I’ve been watching The Forsytes on PBS Masterpiece, but I can’t say I’m a fan. Like I said after the first episode, everything is too arched. It reminds me more of Dallas than Downton.
Soames (Joshua Orpin) is written as the bad boy. If his mustache were longer, he’d twirl it. But my real problem is with Jolyon (Danny Griffin). They tried so hard to make him a do-gooder, but I think he’s a worm. And why does he go to the office without a shirt collar and tie? He just looks silly.
The bigger “why” - why did Louisa (Eleanor Tomlinson) move so close to Jolyon if she didn’t intend to worm herself into his life all along?
It was good seeing Francesca Annis again, but her character isn’t nearly as interesting (nor fun) as Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess.
(It’s already been renewed for 2 more seasons, but I won’t be back.)
I’ve sampled some of Masterpiece’s other shows. Phyllis Logan, who played Mrs. Hughes in Downton, has a mystery series called Murder Most Puzzling. It’s sort of like Murder, She Wrote. I’ve watched 4 episodes - two episodes cover one story. But the mysteries would have been better as single episodes, not stretched out.
I’ve also watched Bookish. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s very stylish. Mark Gatiss plays a kid of an amateur detective set in the late 1940s. Polly Walker plays his wife. She usually plays “evil” characters, so it’s refreshing to see her in something different.
I’ll probably cancel Masterpiece when I’ve finished Bookish, until I find something else.
