I had a moment of hesitation before I watched this one.  Firstly, I'm not fan of "kiddie" adaptations of my favourite things,  and,  after the goofy 1985 Barry Levinson film, Young Sherlock Holmes (in which Holmes and Watson are childhood friends),  I was disinclined to give this a shot.  Not that the film was horrible, mind you,  but it had that horrifying 80's slime all over it that I really can't survive for long.  It took my love for UK television production (Granada in particular;  I mean,  they produced the canonically-perfect Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett, after all!).

Well,  I'm glad I gave it a chance;  it was splendid!

Each of the eight episodes of The Mystery of the Manor House begins with a charming framing sequence.  Holmes himself,  using a cylinder Dictaphone,  has recorded a, audio record of this adventure from his youth.  It is to be listened to by Doctor Watson only after the death of Holmes, as it contains secrets involving the queen herself!  Charming.  Each episode, in fact, begins with a differently-labeled cylinder.  I love that touch.  I'm an Edison cylinder enthusiast,  and anything that puts them into the mix is greatly appreciated by me.

Guy Henry plays our 17-year-old Holmes (though he was apparently in his twenties), and, in spite of his height (he's head and shoulders above anyone else in the show), and his mildly afro-like hairdo (an affliction shared by Nicholas Rowe, the "Holmes" from the previously mentioned film),  he does an incredible job.  This is not surprising,  as he trained at RADA, then spent over a decade with the Royal Shakespeare company.  His young Homes is appropriately dry,  with an appropriate amount of both charm  and arrogance.  I liked him immediately.

The story begins as Holmes returns to the ancestral manse,  only to find his parents have vacated the place and have pushed off to France,  after a disgrace in society.  The manor has been taken over by a Colonel Turnbull and his mysterious wife,  whose house guest,  the attractive but arrogant Jasper Moran (younger brother of canonical Holmes villain Sebastian Moran),  sends our young Sherlock off with a push,  reinforced by a hound at his heels.  Holmes goes to his hideously prissy Aunt Rachel and crude Uncle Gideon,  not knowing what has happened to his home,  or to his parents....shades of the Zorro story there.  This aunt and uncle are very Dickensian characters (as are a great many in the series);  very broadly played, sanctimonious, and fun.  Very much the type that the Harry Potter stories emulated, which is extra fun, as Guy Henry was in those films, as well.  Here he learns the fate of his parents,  and is grudgingly taken in by his aunt.

His first goal is to investigate the new inhabitants of the manor house;  something is not right there,  and his inborn detective's instincts have his curiosity awakened.  Nobody is who they seem to be,  and there's a plot in progress that threatens not only blighty,  but the safety of Queen Victoria herself...and there is a sign of a professor named...Moriarty!

As I said,  Henry is fantastic.  The rest of the cast is very good too;   Heather Chasen  as Aunt Rachel and  John Fraser as Uncle Gideon were delightfully and harmlessly despicable,  Christopher Villiers was fantastically brash and vile as Jasper Moran,  Tim Brierly, as the Watson-esque figure John Whitney, was very good, and especially charming was Jane Lowe,  who played the housekeeper,  Mrs. Cunliffe...who, due to impending nuptials, would soon be Mrs. Hudson.  The acting, as I said,  is a bit broad,  but just enough so to be colourful.  I really love this kind of 70's UK atmosphere,  with it's stagey quality. 

I very much recommend Young Sherlock: The Mystery of the Manor House to Sherlock Holmes aficionados;  although Holmes portrayals can be hit and miss, particularly in these modern times,  this one is nice and steady.  The additions to the Holmes backstory are fun, and it's nice to see a few of the known characters in their younger years.  It's good stuff.

You may also wish to read read my pal Rick's super-fun review of the Young Sherlock Holmes film HERE

I've long held the opinion that the decline in UK television began after 1998;  up to that year,  most programmes were excellent,  and had little in the way of political correctness or Americanised attitudes and production values.  BERKELEY SQUARE is a perfect example of what I mean.  This is a show about women,  and where the pervasive agenda today is to pound the "strong woman" trope into every crevice of  every form of narrative media (ruining nearly every story with bludgeoning force),  this is a story of real women...strong, weak, intelligent and foolish, capable and in need of help,  recognisable as the people we see everyday...this is not feminist victim porn.

I love it dearly.

Set in 1903,  it revolves around the lives of three nannies working in the high class Berkeley (pronounced "Barkley") Square of the west end of London, in Westminster.  Firstly, there's Lydia Weston, played by Tabitha Wady, known to me best from the 2008 SENSE & SENSIBILITY,  a solid, yet wide-eyed country girl, working for the first time away from the farm,  then there's Matty Wickham, played luminously by EASTENDERS alum Claire Wilkie, a no-nonsense nanny with a strong will, but a gentle demeanour, and lastly, there's Hannah Randall, a genetic freak of a gorgeous woman, who has a secret that threatens her every waking moment.

There are a great many stories interwoven here;  each woman has her own complicated web of intrigue (of sorts),  and the threads of each character intermingle masterfully.  It seems common these days in UK telly to try to do too much in a very short season (down from around 13 episodes per in the 70s, to the average 7 today). Witness the narrative mess of the latter seasons of DOWNTON ABBEY (which spends most of it's time "woe is me"-ing about the lot of Edwardian women), along with the politically correct abomination of the newest UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS continuation.  Too many story lines for the writers to manage, crammed into a series that should be longer, to accommodate the action.  Not so with BERKELEY SQUARE.  The pacing is easy and precise,  with lots of room to breathe;  nothing seems rushed,  and the resolution of each story fragment is satisfyingly well rested.  Life and death, love and hostility, quiet storms of desire and desperation, amazingly handled.

The cast is excellent across the board,  down to the short parts, which seem to have been cast as if they were major roles; there is no lesser presence on screen at any time (I'm particularly struck by the gravitas of  Sian Radinger who, beyond having heavenly eyes, left me wanting more and more of her skilled acting).  Jason O'Mara, Rupert Frazer, Rosemary Leach, Briony Glassco, Ruth Sheen, Hermione Norris (a shocking beauty), and Etela Pardo...all wonderful and possessing presences whenever on screen.

Like the wonderful 90's show THE HOUSE OF ELLIOTT (another stunning show about real, capable women),  BERKELEY SQUARE was a fantastic surprise, which left me very much wanting more.  All these great women that show that being strong doesn't mean snotty and hostile, and that a story can display the real lives of people, letting the viewer see for themselves how culture makes various people suffer (not just the women, either; in BERKELEY SQUARE, the men are all very much lost in the crushing grip of culture). 

The only way to improve it would for there to have been more!

One of my favourite Britcoms of all time,  and I know I'm not alone in this,  is Blackadder.  So amazingly sharp and funny,  so well written,  and the cast is mind blowing...but I'm sure that anyone reading probably knows all about it. The multi-era nature of Blackadder was an incredible idea,  and as I watched,  I'd always wished for a series set in ancient Rome;  I'm also a Roman history buff, you see,  and I'll take them in whatever context. Well,  in 1999 I was treated to a snippet of that idea,  in the uneven special, Blackadder Back & Forth.  The Roman section of that was quite pleasing,  and was exactly what I'd been dreaming of.  But it was so short!

My hunger for a Roman-type Britcom continued.

Enter Chelmsford 123.  A bit of refreshing fun,  it starred Jimmy Mullville (from the show G.B.H. and is also a prolific TV producer) as the Roman governor Aulus Paulinus, and Rory McGrath (of the 2006 BBC Three Men in a Boat) as the hirsute Briton tribal warlord Badvoc. It had two series,  one in 1988 and the other in 1990,  and for a goofy comedy,  the sets and production were quite nice.

Set in 123 AD, it begins in Rome, with the complacent and comfort-loving Aulus Paulinus enjoying his opulent life in the emperor's court. Sadly for him,  after a minor insult to the emperor's lady friend,  Portia, he finds himself  expelled to the rough and wild British Isles...backward, miserable, and bleak.  Clelmsford (only recently having been declared a city),  is not in that era a place  fgor which our new governor Paulinus is suited.  On the other hand,  the Celts ostensibly in his charge are quite in their element; Their leader Badvoc, constantly finding ways to be a burr in Paulinus' silken cushions. The two leaders are pretty much surrounded by clods;  Paulinus is burdened with his twit brother-in-law Grasientus (hilariously done by Phillip Pope), and Badvoc has his uncombed tribal compatriots...it's great fun all around.  Money shemes,  Kidnapping plots, and other such comedic fodder abounds in Chelmsford 123. Quite silly.  Quite fun.

Produced by Channel 4 and Hat Trick,  it's really quite a well done show.  It's not not entirely on the level of the afore-mentioned Blackadder,  but it's very funny all around...and in quite the same ironic and brutal way.  As a student of Latin,  I was pleased to find that the scenes in Rome were in the lingo (the first and last episodes); one of the many fine touches in this jolly programme.

Full of mischief and silly puns,  it's very much worth watching!   

I love a good stiff-upper-lip old school British character;  the type of stern public school chap with a big moustache, and perhaps connected side-burns who regales his comrades with rousing tales of the northwest frontier, and ends all his statements with a percussive "wot?".  Well,  for that sort of fellow,  look no further than Noel Colman.

Leicestershire-born Coleman has the sort of broad aristocratic face that makes a good brigadier or Lord of the manor,  with the dramatically contorted brow and cool, regal demeanor that all such characters are known for.  His voice is also quite amazing;  gravelly,  yet controlled,  with incredible diction.  Add to these qualities a personal dignity and a feeling of kindness that filters through at all times, and you have the kind of actor that I really enjoy.

His Phantom Empires-worthy shows are legion.  Primarily a character actor, he popped in just about everywhere. He was in the 70's IVANHOE mini-series (not the horrible P.C. 90's version), the Doctor Who story THE WAR GAMES, THE DUTCHESS OF DUKE STREET, the days of hope, THE TOP-SECRET LIFE OF EDGAR BRIGGS, a recurring role in VIRGIN OF THE SECRET SERVICE, the Ian Carmichael Lord Peter Wimsey series THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT THE BELLONA CLUB and CLOUDS OF WITNESS, the mini-series THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, and even in a bit of RED DWARF as the Cat Priest!

He really was a jolly old chap, wot?

As I've mentioned before,  PBS was the source of the vast majority of my UK telly back in the dank and dark epochs before the advent of the blessed interwebs.  Though I've since come to see the prodigious limitations of PBS in this regard, I'm ever so grateful for the goodies that it managed to acquire for me.  One of those little treats was the fun little show called GOODNIGHT SWEETHEART.

It was an elusive bugger at the time,  as the programme slot continued to move about; pre-internet there was no real way to chase it, either.  TV guides were nearly useless back in those days.  Thus I only managed to catch a few episodes,  and it was pushed into the rear of the memory box.  I'm not sure that I ever knew the name of the show back then,  and as it popped up on occasion over the years, I could remember only the barest details.  Well,  fairly recently I've seen the entire six-season series,  and it is just as fun as I'd remembered!  It stars Nicholas Lyndhurst, who plays the accidental time-traveller Gary Sparrow.  Gary is basically a nebbish,  an average chap with an average job, hanging out with his best mate Ron and being nagged by his bossy wife Yvonne.  The thing gets going when Gary, a TV repairman, is on a job in Whitechapel.  He takes the wrong turn into an alley,  and steps through a time portal back into 1941 during WWII...right in the middle of the Blitz.  Thus begins the fun!

Gary wanders in to the Royal Oak pub,  where he meets the lovely barmaid Phoebe Bamford, who is presently to become very important in his life, and the amiable but empty-headed Copper Reg Deadman.  Gary comes to the realisation of what has happened,  makes the prerequisite bumbling anachronistic comments and displays a complete ignorance of the era(which he covers up by implying he's with MI-5, so his answers might threaten "national security"), then goes back through the portal into the 1990s, and takes stock of what has happened.

On his return he tells his friend Ron,  a printer by trade, the whole thing.  From that point on, Ron is the source of forged period currency,  government papers, ration books,  and hilarious quips and one liners about Gary's adventures.  Things get even more interesting as Gary moves back and forth between time periods,  married to Yvonne in one,  and developing a relationship with Phoebe in the other,   using a WWII history book as a guide.  Describing more at this point would say more than I should,  as plenty happens that one should discover for themselves. One thing that I will mention is that, starting with series four,  BOTH women,  Yvonne & Phoebe,  are recast with different actresses.  It was a bit disconcerting and never quite as satisfying for me after that,  but the show remained enjoyable to the end.

I'm a fan of time travel stories and have an interest in WWII Britain, so this show was a big treat for me.  I also loved the hilarious complexity of Gary trying to lead a double life, juggling two women and two time periods...it's the most charming time travel comedy set in the 1990's/WWII about a nebbish bigamist that I know of.  :)

Here's a guy who seldom gets his due.  Jeremy Clyde pops up in all sorts of great shows (even some radio drama,  specifically in the great production of Raffles,  with ,  and he's always quite good.  He has a great, crisp R.P. accent,  and he's the epitome of the posh Toff,  which, incidentally is mostly what he played on TV.  He was on radio playing A.J. Raffles (alongside Michael Cochrane as Bunny),  and he even had a part in an episode of the great Anthony Valentine RAFFLES telly show.   Oddly,  the most known thing about Jeremy Clyde is that he was the 'Jeremy' in the 60's folk duo Chad & Jeremy!  Examples of his current musical work can be found on Youtube.

He shows up all over the classic telly dial.  Examples of his great classic TV work can be seen on THE DUCHESS OF DUKE STREET,  SCHALKEN THE PAINTER, LADYKILLERS,  HOW GREEN IS MY VALLEY,  BLOTT ON THE LANDSCAPE, BY THE SWORD DIVIDED, THE PALLISERS,  THE AGATHA CHRISTIE HOUR,  INSPECTOR MORSE,  the UK/French historical drama CROSSBOW, and a great run as Sexton Blake in the 1978 series, SEXTON BLAKE AND THE DEMON GOD.  He was even on American telly  in such classic shows as LAREDO (!),  THE PATTY DUKE SHOW, THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW,  and even on a couple episodes of BATMAN!  Zap, Pow,  wot?

He's certainly a Phantom Empires fave.  A very talented guy across the board,  with great diction and a classic charm.

I'd heard about this series for a long time.  Patrick Troughton, the second Doctor Who, who was also the catholic priest that the anti-Christ impaled in THE OMEN, had played an insane AZTEC high priest!  I was dubious.  I love me some historical dramas, and I happily accept quite a bit as far as other races/cultures being represented by whitey(Charlie Chan...my man), but this seemed a bit like a silly ideer.  I am happy to report that my fears have not been realised in the slightest. 

THE FEATHERED SERPENT was a children's show produced in 1976 by Thames television.  The seventies were a crazy time for historical dramas; I, CLAUDIUS, THE CLEOPATRAS, THE WARRIOR QUEEN, ARTHUR OF THE BRITONS, and on and on.  They had no fear in the choice of subject.  If you think that a UK show couldn't pull off THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, then you are quite wrong...as wrong as I was about this show.  Lots of costumes,  big, garish sets, and larger-than-life intrigue, splashed across a historical universe that really could only exist in the imagination...and what an imagination.

The plot centers almost completely on the machinations of the high priest Nasca (Patrick Troughton), who is trying to purge the religion of the gentle god, Quala, and replace it with the human sacrifice-demanding god of death, Teshkata.  The figure that stands directly between Nasca and the power that his death-god demands is Emperor Kukhulkhan(Tony Steedman), and his daughter, the lovely Chimalma (Diane Keen).  Things are further complicated by the presence of a contingent of the Toltecs, headed by Prince Houtek(Brian Deacon), accompanied by his servant, an impulsive but brave boy named Tozo(Richard Willis).  Kukhulkhan takes this opportunity to arrange a possible marriage between Houtek and Chimalma to unify their peoples...much to the chagrin of Chimalma's former suitor, Mahoutek, Chief of the Jaguar guards(Robert Gray).  Nasca weaves his deadly web, using murder, druggings, and deceit as his evil tools; he stops at nothing to serve the desires of his dark god...and his own black heart.

I'm honestly amazed that this was a children's show!  There are brutal murders here; it's actually quite chilling at times.  Troughton really was a master at playing an utter sociopath, capable of shifting with each development in order to further his goals.  The rest of the cast was fun,  and I got lost in the interior logic of their imaginary ancient Mexico.  THE FEATHERED SERPENT really was a pleasant surprise.

Well, pleasant may not me the right word, actually, but it was certainly captivating.

. In choosing a woman to start the female side of the classic UK telly list,  I can't think of a candidate that stands anywhere near my fave,  the lovely and talented Joanna David.  As I pointed out with John Welsh in the previous post,  Joanna is a prodigious and ubiquitous presence in what Phantom Empires considers the classic period.  Her dignified and gentle face graces so many incredible productions that it seems like she owned the small screen...which is not far from the truth.

Long before her recent role on the universally popular DOWNTON ABBEY, she began glimmeringly right out of the box with the role of Elinor in the 1971 SENSE AND SENSIBILITY.  She went on to many Phantom Empires-approved roles,  in great series such as THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, (an odd, but great show), THE EDWARDIANS,  WAR & PEACE,  RUMPOLE,  HANNAY,  INSPECTOR MORSE, ladykillers, COLDITZ,  a regular spot on THE DUCHESS OF DUKE STREET,  and even a good part in an episode of Miss Marple, 4:50 FROM PADDINGTON, alongside the legendary Joan Hickson.  Of course there is her role in the spotless 1995 drama PRIDE & PREJUDICE, which, of course,  is arguably the most famous period drama of all time.

 I could go on and on pointing out this or that great role all afternoon...really.  

With her gentle,  lovely eyes,  her calm demeanor,  and a quiet gravitas that many actors would kill for,  Joanna David is the complete package.   If you don't know her, you're in for a treat...what great watchings you have ahead!

The longer I live,  the more new incredible UK shows pop up!  Every day I find something new,  thanks to the mighty internet,  and I've found so many shows in recent years that have shot up quickly into the favourites category.  Traditionally the US source for UK telly has been public television,  for which I'm eternally grateful.  As I've stated before,  however,  I've come to see the the limitations of access to Brit shows as massive and broad-spectrum!  Where we would get access to such gems as BLACKADDER and RED DWARF,  we miss out on HI-DE-HI!,  YOU RANG M'LORD, BLOTT ON THE LANDSCAPE,  OH, DOCTOR BEECHING!,  and a litany of other incredible shows,  and that's just the comedy!  Of course some programmes have been shown at various times,  but many not for decades(and not in all areas);  it wasn't until recently I got UP POMPEII,  which was a forgotten childhood favourite,  and for every one like that one there's a CHELMSFORD 123 that I was completely unaware of!

One such highly amusing comedy is the six-episode historical farce CAPTAIN BUTLER.  It stars Craig Charles,  best known for playing Dave Lister in the legendary space comedy RED DWARF.  His sarcastic Liverpool vibe and rakish charm are hilarious.  Of course he plays the title character,  an eighteenth-century pirate captain with a zany, multi-ethnic ship's crew.  There are two white characters on the show,  an Indian guy,  and two black characters(including Craig Charles,  who is half black and half Irish, which is apparently different from 'black Irish',  hehehe).  Everyone is very funny and full of charisma.  As a further treat for RED DWARF lovers,  Robert Llewellyn(the 'mechanoid' Kryten) shows up as Admiral Lord Nelson!  CAPTAIN BUTLER ran in 1997,  so was filmed while Charles was on RED DWARF,  which ran originally on BBC Two from 1988 to 1999.

It's actually pretty bawdy stuff;  the sexual references are both modern and copious...and charmingly shameless.  Anyone looking for historical accuracy should go elsewhere,  as characters and events from completely different eras pop up throughout the show.  Honestly I wish that there had been more,  and that more people had access to them...so many treats like this go unnoticed.  I'm sure many a RED DWARF fan would love to get their paws on these!