great britain

In the very near future, Trent McCauley is a 16-year-old in northern England who makes videos by cutting, pasting, and editing movies starring a dead actor he's obsessed with. This isn't just a hobby of Trent's, it's his passion (much like writing Simon Snow fanfic is a passion for Cath in Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl). But it violates copyright and pirating laws, which is why the state cuts off his family's internet access for a year. Trent's mother is now unable to apply for her disability benefits, his father loses his telephone support job, and his high-achieving younger sister can't do her

PBS’s Downton Abbey and history enthusiasts, as well as British royal watchers will be excited about this British television documentary series of 20, thirty minute episodes featuring all stately houses and castles which Queen Victoria visited throughout her life.  The hosts are British antiques expert Tim Wonnacott, who shows all the “upstairs” historical quarters, and chef Rosemary Shrager, who shared the “downstairs” kitchens with food historian Ivan Day.  Together they explore the legacy of each royal stay, prepare a meal that Queen Victoria ate during her visit, while using authentic

I saw the Gary Oldman film adaptation of this classic John Le Carré novel last winter, which made me curious about this BBC series of produced in 1979.  Even though I knew “the story” from the film, I found this series riveting.  The basic set-up of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is that a mole has infiltrated the Circus, which is the code name for the British Secret Intelligence Service, and it is Smiley’s job to ferret him out.  This is a good, old-fashioned spy story reeking of Cold-War era paranoia.  The stunning cast is uniformly excellent, but it is Alec Guinness as George Smiley who