Anyone else watching/watch this? I caught the first of I believe 3 episodes via DVR.
Four women in mid-50’s Britain “get the gang back together” when a series of murders occur that their unique strengths - first applied to breaking German codes - to try to find the killer.
That first episode was good and fun - the show does a great job of showing a woman’s situation in 50’s Britain - not taken seriously as anything but homemakers - without hitting you over the head with it. And the case itself was set up well.
The contrast between what the women did during the war, where their considerable intellectual abilities were recognised as extremely valuable, and their post-war relegation back to second-rate citizens really adds to the tension of the piece, especially since they can’t tell anyone about their war activities. You spend a lot of time wishing that someone would JUST GODDAMN LISTEN to them as they track down an extremely clever serial killer.
It’s on PBS, on Sunday nights after the Masterpiece Classic airing of Mr Selfridge. But they’ve already broadcast two of three episodes. You might be able to catch up on PBS.com.
The review of the show in the New York Times mentioned this aspect. These women worked at Bletchley Park during the war, doing important but secret work, and then had to become housewives and couldn’t even brag about or discuss what they’d done. The review says, “nowadays, it is still possible to read newspaper obituaries of 90-year-olds who never told their spouses, parents or siblings what they really did during the war.”
I loved the exchange between the Scotswoman and the women in the records office when the latter tried to claim she was only “general clerical” with a straight face.
I’m so glad someone posted about this. I’m loving the series. The whole Bletchely Park saga is quite fascinating. There are quite a few bookson the Enigma Machine. There was such secrecy instilled in the people who worked at this codebreaking facility that even after the war most of them never spoke about it.
In last night’s episode, did anyone recognize Cavendish as James Bellamy, Richard’s son, from the original Upstairs, Downstairs?
I’ve watched the first two episodes and liked it very much. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have accomplished what they had and then go back to such a mundane existence. It’s almost made worse in the case of Susan’s husband, who seems like a good man in general, but I wouldn’t blame her if she hit him over the head with a frying pan the next time he suggested buying her a book of puzzles.
It’ll depend on where you live and your local PBS station(s)'s schedule(s). I have Optimum Cablevision and searched my TiVo and I’ve only missed episode one!
Enjoyed it but found the end way too Stoopid thriller. I loved the women’s crime solving; to leave it to an “I’ve got you tied to the railroad tracks!” sort of ending was only meh.
