Fun with BritBox

[Rutabaga]

I don't receive regular over-the-air television and I canceled my cable TV and Netflix accounts several years ago.  But I still belong to Amazon Prime, which includes a streaming video service, and within Amazon Prime I have a sub-subscription to BritBox, which packages a number of mainly British television programs and other content.  Of course it has all the usual Poirot, Marple, Sherlock Holmes, and the like, but it's fun to explore for other things that are new to me.

Two recent discoveries:  The Doctor Blake Mysteries, which is an Australian program, and McDonald & Dodds, which comes from the UK (based in Bath, England).

Doctor Blake is entertaining, and it's fun to hear the characters talk about "missages" instead of "messages" and "ividence" instead of "evidence."  The lead character (Dr. Blake, of course) drives a vintage 1930s Coventry Standard that he inherited from his father, with a quite memorable two-tone color scheme of oxblood fenders and ivory body.  Thankfully, none of the actors sounds like Crocodile Dundee -- the accents are actually fairly subtle on the whole.  

The other fun show is McDonald & Dodds, which pairs an ambitious female police detective with a much older male who is an odd blend of innocence, naiveté, and shrewd crime-solving ability.   This one comes from the UK and is listed as a "BritBox Original," which probably means it's not available through other channels.  

Just thought I'd pass these along.  John (@Alien Son) says Craig McLachlan, who plays Dr. Blake, was a well-known soap opera actor before this series, and got himself into some kind of legal hot water that sounded like a #MeToo issue.  He also assures me that most Australians don't sound like Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee) in everyday conversation, and believes that Hogan himself was putting on that accent when he did that series of TV commercials for Australian tourism a few years ago.  Glad to hear that.

R

[Talo Segura]

3 hours ago, Rutabaga said:

He also assures me that most Australians don't sound like Paul Hogan

I thought all Australians were summed up by Colin Hay...

 

 

[Cole Parker]

I don't get BritBox because I already have too many other streaming services, but one I do have is Acorn, which is the basis for Australian and New Zealand shows, but also has quite a few England series.  If BritBox includes Acorn, shows of great merit include 800 Words, Happy Valley, Doc Martiin, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Foyle's War, Kingdom, George Gently and The Larkins. 

[Rutabaga]

Acorn is another service available via Prime but I am not a subscriber.  I did see many if not all of the Foyle's War and George Gently episodes on some service I had in the past - not sure which one.  

R

[Cole Parker]

I think Prime is free if you sign up for free shipping from Amazon.  But don't take my word for it.

[Alien Son]

18 hours ago, Talo Segura said:

I thought all Australians were summed up by Colin Hay..

 

I hope you're joking!

I love that song, but the words are inane and don't make much sense, and they're not representative of Australians. And Colin Hay is a Scottish immigrant, so he was probably biased 😀.

Interestingly, a lot of actors, singers and groups considered Australian are actually immigrants from the UK and New Zealand. We have a bad habit of adopting people and then claiming them as our own.

[Talo Segura]

4 hours ago, Alien Son said:

a lot of actors, singers and groups considered Australian are actually immigrants from the UK and New Zealand.

Don't nearly all Australians have their origins abroad... This perhaps better represents the country (and yes I was joking!) The Seekers were Australians.

 

[Alien Son]

4 hours ago, Talo Segura said:

Don't nearly all Australians have their origins abroad... This perhaps better represents the country (and yes I was joking!) The Seekers were Australians.

Thanks, Talo, that's much better :). The Seekers still are Australian, although Judith Durham died a couple of years ago.

As far as European settlement goes, Australia is a young country, so, yes, we all have our origins abroad. And I'm half English because my father was an immigrant. Sadly, our multi-cultural society seems to be falling apart and Australia is becoming more and more racist.

The Aboriginal people have been here for thousands of years, but even they came from somewhere else originally.

[Cole Parker]

Great video.  Thanks!

 

C