"Parade's End" on HBO -- Flying Under the Radar...ish!

We don't exactly know why HBO is keeping this one such a secret, but you should be getting ready to watch the superb English miniseries Parade's End which begins tonight.  Starring the elegent and exceptional Benedict Cumberbatch -- PBS' recent present-day Sherlock Holmes and the villain in the upcoming J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness feature and many other production -- Parade's End will be interesting to anybody who's been devouring Downton Abbey, to be sure, and anyone else who thrives on intelligent drama done played to perfection with that refined British stiff upper lip.  Also starring with Cumberbatch are Rebecca Hall and Adelaide Clemens, both very talented and adding so much to Parade's End.



Parade's End airs beginning tonight -- Tuesday, 2/26 -- at 9pm -- and plays for the next three nights, and that appears to be it, for at least a while on actual TV, though it looks like it will be available On Demand and on HBO Go. 

We don't even need to go into the plot here, but rest assured that the provenance of Parade's End is solid.  It's based on the novels of Ford Madox Ford, which may mean something to you but if it doesn't that's okay, too.  If you'd like to know a little more before you dip your toe in, click here and take a look at this detailed synopsis from HBO, but really...it's not necessary.  You'll be just fine tuning in tonight and having a go.  Think World War I, think aristocracy, think infidelity...

Parade's End aired first on BBC Two back in August of last year, causing a run on Ford's original novels and garnering unanimous critical acclaim and impressive audience ratings.  There seems to be a divergence of opinion on Parade's End over here with critics; some, like Robert Bianco from USA Today think it's a duller version of Downton Abbey, while others, like Time's James Poniewozik, rather likes its deliberate tone.  We think this one should get your attention if for no other reason than Cumberbatch, and that should be sufficient. 

Tune in tonight on HBO beginning at 9pm for two hours (Parts 1 & 2), tomorrow Wednesday at 9pm for Parts 3 & 4, and finally on Thursday at 9pm for the only one hour of Part 5. 

Titanic at 100: Maximum Disaster at Sea, Miniseries on TV!

Despite ABC's somewhat weird scheduling of their imported British miniseries Titanic -- three of the four hours air tonight Saturday from 8p - 11pm, then the final part airs tomorrow Sunday at 9pm for one hour, sandwiched between regular programming -- viewers loving both all things Titanic and recent PBS sensation Downton Abbey will be in heaven.  DA's creative force Julian Fellowes is one of the chaps behind this newest version of the Titanic story, and it also features several DA alumni in this multi-point-of-view Rashomon-like retelling of the castastrophic event.  Viewers will meet and experience Titanic's maiden voyage through different passengers' experiences, then in the concluding hour we will see their fates played out before us. 



Eagle-eyed viewers spot some of the creme-de-la-creme of British acting talent throughout the four hours, including familiar faces from The Tudors, Bleak House, the Harry Potter films, and others.  This Titanic might better have played on PBS, and surely they could have done a less messy job with the programming than splitting the mini up as ABC has done, but many viewers will probably DVR it anyway so no harm done, really.  Still, mustn't grumble!  Here's a selection of promos from various outlets for Titanic:













Titanic isn't a new subject for TV miniseries.  In 1979 ABC made big splash (sorry about that!) with their September start-of-season presentation of S.O.S. Titanic, with David Janssen top-billed in his role as John Jacob Astor.  Perennial TV favorite Cloris Leachman landed the plum role of the raucous Molly Brown, a just post-Alien Ian Holm played Bruce Ismay, plus Susan St. James, David Warner, an early Helen Mirren, and Ed Bishop (from cult favorite series U.F.O.) also co-starred.  There is a new DVD out on this TVM, but it's been severely edited down from the original 140 minute version.

 

In November of 1996 CBS premiered their new two-part Titanic miniseries, a lavish production starring George C. Scott as Captain Smith, Peter Gallagher and Catherine Zeta-Jones as a pair of ill-fated lovers, Roger Rees as Bruce Ismay, Eva Marie Saint as a first class snob, and this time around Marilu Henner stood in for the Denver millionairess Molly Brown.  (The whole movie seems to be available for now on YouTube beginning here.)  You can check out a couple of good trailers for the miniseries on the Titanic Internet Movie Database page, too.

Of course we're looking forward to ABC tonight -- not sure if it will be up OnDemand after the initial airing, so perhaps you need to DVR in case you can't watch in real time -- not because we expect it will show anything particularly new, but because the story of the Titanic is timeless.  Attention must be paid, and TV is the place to do it.

Enjoy!