Another Richard Armitage Challenge! Social Distancing Edition #6

Image thanks to Cyn on Twitter

Which question would you like RA to answer in a Q&A?

I'm still thrilled that he answered one of my questions that I sent to Audible.  See video below.  

I always send in questions to Audible and this is the first time one of mine was picked  And I also liked Richard's answer. He seemed happy, and I liked that. 

I don't have just one question I would like him to answer. Depends on what he's working on at the moment.

But a new question I have,  based on a recent audiobook interview is, what are the two scripts he's been trying his hand at writing?  

Audiobook Challenge 2020 - Update On March Book

I have a change, or rather an addition, to my audiobook selection for March.  The challenge is a book being adapted for the screen in 2020.

I had chose A Woman of  No Importance by Sonia Purnell, narrated by Juliet Stevenson.  I started listening to the book at the start of the month, and am still listening.

But then Elizabeth Gaskell's House Twitter account started a read along of Gaskell's North & South. Click on the link to find out more.

https://elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk/social-media-read-along-north-and-south/

If you are enjoying our read along of #northandsouth- we are asking for a small donation of £3 towards our bedroom restoration project - with your help we can raise the last £2000 we need and get the bedroom open by the end of the year! Thank you
https://t.co/UzNRARyeyl

— Elizabeth Gaskell's House (@GaskellsHouse) March 27, 2020

So I thought it was a good chance to read the book again, so I found the book in my bookshelf and started reading last weekend.  But then I saw on Audible that there is and audiobook of North & South narrated by Juliet Stevenson.  So now I'm listening to the audibook also.

This is all to say that I won't finish the March audiobook in March since we only have 4 days left of the month. But I'll continue on in April.

Though I already have selected my April book.  

I'm teleworking from home for the foreseeable future and hoping to live.  I've been listening to the audiobooks in the afternoons as I work, but distracted lately by keeping up with the news.  I usually can't listen to audiobooks at work in my regular workplace, so that has been a treat about working from home right now. 

I'm going to listen to one of my March books as I clean the apartment today.  

Stay Healthy Everyone.

Another Richard Armitage Challenge! Social Distancing Edition #5

Least favorite episode of your favorite show?

My least favorite episode of my favorite show SPOOKS(MI-5) is Season 9, Episode 1, and that first scene at the end with Lucas North and Vaughn.

That is the moment my favorite show betrayed me and I hate the SPOOKS writers for it.  Even now after years have gone by, I still do hate them. 

Lucas North (Richard Armitage) is my favorite spy.  But I've been a fan of SPOOKS since Season 1 and Tom Quinn (Matthew Macfadyen).  We were lucky here in the US to watch S1 on the new  (at the time) A&E network shortly after the show premiered in the UK. I really felt betrayed by the writers in Season 9.


There might still be Richard Armitage fans, new fans, that have never watched SPOOKS, so I won't spoil it for them.  

And the final episode of Season 9?  Let's just say, we only saw a hand.  

Another Richard Armitage Challenge! Social Distancing Edition #4

What's your favorite episode of your favorite show?

What is my favorite show?  

North & South for me is in its own category.  It is my Star 🌟 my Sun🌞.  It is the first time I saw Richard Armitage, the moment I discovered Richard Armitage, and it helped me in one of the darkest moments of my life some years ago, and continues to be a place I go to when I need to seek comfort and solace.

This is all an introduction to say that, putting North & South in a forever #1 in my heart 💖category, my favorite show is:

SPOOKS (MI-5)

My favorite Spooks episode is from Season 8, Episode 4.

Lucas North (Richard Armitage) was in a Russian prison for 8 years and in this episode his prison torturer, Oleg Darshavin (Emil Hostina), shows up in London looking for Lucas, Lucas North.

It's a very emotional episode and great interaction between the two actors, Richard Armitage as Lucas and Emil Hostina as Oleg. There is a love/hate relationship between the two of them.  We also see some of the pain, physical and emotional, that our favorite spy, Lucas, endured for those many years. 

Of course we also have the wonderful MI-5 team working together, both supporting Lucas but also doubting Dashavin, Harry, Ros, Ruth, Tariq, and Lucas. What a wonderful ensemble. I love them all.

Yes, we get also get Lucas' love, Sarah Caulfield (Genevieve O'Reilly).  I'll confess I didn't really want Lucas to rescue her. Really, what were they thinking with this character. Lucas deserved a better love.  But yes also in this episode you know that Lucas should not trust this woman and you know she will break his heart before the end of the season.

Another Richard Armitage Challenge! Social Distancing Edition #3

Your Current Favorite Show?

I'm going to interpret this question this way: Of Richard's recent shows, which one is your favorite?

CASTLEVANIA

I adore Trevor Belmont, my favorite vampire and monster hunter. And it doesn't hurt that anime Trevor looks quite a bit like the man with the voice behind this character. When I look at Trevor's blue eyes, I can't help but see those Armitage blues.

Now in Season 3 I just adore Trevor and Sypha.  They are my favorite couple.  Love their banter and their love for each other. 

A very special mention also to The Stranger.  Adam Price is a wonderful character for Richard and he does a wonderful job as husband, father, victim, and amateur detective.  Mysteries and thrillers are my favorite genre, so this show is a current favorite. I'm all in favor of a Season 2.

Another Richard Armitage Challenge! Social Distancing Edition #2

Which Film/Series do you think is underrated?

My selection would be The Golden Hour (2005).

Richard Armitage played Dr. Alec Track, the head of a team of emergency medical doctors, the Helicopter Emergency Medical Services.  

I own the UK DVD of the series and was able to watch it years ago because I have an all region DVD player.  It's the best thing I've ever owned.  Even today when it's so easy to stream almost everything, there are still some series and movies that are not available in the US and only available from a DVD from the UK or another country.  

Now, I'm not a health care worker, not a doctor, not a nurse, so I can't speak to the accuracy of the medical procedures and terminology in this series.  But as an average viewer with no medical knowledge I found the actors playing the doctors in the series to be believable.  I found the interaction between the doctors and the patients and other emergency personnel to be engaging and emotional.  

I really liked the setup of the series when you meet the people that will soon be facing injury and possible death at the start, so that you feel connected to them when the accident happens.  You also get to know the doctors as individuals and feel an emotional connection to them as they go about their difficult job.

I especially like one episode that features Richard as Dr. Track.  I won't give it away, but he is working very hard to save the life of a man, and despite his acknowledged expertise as a doctor, is thwarted at every turn.  But he keeps trying. His emotional exchange with one of the nurses is very moving and Richard is wonderful at conveying a full range of emotions during this episode.

Is it a perfect program?  No, I wouldn't claim it is. The series was only four episodes, and just as the writers, the actors, the directors, etc. were finding their way in that last episode, it was cancelled. But I think if you watch it with an open mind, not trying to find every little error, not comparing it to Shakespeare, and open your heart to the emotions of accident victims and doctors, you will appreciate this series.

I re-watch the series periodically and Dr. Track is still one of my favorite Armitage characters.

******
Bonus  -  if you watched Game of Thrones you might recognize some of the actors featured in The Golden Hour. 

Another Richard Armitage Challenge! Social Distancing Edition #1

Here I am having conquered my first week of total social distancing.  My workplace has moved to all virtual online and we have all been sent home to telework.  It has been a strange adjustment for me since part of my work is interacting with people on a daily basis.  But hey, it's given me a chance to start to catch up on all those "end of the school year" spreadsheets I always put off until the last minute.

But I will admit that in my free time when not teleworking I probably have an advantage over other people since I'm an introvert and very used to being on my own and finding my own amusements. I have books to read and listen to, TV shows and movies to watch and catch up with, and my blog that I've often neglected. 

One thing I always find irresistible, though I don't know why, is these fandom challenges.  So how timely that Richard Armitage fandom blogger Guylty Pleasure has come up with a new and challenging challenge.  

If you want to know more about her challenge click on the link below:

https://guylty.net/2020/03/15/ready-for-a-challenge-adc/

So here goes question #1 "Which Series would you like to have seen a sequel of?"

I would like to have seen a sequel to Sparkhouse.  

I love John Standring and always wondered what happened to him?  Did he stay with Carol?  Did Carol ever appreciate him?  Did they have children since John wanted kids?  If they didn't stay together, did he remain a good father figure to Lisa?  If he and Carol didn't stay together, did he find happiness with someone else or find peace on his own?

Richard Armitage as John Standring in Sparkhouse

Yes, I realize the Sparkhouse series is based on Wuthering Heights.  But I don't see a reason why there couldn't have been a second series that took the characters, especially John, in a different direction.  Or even if they continued to be inspired by Wuthering Heights and what happens to Heathcliff (Carol) in the novel.  As long as we continued the story of John Standring I would have been interested in that sequel also.

#######################


And what a great treat today from Digital Spy: