Katelyn, Masterwolfie (
Masterwolfie?) and anyone else here in "the Colonies" who wants to see
Foyle's War: there are still ways of getting to see it even if you missed the PBS broadcasts (Season Three wrapped up last night) and can't afford to buy the DVDs.
- You're probably familiar with an internet DVD-rental service called NetFlix? They carry the
Foyle's War shows (although Season Three won't be released for another month). They're relatively cheap -- certainly less than purchase.
- Even cheaper! Many public libraries have DVDs and videos available for checkout. Check yours; you may get lucky and be able to borrow the shows for nothing (although be prepared for a wait, as interest in the shows is bound to be high just now because of the Series Three broadcast). [In the interest of full disclosure, I suppose I should admit here and now that I'm a librarian.
]
However you lay hold of them, watching the DVDs has one great advantage over the PBS version: they're unedited. PBS cuts several minutes out of each show to get it down under 90 minutes (they're closer to 100 in the original UK broadcast). These cuts are often clumsily done --
butchery isn't a bad description, in fact -- but, thankfully, the DVDs give us the whole enchilada.
I strongly recommend that you watch the shows
in order:
Season One --
The German Woman, The White Feather, A Lesson in Murder, Eagle Day;
Season Two --
Fifty Ships, Among the Few, War Games, The Funk Hole;
Season Three --
The French Drop, Enemy Fire, They Fought in the Fields, War of Nerves.
The shows are self-contained plotwise and
can be viewed out of order, but there's a lot going on in terms of character development that wouldn't make sense if you mixed them up. Be aware that these shows are written for adults and are a lot more complex than the Rider books. The bad guy, for instance, often has a good or sympathetic side. But they're cracking good stories all the same.
Good luck! You're in for a treat when you finally do get to see them.
