My day was blah. Nothing happened. Even the entertainment was second-rate, a recent Masterpiece Theater version of 39 Steps. I liked the 1936 Hitchcock movie much better, but I sat through this one for lack of anything else to do. The ending was totally improbable. They were obviously setting you up for a sequel. I hope it doesn't come to that.
Masterpiece Theater has become very lame. Perhaps it always was and I never noticed, but the endless remakes of Dickens, Austen, and Upstairs, Downstairs are beginning to get on my nerves. Their mysteries are even worse, which is disappointing to a fan like me. How many versions of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot can we watch? Apparently many. I hope makers of these potboilers are just going through a phase, but they seem tiresomely infatuated with style rather than content. Little hats with veils and scarlet lipstick that matches the fake blood. Out-of-focus camera work also seems to be the rage. And the Wallander series really sucks. I've had friends tell me they like it, but that's just because they haven't seen the infinitely superior Swedish version. Besides, like me, they're desperate to watch anything new.
I read somewhere that they were remaking these "classics" to appeal to a new generation. It seems a shame when you think how many good British mystery novels are out there, just waiting to be translated to the screen.
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