulated BBC America commercials.

 

Award Winning HBO Drama Boardwalk Empire Returns

Hear ye, hear ye. Season Two of  HBO's gritty, gloriously cast and costumed, lavish 1920s Prohibition era New Jersey drama Boardwalk Empire  finally makes its much-anticipated debut at 9pm on Sunday, September 25th, 2011.

Seriously, the only thing worth watching on the tele' in months, I've already instructed my junior in-home technical assistants to set the recording.

Steve Buscemi at Nucky, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Pitt and Michael Shannon return to star in this phenomenal period drama series that knocks the socks off any American-made competition this fall. The only thing that dares to compare is Season Two of British made, divinely juicy period drama series Downton Abbey, scheduled to start airing on PBS here in the States on January 8th, 2012.

Back for an 8th season is the inimitable, Cambridge educated Brit, Hugh Laurie as uber-eccentric rare disease specialist MD in House, airing with a no doubt enlightening post-imprisonment episode number 1 on October 3rd, on Fox. When it rains it pours.

 

Pit-Stop at Nene Valley Historic Steam Railway

How could we resist not stopping for a few minutes when driving through historic Wansford into Peterborough to visit the UK-based Italian contingency of the extended famiglia? 

For the delightfully tiny station at Wansford has starred in various guises of steam train glory in some staggering 150 films and tv dramas, over the years, including the likes of James Bond and Murder on the Orient Express.

The Nene Valley Railway is in fact, a standard gauge railway, running seven and a half scenic miles between Yarwell Junction and Peterborough, at Wansford, in Cambridgeshire, England, right beside the A1, the Old Great North Road.

The first railway to arrive in Peterborough came from Blisworth, via Northampton, Thrapston, Oundle and Wansford with the initial passenger train along the Nene Valley departing Peterborough at 7 o'clock on Monday 2nd of June, 1845. The Nene Valley railway of today operates on the eastern section of this line.

In 1972 British Rail had closed the line - officially putting 127 years of railroad history to an end. The line between Wansford and Orton Mere was officially re-opened by the Nene Valley Railway (formerly Peterborough Railway Society) after much to-do in 1977.

Today the station is also home to a famous little blue engine, named Thomas. On this particular Sunday pit-stop, several little boys were sat with mums and grandmas on platform benches, proudly bedecked in Thomas the Tank t-shirts, eating a sandwich lunch in the shade of the beloved engine, immortalized in the late 1940s by the Rev. W Audry, author of the internationally known books that are as popular as ever with young train fanatics of 2011 as they were post World War II.

The O-6-OT Engine number 1800 was built in 1947 by Hudswell Clarke and spent its entire working life with Peterborough-based British Sugar Corporation pushing loaded wagons of sugar beet. Peterborough Railway Society purchased the little steam engine when it was replaced by a diesel engine in 1973. Due for its regular 10-year overhaul in 2013, Thomas, as the engine became, much to the delight of international fans, many years back, needs a whopping $100,000 worth of work to his boiler and other important parts.

Know any railroad enthusiasts with deep pockets? Nene Valley Railway's Thomas Overhaul Fund would love a helping hand in its fundraising efforts.

 

 

A double Chubby-Chuck, a Chili-Barb, Two Orders of French fries and..It's Time to Rock Around Our Clock!

Bring on the sunshine, we've had plenty of rain this Spring and it's time to give the blue jeans, bobby socks, big skirts and pony tails an airing for this year's Rock Around Our Clock Salute to American Graffiti.

Hundreds of classic American car owners are busy spitting and polishing the chrome this week, in readiness for the big event that transforms historic downtown Petaluma to the happy days of the 1950s - captured for all time in George Lucas' 1972 coming of age movie, American Graffiti.

Rock n Roll Music, vendors and collectors cars from all over the country are coming to town for a weekend's worth of nostalgia. Organizers say that the best spot to watch the famous cruise will be along Petaluma Blvd, south of B Street all the way down to Boulevard Lanes (Bowling Alley), Saturday evening (May 21st, 2011) from 4pm to 9pm. Grab yourselves a chair, supper-t0-go from Mel's recreated Burger City right by McNear's Saloon, your portable radio (tuned to 88.1fm) and quite probably, jackets and a blanket. 

Click here for full schedule of events.

Back to Masterpiece Theater Sundays with a New Upstairs Downstairs

Absolute best bet for clearing the couch rapidly and entirely of teenage boys and Italian husbands should you have a few lounging around at your place on a regular Sunday evening, is to schedule a night-in with Masterpiece Theater (or HBO's current, moody melodrama, Mildred Pierce - for that matter).

For some reason the fellas in my house are not big fans of the great British (or American) period drama. Unlike me, who watches little else on television these days. And if there isn't a Downton Abbey or Any Human Heart episode to slap on the calendar in red, I'm happily largely tv-free.

Flicking through the New York Times this weekend I did a double-take at a review of the upcoming airing of the BBC's new Upstairs Downstairs, a three-part extravaganza starting this Sunday, April 10th.  Some 34-years ago, when I was just a youngster myself, the curtains closed at 165 Eaton Place, London home of the upper level Bellamy's of the most-loved, longest running Masterpiece Theater broadcast ever: "Upstairs, Downstairs".

Running some 55 episodes over 4 seasons in the U.S. the soap opera about the private lives and culture of the British upper-crust and the equally complex and colorful community living behind the scenes won seven Emmy Awards. Set during the First World War through the early 1930s, the series of 68 episodes, which ran in Britain from 1971 to 1975 was originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC.

The three-episode revival that takes viewers back to the same Edwardian townhouse - circa 1936 - some six fictional years after the first series ended.

Old house, new family. Lady Agnes and Sir Hallam Holland, a privileged and suitably posh young couple newly returned from diplomatic service in Washington. A sumptuous renovation of a "ghastly old mausoleum" makes for the sort of captivating, classic period drama sure to reel in a new generation of costume-piece watchers here in the States, as well as those who still fondly recall those Sunday nights in with the original cast.

The new three-part series raised the roof on viewing stats in the UK this past Christmas, with a reported sixth of the country's entire population tuning in.

 

 

Hollywood Royal Elizabeth Taylor Dies

BBC News captures the essence of the late Elizabeth Taylor . Born in England and raised in Los Angeles, Dame Elizabeth Taylor was the epitime of the 1950s Hollywood star and one of the last of the 'Golden Era'.  Taylor died today at 79.

Four Seasons Flick for the Anglophiles - Mike Leigh's Another Year

Despite near freezing temperatures due to theater heating system default, wrapped myself up in my scarf for a thoroughly engrossing two hour trip through the looking glass of British Writer/Director Mike Leigh's latest picture, Another Year.

Starring Jim Broadbent in a n0n-fantastical, though fabulous role as the grounded Tom and Ruth Sheen as his equally sensible, happy and compassionate wife and (somewhat suprisingly for movies these days), non-conflicted soul-mate, Another Year anchors itself around a 'Greener' London living while growing older graciously theme, with jaw-dropping performances by a motley crew of the sorts of colorful and alarming characters of considerably less ideal couplings.

Recommended for those who've enjoyed Leigh's distinctive offerings of the past, including Secrets and Lies, Topsy-Turvy, Vera Drake and Happy-Go-Lucky. You might well want to move right into Tom and Gerri's (yes, really) cozy terraced home, pull up a chair at their kitchen table and pour yourself a nice, big glass of wine. A graceful, understated serving of a shared culture identifiable to anyone living a Western World middle-age and counting, regular sort of life (or not). 

Check with Summerfield Theater in Santa Rosa that the heating's back on before heading up for a viewing.

Stopped off at Rosso's on Montgomery for a spot of post-theater supper. Having enjoyed several visits in the past, I was a bit disappointed to say the least in the size of portion comparison to price. Not that we need to be shoveling in the salad, but dinner-price salad dishes the size of a side are a bit steep. Atmosphere, pizzas and service all good, but when Rosso's opens its much-talked about Petaluma location later this summer, small portions at high prices will undoubtedly raise more than a few eyebrows here in thrifty Rivertown. To compete with the likes of the Wild Goat, Cucina Paradiso and others in the neighborhood serving great traditional Italian fayre, Rosso's tiny specials, such as last night's strikingly sparse though delicious gnocchi, called for a far heavier server's hand to warrant the price.