Monday, December 22, 2014

Making Masterpiece

Making Masterpiece: 25 Years Behind the Scenes at Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery! on PBS by Rebecca Eaton  291 pp.

I began my love of "Masterpiece Theatre" while still in junior high watching the incomparable Glenda Jackson in "Elizabeth R". Those were the days before Rebecca Eaton took the helm in 1985. Under her at first inexperienced guidance, the shows weathered the changes, battles, negotiations, loss of funding, and decisions that have kept "Masterpiece" and "Mystery!" in the forefront of outstanding television production. In this book she chronicles the hard work and many missteps she took along the way in keeping the 44 year old program going. There are anecdotes about the various celebrities who crossed her path including the beloved Aleister Cooke and Vincent Price who were the first permanent MCs for the programs. The book ends with extended chapters on "Cranford" and "Downton Abbey" (which Eaton almost didn't acquire). It's an interesting look at what goes on behind the scenes and a trip down memory lane.

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