I've been watching Bleak House on Masterpiece Theater for the past few weeks, and it's the best television show I've seen in ages (maybe all the way back to the A&E Pride & Prejudice).

My top 5 reasons why it is awesome:

• 5.) The charcter of Smallweed has some ailment that confines him to a wheelchair, and everytime (often) he yells, "Shake me up, Judy!" and his granddaughter (?) grabs him from behind and jostles him from side to side to resettle his bones, I think of Uncle Jack on Arrested Development being shaken by Dragon, spitting up, and bellowing "That's just something the human body does when you shake it."
  

• 4.) The cinematography and soundtrack. It's shot like Battlestar Galactica or something, with lots of morose blues/grays and lots of quick cuts and lightning-flash zoom-ins accompanied by metallic thunk noises.
  

• 3.) The cast in general. I love you, English actors...all twelve of you who pop up in everything. In particular, it's great to see Pauline Collins (having grown up watching Wodehouse Playhouse) and the guy who plays Inspector Lynley (it took me a whole episode to place him).
  

• 2.) One cast member in particular...Denis Lawson, or Wedge! (and Urquhart in Local Hero, of course) I enjoy other X-Wing pilots, of course. I mean, who doesn't love Porkins? But Wedge will always be the best. Especially that moment in Return of the Jedi during the Ewok celebration party when he is making a spaceship zoomy motion with his hand to reenact the space battle he's just been through. Now there was a man who loved his job.
  

• 1.) The story. I've actually not ever read Bleak House, and even though I own it, I'm holding off on reading it until I've watched the whole miniseries. So I'm really enjoying trying to figure out on my own what will happen next.
  the week in review...

  just another brick in the wall - 2006-07-19

  british telly shows - 2006-07-09

  daddy day - 2006-05-18

  not doing so well - 2006-04-21

  lost and found - 2006-04-19

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