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Here is the thing about me.
I am fairly loyal.
Maybe even crazy loyal sometimes. Okay, a lot of the time.
In general I am a long-term relationship person.
For instance, I stuck by Martha Stewart through the long haul.
I think this is why I love things like holiday traditions and the liturgical calendar. They stick around.
It’s not like Christmas gets up one morning and decides to go for a gallon of milk and then never comes back.
No, every year, no matter how you are feeling about Christmas, no matter how far away you have moved, or how big the chip on your shoulder has gotten, come December here comes Christmas, turning back up at it’s usual time.
I like that about it.
So given all this loyalty stuff, it should come as no big surprise that I feel the same way about TV shows. I prefer ones that last a million seasons.
American shows, for the most part, stink at this ideal of long-term commitment (not at all shockingly I reckon.) I can’t tell you how many times I have fallen in love with a show, just for it to be canceled after one or two seasons.
British shows, particularly British Crime shows, well that is a other kettle of fish and chips. They can go on and on and on for decades. And if for some reason they stop for a few years, never fear, eventually they will make a sequel or a prequel or something somehow associated so that you don’t feel bereft and abandoned.
Take for instance my current love affair with the detectives in Oxford.
First I feel in-love with Lewis and Hathaway, and watch all of their Masterpiece Mystery episodes at least twice ( Inspector Lewis on Netflix and Hulu Plus)
When I ran out of those, I happily stumbled upon the series that started it all – featuring Inspector Morse (Hulu Plus) and a much younger Detective Lewis. I have yet to even scratch the surface of the 8 seasons.
But wait! That’s not all! Now the Brits have gone one step further towards keeping me happy, by releasing a new series (PBS) called Endeavour, which is mostly about the young Detective Morse and a little about his superior Inspector Thursday.
You cannot imagine how happy this level of continuity brings me. And how it only re-enforces my belief that I live in the wrong country.
(Also, one does have to wonder after all these years, how so many people keep dying suspiciously in Oxford…Is there something in the water??)
Thank you for enduring this small example of my extreem nerdy-ness.
Loved Morse and was so sad when they ended (upon actor John Thaw's death)and then so happy when Lewis was promoted & the new shows started! Now looking forward to the young Morse/Endeavor.
I've wondered about Oxford too, with ALL those deaths – haha!
I loved the way Morse was the cultured sophisticated one while Lewis was more “man of the people” so now that he's the Inspector his cohort Hathaway is the cultured one.
If you haven't read any of Elizabeth George's “Inspector Lynley” books, you'd probably enjoy them. I think there's been a tv series but haven't seen any of them yet. The 1st one I read was #16 so now I've been reading the earlier ones as I can get them.
There's just something about those British crime stories, even when the author's an American (E. George)!
OH my goodness, are you a kindred spirit. My husband and I are obsessed with British mystery shows. It started out with Inspector Foyle – if you haven't watched all of them, get thee to the library to check them out! They are phenomenal. Then we went through all the Inspector Morse's up to the sad finale. Then we watched every possible Agatha Christie Marple (even watching the same episode but with different Jane Marple's) and then the Inspector Poirot's. I also watched all the Rosemary and Thyme mysteries which was a double delight given the English gardens/landscaping aspect plus the mystery angle. We are now hooked on the Midsomer Murders with Inspector Barnaby. They are so fantastic! And there are 15 seasons, so it seems like we'll never run out of things to watch! But my husband did bring home the Endeavor (young Inspector Morse) and we both thought it was perfection. And what a cutie they picked to play Endeavor. Such an old soul, which Morse always was, but the younger, more brooding handsomeness to go with it. Sigh. I have to admit I'm also hopelessly addicted to the Sherlock episodes with Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock. If only they'd free those two actors up so the next season could be filmed. I am anxiously awaiting it. I am reminded daily (as I vicariously explore the English countryside along with my favorite British CI's just how misplaced I am on this particular continent). Something latently British cries out in me to return to hedge-rowed country lanes and thatched roof houses.
I am definitely amongst my people here. 😉 My mum, sister and I (yes, we're American but we call our mother mum, old family thing) get together every Thursday night to watch a BBC mystery. Our faves are Morse, Lewis, Midsomer Murders and all the Agatha Christies, especially David Suchet's Poirot and Joan Hickson's Miss Marple. I even named my birds Lewis and Hathaway. We are all exceedingly pleased with the new Endeavour series too!
My husband and I have been enjoying the last few seasons of Inspector Lewis and are trying to get into Endeavor. When we ever learn Netflix/Hulu, we will have to look at the older seasons of Inspectors Morse and Lewis. The think I love about English television and movies is that the actors look more like “real people” – in our country, we seem to often have only perfect-looking actors in everything but character roles.
To the commenter reading Elizabeth George's Inspector Lyndley novels, I urge you to read them in order as the personal lives of the main characters do matter. Your library should have most of them, I also see them at Goodwill sometimes. I love her books even though they can be a little slow sometimes.
Oh I will have to check those out!
Oh I love that you named your birds that! How fun!
Yes, I adore the “village” aspect as well. Did you see there are new Foyles coming out on PBS this fall? Cannot wait!