[thechat] Cadfael

[Martin Burns]

On Mon, December 19, 2005 9:08 pm, Terry Fowler said:
> One evening within the last 10 years or so I was
> channel surfing
> and came across a show featuring Derek Jacobi as a
> crime-solving
> Benedictine monk in what appeared to be a medieval
> setting. I
> watched about 15 minutes of it and was fascinated,
> enthralled
> even. Then I was called away.

> While I was thus occupied I saw "Cadfael" with a
> picture of
> Derek J on it and knew IMMEDIATELY that this was the
> show I'd
> been looking for and wondering about for years. (Only
> today did
> it occur to me that I could have checked imdb.com at
> any point
> in the past years and found the answer.)
>
> So, now that the question "What was that show" has
> been answered,
> the question becomes "Which season to buy?" I found
> some info
> online but thought I'd see if any of you have guidance
> for a
> long-time wannabe Cadfael fan.
>
> Is any one series or episode considered to be
> significantly
> better than the others? Given the four choices below,
> which one would you buy?

Terry

You'd be better off buying the books actually. I was pretty disappointed with the TV
Series - Jacobi is just too *prissy* for the role, which is supposed to be an aging
(yes, fine), but very worldly-wise monk who's seen more than a little of Real Life(tm)
before the cloister.

And, tbh, the books were fine for me when I was a teenager, living about 20 miles up the
road from Shrewsbury, and therefore with an interest in all the local references. And
they're just about the right potboiler depth for a short TV adaptation without much
subtlety.

But compare them with Name of the Rose, and you'll see what a *real* writer can do with
a "Murder in the Abbey with interesting backstory and historical context" genre piece.

Cheers
Martin


-- 
"Names, once they are in common use   | Spammers: Send me email to
 quickly become mere sounds, their    | -> yumyum at easyweb.co.uk <- to train
 etymology being buried, like so many | my filter. Currently killing over
 of the earth's marvels, beneath the  | 99.9% of all known spams stone dead.
 dust of habit." - Salman Rushdie     | http://nuclearelephant.com/projects/dspam

Wooden toys for toddlers: http://www.purpur.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=95
Cute Baby Socks: http://www.purpur.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=85_96