Masterpiece Classic: Mr. Selfridge (UK Edition)

Lightweight Charm And Over-The-Top Performances Highlight This 10-Part British Soap Opera
The new British soap opera "Mr. Selfridge" has a certain frothy charm that will likely appeal to many viewers looking for something a bit more lighthearted from the Masterpiece Classic mantle. Ironically (or strangely) enough, "Mr. Selfridge" is the second series set in the world of retail to arrive on British airwaves this season following the popular "The Paradise." The show, which runs for 10 episodes (not 8 as are currently listed in the product description), is centered around the formation of Selfridge's Department Store in London after the turn of the century. Although the idea of the show is based in fact, I'm not entirely sure I would even call this a historical drama. It adheres more to the lines of a classic soap opera, with an ensemble of characters engaging in the expected romantic subplots and looking resplendent in period finery. The hat budget alone must surely be frightening (as are some of Mrs. Selfridge's hats)! It never digs particularly deep into complex...

Why expect Downton Abby?That would be boring!
Well,I happen to like Mr. Selfridge. The acting is stupendous and the characters are exquisitely dressed.
The sets are top notched. To try and compare this drama to Downton Abby is like trying to compare Are you being served? to Mr. Bean.
Both are delightful alone but use completely different type of Britsh humor.
Even-though the time-frame of Mr.Selfridge and Downton overlap,their stories are completely different.
One can enjoy both,differently.

Historical Drama
I stumbled across this series by accident one Sunday night on ITV and became fascinated. As the reviewers above have discussed in detail there is some unevenness in the story and character development and to be expected the acting and it's hard to know why but despite these flaws - or maybe because of them - since the series is based on a real character and events which are by definition flawed - you are captivated and just want to see and learn more about Mr. Selfridge and his time in London. I became fascinated by his story through this series and desperately wanted to learn more about him. I've now ordered the book the series is based on as well as the book Mr. Selfridge wrote himself in the '30s - "The Romance of Capitalism". I learnt that many things we consider 'normal' in retail today were introduced by Mr. Selfridge - "There are only 'x' more shopping Days 'till Christmas"; the customer is always right; special events to get people into a store; getting shoppers into a store...

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Powerbroker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Right

Alfre Woodard delivered a brilliant narration to the film
I strongly recommend this film because of its keen insight and thorough appreciation of an invaluable trailblazer in multi-national corporate diversity and inclusion. Having worked as a civil rights lawyer for the National Office of the NAACP, during the seventies, I had the privilege of working with the professional members of the National Office of the National Urban League. Having worked with both Rockefeller black Republicans as well as Nixon black Democrats, I can fully understand much of what it took to bring Ken Chenault to become CEO of American Express, as well as what it took to bring Ursula Burns to become CEO of Xerox. Whether or not the world will ever see these two achievements on American soil as being on par with the "belonging" that the great Josephine Baker achieved in her adopted land of France will always be debatable.





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Nova: Earth From Space [Blu-ray]

NOVA continually delivers quality educational programming.
No this is not a copy cat of BBC's Planet Earth. This is a scientific program from years of collecting data from satellites and researchers put their findings all together. You'd be amazed how much detective work goes into it, such as how 1/5 of the planet's oxygen is seemingly trapped in the Amazon forest, but travels out via method of rich sentiments dumped into the ocean and then allowing plankton to regenerate the o2. Just watched 2 hours of this on PBS, and thinking, if every nookie of earth still remains to be discovered, man's thirst and quest for knowledge just never ends. You can view this program on PBS website before deciding if buy.

Also may be of interest to you: How the Earth Was Made: The Complete Season 2 Blu-Ray Edition, and Home [Blu-ray]

stunning graphics and clearly explained science
"The Earth from Space" is one of the best Nova productions ever. It presents what we have learned about climate, ecology, geology and a host of other topics from satellites. Stunning graphics show how Earth systems work in unison to make this home of ours function. I knew a lot of the facts that were presented in the video but the graphics gave me an even clearer picture of how things coordinate. I am purchasing this one because it is so amazing.

SHould be AWARDED the NOBEL PRIZE & an OSCAR
THis is by far the BEST Nova program I have watched. I pre ordered.... I doubt that anyone will give it less than a 5...
If I could I would give it an 8 out of 5....

JUST as a follow up. This Video is free to watch on PBS/Nova.... There is also a DISCOVERY Version on Utube. The discovery
version is NOT as good as the PBS version. In fact the reason I can follow the Discovery version is because I watched the PBS version.
SO if they are BOTH available online , why did I pre order the PBS version. I want to copy it to my IPAD.. The retinal display
is STUNNING... So what are you waiting for ... ORDER NOW!!!!

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