The TV Column

Anglophiles will find Grantchester jolly good

Grantchester debuts at 9 p.m. today on AETN. The British mystery stars James Norton (left) and Robson Green as an unlikely sleuthing duo.
Grantchester debuts at 9 p.m. today on AETN. The British mystery stars James Norton (left) and Robson Green as an unlikely sleuthing duo.

We know there's a word for those who love all things British -- Anglophile.

So what's the word for those who love any and all British dramas on TV? Anglovideophile?

Let's go with that.

Attention, all you Anglovideophiles who watch Downton Abbey while wearing period costumes, know that Doc Martin's last name is Ellingham and have a framed "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster on your wall. Your next most favorite series is debuting today on AETN.

Masterpiece Mystery!: Grantchester premieres at 9 p.m. immediately following Episode 3 of this season's Downton Abbey.

Grantchester is a six-part series that stars British heartthrob James Norton (Belle) as Reverend Sidney Chambers, an Anglican vicar in the village of Grantchester near Cambridge in 1953.

Before he became a priest, Chambers was a soldier in the Scots Guards who fought in World War II. He likes jazz and a good drink and attracts the ladies.

Chambers is young and charismatic and also has a talent for solving crimes. He turns amateur sleuth when one of his parishioners dies under mysterious circumstances. It looks like suicide, but Chambers suspects murder.

Naturally, we need a counterpoint. We have that when Chambers turns to grumpy, down-to-earth, overworked police inspector Geordie Keating (Robson Green, Reckless) for help. The duo become crime-solving partners and friends.

Theirs is an unlikely partnership, but it works. Keating has a gruff, methodical approach to police work that complements Chambers' intuitive techniques of coaxing information from witnesses and suspects.

Other key players include:

Amanda Kendall (Morven Christie), the daughter of a wealthy, aristocratic father. Her mother died a few years before and Amanda has two younger brothers. Amanda has known Chambers for years and went to school with his sister, Jennifer (Fiona Button). Amanda is in love with Chambers and he with her. She would marry him but her father, Sir Edward Kendall (Pip Torrens), has arranged for her to marry Guy Hopkins (Tom Austen), the son of a friend of his, and she cannot refuse.

Chambers knows he and Amanda can only be good friends, but Hopkins is wary of Amanda and Chambers' closeness.

Mrs. Maguire (Tessa Peake-Jones) is Chambers' housekeeper and well versed in the Bible. Chambers is the first young vicar she has looked after and she treats him like a son and attempts to order him about.

Leonard Finch (Al Weaver) is Chambers' curate and is naive and unworldly, not knowing his own sexuality. He was a teacher at a girls' school, and studied theology and joined the church to help people and find his position in the world.

Hildegard Staunton (Pheline Roggan) is a young German widow who develops a close romantic relationship with Chambers.

In an interview with The New York Times, Norton said, "Sidney is very similar to me. He's a normal guy who sees the best in people and wants to do the right thing but is always tempted off course.

"You realize that whatever happened during the Second World War has affected Sidney in an incredibly profound way and informs his characteristics. His drinking, his relationships with women, his self-loathing, really, all make him an amazing character to play."

About Grantchester, Norton added, "It's quintessentially English of the period, but I think we've tried to avoid being chockablock saccharine with it. We've told the '50s as they were, with rationing, this horrible prejudice and homophobia, so it's not completely sepia rose-tinted. And the crimes are rooted in passion or jealousy or revenge. It's not villains or heroes but the gray area in between."

Life after death. Those who watched last week's Golden Globes are well aware of the number of awards that went to nontraditional outlets.

Amazon streaming service won its first Golden Globe for Transparent. In all, three Golden Globes went to online streaming services.

Who lost out? The four major broadcast networks, that's who. ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox got zilch. Zero. Nada. The Golden Globes may take heat for being lightweight and easily dismissed, but they've helped open the door for streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Yahoo, YouTube and Crackle, to find a niche in the expanding TV universe. And that gives hope to series canceled by cable and broadcast.

Examples: NBC's canceled cult comedy Community will live on in a sixth season on Yahoo Screen, and A&E's canned Longmire will return for a fourth season on Netflix sometime this year. Meanwhile, Hulu is letting the quickly canceled low-rated ABC comedies Selfie and Manhattan Love Story finish out their seasons online.

How is this possible? Online entities have subscribers and don't live or die by ratings. Shows that die on broadcast now have one final option before fading away. Times are changing.

The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:

mstorey@arkansasonline.com

Style on 01/18/2015

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