DVR alert: Zen & The Art of Masterpiece Mystery
Ken from Chicago
GLADES and AMC's BREAKING BAD has its 4th season debut.
Meanwhile PBS has the debut of ZEN, starring Rufus Sewell as "Detective
Aurelio Zen", separated from his wife, living his mother and investigating
crime and police corruption in Rome--and possibly love?
It airs tonight from 8-9:30pm Central on PBS Masterpiece Mystery.
-- Ken from Chicago (who's interested to see how Rufus travels from the Dark
City to the Eternal City)
Arthur Lipscomb
> While there are new episodes of TNT's LEVERAGE and FALLING SKIES, A&E's
> THE GLADES and AMC's BREAKING BAD has its 4th season debut.
You forgot True Blood.
>
> Meanwhile PBS has the debut of ZEN, starring Rufus Sewell as "Detective
> Aurelio Zen", separated from his wife, living his mother and
> investigating crime and police corruption in Rome--and possibly love?
>
> It airs tonight from 8-9:30pm Central on PBS Masterpiece Mystery.
>
> -- Ken from Chicago (who's interested to see how Rufus travels from the
> Dark City to the Eternal City)
I already have it set to record on my DVR but I probably won't watch it
until tomorrow. I've been thinking about maybe watching Dark City
again. This may be a good excuse to do so.
Alls Quiet
wrote:
>
> It airs tonight from 8-9:30pm Central on PBS Masterpiece Mystery.
The trailer on PBS' site looks pretty good.
Patty Winter
In article <NP-dnUQd_4t3wb7T...@giganews.com>,
Ken from Chicago <kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>Meanwhile PBS has the debut of ZEN, starring Rufus Sewell as "Detective
>Aurelio Zen", separated from his wife, living his mother and investigating
>crime and police corruption in Rome--and possibly love?
I like your Subject line. :-)
>-- Ken from Chicago (who's interested to see how Rufus travels from the Dark
>City to the Eternal City)
I don't know what the Dark City is (I do know which one is the Eternal
City), but I'm looking forward to this one despite the negative comments
here on r.a.tv about the odd mixture of English and Italian accents among
the British actors. Also, I'm glad to have Rufus Sewell back on TV. Haven't
seen him since "Pillars of the Earth."
Patty
Ken from Chicago
news:4e236e83$0$2138$742e...@news.sonic.net...
>
> In article <NP-dnUQd_4t3wb7T...@giganews.com>,
> Ken from Chicago <kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>>Meanwhile PBS has the debut of ZEN, starring Rufus Sewell as "Detective
>>Aurelio Zen", separated from his wife, living his mother and investigating
>>crime and police corruption in Rome--and possibly love?
>
> I like your Subject line. :-)
I was tempted to go with Zen & The Art of Masterpiece Maintenance.
>>-- Ken from Chicago (who's interested to see how Rufus travels from the
>>Dark
>>City to the Eternal City)
>
> I don't know what the Dark City is (I do know which one is the Eternal
Imagine The Matrix and Inception mixed up--and aired in 1998.
DARK CITY is considered a cult classic.
> City), but I'm looking forward to this one despite the negative comments
> here on r.a.tv about the odd mixture of English and Italian accents among
> the British actors. Also, I'm glad to have Rufus Sewell back on TV.
> Haven't
> seen him since "Pillars of the Earth."
>
>
> Patty
Intriguing how Rufus can look wide-eyed and sleepy all at once.
-- Ken from Chicago
Arthur Lipscomb
> "Patty Winter" <pat...@wintertime.com> wrote in message
> news:4e236e83$0$2138$742e...@news.sonic.net...
>>
>> In article <NP-dnUQd_4t3wb7T...@giganews.com>,
>> Ken from Chicago <kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> Meanwhile PBS has the debut of ZEN, starring Rufus Sewell as "Detective
>>> Aurelio Zen", separated from his wife, living his mother and
>>> investigating
>>> crime and police corruption in Rome--and possibly love?
>>
>> I like your Subject line. :-)
>
> I was tempted to go with Zen & The Art of Masterpiece Maintenance.
>
>>> -- Ken from Chicago (who's interested to see how Rufus travels from
>>> the Dark
>>> City to the Eternal City)
>>
>> I don't know what the Dark City is (I do know which one is the Eternal
>
> Imagine The Matrix and Inception mixed up--and aired in 1998.
>
> DARK CITY is considered a cult classic.
I like to think of it simply as classic. ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrGSLMl1XFs
If you rent it, be sure to listen to the Roger Ebert commentary track.
Patty Winter
In article <X86dnXmhrv0XHb7T...@giganews.com>,
Ken from Chicago <kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
>"Patty Winter" <pat...@wintertime.com> wrote in message
>news:4e236e83$0$2138$742e...@news.sonic.net...
[snip]
>> I like your Subject line. :-)
>
>I was tempted to go with Zen & The Art of Masterpiece Maintenance.
That would have worked, too!
>> I don't know what the Dark City is (I do know which one is the Eternal
>
>Imagine The Matrix and Inception mixed up--and aired in 1998.
>
>DARK CITY is considered a cult classic.
Ah, a movie. Okay.
>Intriguing how Rufus can look wide-eyed and sleepy all at once.
:-)
Patty
Pete
Ken from Chicago <kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>Intriguing how Rufus can look wide-eyed and sleepy all at once.
Somehow I keep thinking Ian McShane reincarnated... IF McShane
happened to be no longer around!
-- Pete --
--
============================================================================
The address in the header is a Spam Bucket -- replies will not be seen...
(If you do need to email, replace the account name with my true name.)
============================================================================
Alls Quiet
> Somehow I keep thinking Ian McShane reincarnated... IF McShane
> happened to be no longer around!
Well, my reply disappeared (at least from Google), so here goes again:
YES. Both have that hollow-eyed Byzantine-icon tousle-haired Roman
emperor look, kind of unusual.
Unusual but helpful for career-building roles such as Judas Iscariot
or King Marke.
Ken from Chicago
"Arthur Lipscomb" <art...@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote in message
news:j004hs$24t$1...@dont-email.me...
> On 7/17/2011 5:38 PM, Ken from Chicago wrote:
<snip>
>> Imagine The Matrix and Inception mixed up--and aired in 1998.
>>
>> DARK CITY is considered a cult classic.
>
>
> I like to think of it simply as classic. ;-)
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrGSLMl1XFs
>
>
> If you rent it, be sure to listen to the Roger Ebert commentary track.
A classic is recognized by the majority.
A cult classic is only recognized by a select minority.
-- Ken from Chicago
Adam H. Kerman
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Damn. That was very entertaining; didn't quite buy his accent.
I love Italian women, all voluptuous, every one.
I won't call it a modern film noir because it didn't have the key
element of betrayal by a woman. In fact, the woman he thought had
used him became a key ally. I liked the behind-the-scenes politics,
although I have to question if any Italian gives a shit if the
government falls.
I don't think the girl was the murderer; sure don't see her
killing the prostitutes. But it was a fascinating revelation.
Are we going to get an explanation for his bizarre name, except
"It's Venetian"?
Cracked me up that he had the obnoxious nephew sent to Siberia.
Mason Barge
You know, the one important thing I don't remember is whether they
resolved who murdered Faso. My impression is that it was the "Ukranian"
handyman.
Was Faso the guy who had abused her as a child? If so, okay, she's
probably guilty, if not, she must have just found the rifle.
By no means would I call this "film noir".
And for sure, the woman is gorgeous and very ethnic-Italian looking, with
those eyes and the way she uses them. We get a nice blonde next week :)
Patty Winter
to where Aurelio's family name came from. Except that person was
ethnic Greek and lived in southern Italy, not Venice, so maybe
it's just a red herring...
Patty
Smokie Darling (Annie)
I didn't hear him trying to do any sort of "Italianesque" accent. He sounded "normal" to me.
> >I love Italian women, all voluptuous, every one.
> >
> >I won't call it a modern film noir because it didn't have the key
> >element of betrayal by a woman. In fact, the woman he thought had
> >used him became a key ally. I liked the behind-the-scenes politics,
> >although I have to question if any Italian gives a shit if the
> >government falls.
> >
> >I don't think the girl was the murderer; sure don't see her
> >killing the prostitutes. But it was a fascinating revelation.
> >
> >Are we going to get an explanation for his bizarre name, except
> >"It's Venetian"?
> >
> >Cracked me up that he had the obnoxious nephew sent to Siberia.
>
> You know, the one important thing I don't remember is whether they
> resolved who murdered Faso. My impression is that it was the "Ukranian"
> handyman.
I believe they blamed the girl (that's why they were looking for her), Lucia. Her prints were on the key, the gun, all around the house (yes, I know, but they just didn't want him finding proof that the "born again" baddie actually *had* done it.
> Was Faso the guy who had abused her as a child? If so, okay, she's
> probably guilty, if not, she must have just found the rifle.
No, she was abused by her father (and Faso wasn't her father). It was never explained. Zen did comment that he didn't have any motive for her doing it, but since her prints were everywhere, and she'd run "to ground", well it had to be her, right? (or maybe he just said that to get the gov't dweeb to do what *he* wanted with the nephew).
Arthur Lipscomb
I'm not sure what happened. I assumed I missed something but the
murdered seemed to be solved at the end. Just don't ask me who did it.
David Johnston
<a...@chinet.com> wrote:
>Ken from Chicago <kwicker1...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>>While there are new episodes of TNT's LEVERAGE and FALLING SKIES, A&E's THE
>>GLADES and AMC's BREAKING BAD has its 4th season debut.
>
>>Meanwhile PBS has the debut of ZEN, starring Rufus Sewell as "Detective
>>Aurelio Zen", separated from his wife, living his mother and investigating
>>crime and police corruption in Rome--and possibly love?
>
>>It airs tonight from 8-9:30pm Central on PBS Masterpiece Mystery.
>
>>-- Ken from Chicago (who's interested to see how Rufus travels from the Dark
>>City to the Eternal City)
>
>s
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>Damn. That was very entertaining; didn't quite buy his accent.
>
He had an accent?
Dano
news:p6fc271rt61a71a0q...@4ax.com...
He had an accent?
==================================
Kerman thought he was trying for an Italian accent. In which
case...yeah...it was terrible.
Dano
news:uudb27ptrm9lms6t5...@4ax.com...
========================================
Just got around to watching this. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Faso was not the abuser of the girl...just the guy that bought the home she
lived in...was actually imprisoned and abused in. I actually liked how they
left the solution ambiguous. The important thing was Zen came out of this
impossible task unscathed. And survived the onslaught of that murderous
crew bent on vengeance. The poor mad girl may have done it (she was one
hell of a shot eh?), but it could also have been the fake Ukrainian.
Hell...it could have even been the original guy who recanted. I guess we'll
never know.
Mason Barge
>"Mason Barge" wrote in message
>news:uudb27ptrm9lms6t5...@4ax.com...
>Just got around to watching this. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
>
>Faso was not the abuser of the girl...just the guy that bought the home she
>lived in...was actually imprisoned and abused in. I actually liked how they
>left the solution ambiguous. The important thing was Zen came out of this
>impossible task unscathed. And survived the onslaught of that murderous
>crew bent on vengeance. The poor mad girl may have done it (she was one
>hell of a shot eh?), but it could also have been the fake Ukrainian.
>Hell...it could have even been the original guy who recanted. I guess we'll
>never know.
Thanks. If the girl wasn't abused by Faso, she really wouldn't have had a
motive.
So I guess we are left to conclude that it was his political enemies, and
probably the Ukranian who pulled the trigger.
Mason Barge
>"David Johnston" wrote in message
>news:p6fc271rt61a71a0q...@4ax.com...
>
[...]
>>Damn. That was very entertaining; didn't quite buy his accent.
>>
>
>He had an accent?
>
>==================================
>
>Kerman thought he was trying for an Italian accent. In which
>case...yeah...it was terrible.
I don't buy it. Someone in the show spoke with an undisguised Midlands
accent (which was a bit startling, LOL). As far as I can tell, the rule
of the show was "speak normally" rather than "try to sound Italian by
sounding like an Italian speaking English".
Patty Winter
In article <k60e271rhbup71g9f...@4ax.com>,
That's exactly what happened. There was no attempt by the main actors
to do Italian accents. Sewell mentioned it in this interview on a BBC
morning show:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12093312
Patty
David Johnston
wrote:
>
>In article <k60e271rhbup71g9f...@4ax.com>,
>Mason Barge <mason...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>On Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:56:44 -0400, "Dano" <janea...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>>Kerman thought he was trying for an Italian accent. In which
>>>case...yeah...it was terrible.
>>
>>I don't buy it. Someone in the show spoke with an undisguised Midlands
>>accent (which was a bit startling, LOL). As far as I can tell, the rule
>>of the show was "speak normally" rather than "try to sound Italian by
>>sounding like an Italian speaking English".
>
>That's exactly what happened. There was no attempt by the main actors
>to do Italian accents.
Yeah, that's what I kind of thought. His accent sounded authentically
British...although I'm not good at that.
solarr
This must be a "Masterpiece Mystery" (as opposed to an Aurelio Zen
thing), because I noticed during the last Agatha Christie episode
(can't remember if it was Miss Marple or Poirot).
I wrote them down as they scrolled by, and if I remember correctly, it
spelled out a woman's first name. Sure wish I had noticed it on the
Zen episode to see if it's a pattern. ;-)
-/< /\ />-
Patty Winter
In article <5d9d0f45-4177-495d...@d32g2000yqa.googlegroups.com>,
solarr <sol...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>On Jul 19, 1:56 pm, Patty Winter <pat...@wintertime.com> wrote:
>
>> BTW, the red letters in the closing credits may offer a clue as
>> to where Aurelio's family name came from. Except that person was
>> ethnic Greek and lived in southern Italy, not Venice, so maybe
>> it's just a red herring...
>
>This must be a "Masterpiece Mystery" (as opposed to an Aurelio Zen
>thing), because I noticed during the last Agatha Christie episode
>(can't remember if it was Miss Marple or Poirot).
Oh yes, they've been doing it for years on Masterpiece Mystery.
(Only on Mystery, not Classic or Contemporary.)
>I wrote them down as they scrolled by, and if I remember correctly, it
>spelled out a woman's first name. Sure wish I had noticed it on the
>Zen episode to see if it's a pattern. ;-)
I didn't watch the recent Marple, but I heard that the red letters
spelled out the name of one of the characters (Goody Carne).
The latest Poirot episode spelled out "Sherlock." I'm assuming it
isn't a coincidence that the episode was written by Mark Gatiss. :-)
On "Vendetta," it said "Zeno."
Patty
Mason Barge
Thanks, I enjoyed the interview. Sewell seems fairly charming and not
utterly stupid or venal :)
I was surprised he was associating himself with "bad guys". I've seen him
play "good guys" before and wouldn't peg him one way or the other.
solarr
On Jul 20, 1:30 pm, Patty Winter <pat...@wintertime.com> wrote:
> In article <5d9d0f45-4177-495d-b56e-71e9ed3d8...@d32g2000yqa.googlegroups.com>,
Wow, learn something every day! Thanks for the info, I'll be looking
for the red letters from now on. ;-)
-/< /\ />-
Dano
"Mason Barge" wrote in message
news:k60e271rhbup71g9f...@4ax.com...
==================================
I was joking. Thought it was obvious. Can't speak for the other fellow.
Patty Winter
In article <ck7e27d84cejo6l1k...@4ax.com>,
Mason Barge <mason...@gmail.com> wrote:
>On 20 Jul 2011 16:37:11 GMT, Patty Winter <pat...@wintertime.com> wrote:
[snip]
[snip]
>>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12093312
>
>Thanks, I enjoyed the interview. Sewell seems fairly charming and not
>utterly stupid or venal :)
>
>I was surprised he was associating himself with "bad guys". I've seen him
>play "good guys" before and wouldn't peg him one way or the other.
Yeah, I wasn't sure what he was referring to, either. What I remember
him from is his TV shows "Eleventh Hour" and "Pillars of the Earth"
and from Branagh's "Hamlet." He was definitely a good guy in the first
two, and in the last one, I'd call Fortinbras annoying, but not bad. :-)
Patty
Dano
"Mason Barge" wrote in message
news:l00e2756fogdasl9n...@4ax.com...
============================================
I really got the impression that even Zen was not certain at all. Judging
mainly by his quizzical expression after asking the original suspect about
his jailhouse "religious" epiphany...and getting no answer. I even wonder
if that was the end of that mystery.
By the way...the girl's motive could simply be that Faso claimed what would
have been the only "home" she ever knew. Whether she had been a captive
there or not. She was robbing the guy secretly for years. At any
rate...Zen didn't wish to bring any more misery into the poor girl's
life...especially since he owed her his own. To carry forth the
investigation would mean dragging her from her hidey holes and
finger-printing her at least.
Mason Barge
Okay, I went and watched the end of it again to get the skinny on this.
The best I can tell, the Ukranian did it. He was a hired gun working for
some shadowy criminal/political figure. Zen seems convinced of it.
However, when he talked to the Ministry, Zen blamed the girl for it, but
made excuses why they did not go to arrest her (cave system, not enough
money).
The official asks him what her motive was and he says "as far as I can
tell, she doesn't have one". I got the impression that the official
understood that she was being used as the scapegoat and Zen was willing to
let the murderer go free, to avoid political embarrassment, as long as
they didn't try to convict the girl (who was innocent).
It's a reasonably important point, in retrospect, because Zen definitely
compromised his integrity by letting a murderer go free. It also gave him
a little leverage -- so the ministry was granting his favors, at least in
part, because he still had something on them, not just because he had done
them a favor.
Mason Barge
So now, we'll never get to the finish line?
Adam H. Kerman
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>>I don't think the girl was the murderer; sure don't see her
>>killing the prostitutes. But it was a fascinating revelation.
>>Cracked me up that he had the obnoxious nephew sent to Siberia.
>You know, the one important thing I don't remember is whether they
>resolved who murdered Faso. My impression is that it was the "Ukranian"
>handyman.
That would have made sense. Quite frankly, Zen really never did rule
out the man who was arrested for the crime, who had the strongest motive.
>Was Faso the guy who had abused her as a child? If so, okay, she's
>probably guilty, if not, she must have just found the rifle.
She was abused by her father. They said something about the estate being
sold out of bankruptcy but not what happened to the money. She should have
inherited something.
The murdered man bought the home out of bankruptcy.
Adam H. Kerman
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>Thanks. If the girl wasn't abused by Faso, she really wouldn't have had a
>motive.
The motive she could have had was witnessing sex with the prostitutes and
in her deteriorated mental state, assuming Faso was abusing them, just
like her father. But killing the prostitutes to cover up the murder of a
father substitute? That didn't make any sense.
I don't see how it would make any sense to the Italian public either.
Adam H. Kerman
>He had an accent?
In a few scenes, it didn't sound like his normal speaking voice. In other
scenes, it did. So I thought he was trying to sound like a native Venetian
speaking English, however the hell that should sound.
Mason Barge
I did a long post about this yesterday. I went back and watched the end
of the show again.
She didn't do it, the Ukranian did. But Zen, speaking to the Ministry
official, pins it on her for convenience, as long as the Ministry accepts
that they are not going to pursue or prosecute her.
They actually talk about motive. The official asks about her motive and
Zen says "she didn't have one that I can tell" or something. But then he
says, basically, it doesn't matter since they aren't going to hunt her
down (for a number of thin excuses, such as the tunnel system would make
it difficult and "we just don't have the money").
Adam H. Kerman
The Ukranian who is actually Italian. But he didn't have an actual motive,
unless he was a hitman. Zen suggesting a love triangle was nonsense.
I don't buy that the girl is necessarily a witness. I think she found
the weapon's hiding place and stole it later.
>But Zen, speaking to the Ministry official, pins it on her for
>convenience, as long as the Ministry accepts that they are not going to
>pursue or prosecute her.
>They actually talk about motive. The official asks about her motive and
>Zen says "she didn't have one that I can tell" or something. But then he
>says, basically, it doesn't matter since they aren't going to hunt her
>down (for a number of thin excuses, such as the tunnel system would make
>it difficult and "we just don't have the money").
Right. That's the way I remember the ending. It still is going to sound
like a coverup.
erilar
"Adam H. Kerman" <a...@chinet.com> wrote:
> Right. That's the way I remember the ending. It still is going to sound
> like a coverup.
But a cover-up is just what the higher-ups WANTED!
--
Erilar, biblioholic medievalist
Adam H. Kerman
>"Adam H. Kerman" <a...@chinet.com> wrote:
>>Right. That's the way I remember the ending. It still is going to sound
>>like a coverup.
>But a cover-up is just what the higher-ups WANTED!
The government doesn't want it to sound like a coverup as the government
had ties to the man with strongest motives for murder and feared it
would fall with any attention to those ties.
A coverup is useless if it's obviously a coverup.