Actor to Watch: Benedict Cumberbatch

Although he's already quite well known in the UK and to Masterpiece Mystery fans, Benedict Cumberbatch is poised to break out in the United States this year.  First up, he's appearing as the villain in the new sure-to-be blockbuster Star Trek Into Darkness.  Later on this year, he's appearing alongside Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in August: Osage County and in the Steve McQueen directed, Ten Years A Slave, which has one of the best casts around including Brad Pitt, Michael K. Williams, and *most importantly* Michael Fassbender.  He is also playing controversial WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in the Fifth Estate. 

The first film I remember seeing Cumberbatch in was Atonement, where he plays a creepy, creepy character.  He was excellent in that small part, so good in fact, that I initially ignored watching Sherlock because the actor still gave me the creeps.  However, when I finally broke down and watched the series, I was blown away.  Cumberbatch's Sherlock manages to balance the character perfectly, he's intelligent, charismatic, while also amusingly irritating and rude.  Cumberbatch can actually make the act of thinking look compelling on the show, and his chemistry with Martin Freeman's Watson makes the show fun to watch. 

Cumberbatch is an interesting actor, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what he'll do in even bigger roles and movies.  Check out one of his films:

Starter for Ten (2006):  A cute, British slice of life comedy about a working class kid (James McAvoy) as he navigates his first year at Bristol College, joining the academic team and deciding between two girls (Rebecca Hall and Alice Eve).  Cumberbatch plays the uptight academic team leader. 
Find it in the catalog!

Atonement (2007). 
Find it in the catalog!

The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).
Find it in the catalog!

The Last Enemy (2008).  A Masterpiece Contemporary miniseries about a researcher Dr. Stephen Ezard (Cumberbatch) who returns home after his brother's death, only to fall for the brother's widow and get involved in an government conspiracy (whoops!).
Find it in the catalog!
 
Four Lions (2010).
Find it in the catalog!

Sherlock!:  Seasons 1 and 2. 
A modern update on the classic Sir Arthur Conan Doyle books. Highly recommended!

War Horse (2011):  Steven Spielberg's World War I drama about a boy and his horse, featuring just about every famous Brit you can think of (minus Hugh Grant)!
Find it in the catalog!

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011).
Find it in the catalog!

Dreamy Men of Masterpiece Theater

There are lots of good reasons to check out Masterpiece Theater.  It has quality shows, helps you pretend to have read classic novels like Great Expectations or Tess D'Ubervilles, and there really isn't too much else on Sunday nights (when Breaking Bad and Mad Men are off season). But best of all, it has handsome British men in period dress!  Who could ask for more?

Below we* list our favorite men of Masterpiece Theater.  Since PBS has created a  Men of Austen website, so you can rank which Austen hero is the most eligible bachelor (surprise, surprise: Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy is winning), I'm leaving them out of the running (though, Rupert Perry-Jones as  Captain Wentworth would have been my pick). 

Matthew Crawley
Found On: Downton Abbey
Played by Dan Stevens
Why we love Matthew:  Those blue eyes.  And he's the least terrible of Lady Mary's many suitors.
The down side: Matthew can be a little bit stubborn.   

Also worth mentioning from Downtown Abbey:

William Mason (Thomas Howes) looks like a younger, blonder, old-timey sibling of John Krasinski.  William is also a sweetheart and can play the piano. 

Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier) is terrible.  But he's gorgeous and he seems to have curtailed his bad behavior a little bit in Season 2. 

Sherlock Holmes:
Found On: Sherlock.
Played by:  Benedict Cumberbatch
Why we love Sherlock:  He's brilliant, has a great head of hair, and looks equally great in a suit or a towel. 
The down side:  His personality is a lot to tolerate on a daily (or even hourly) basis.

Also worth mentioning from Sherlock:

Martin Freeman makes an adorable Dr. Watson.  He's definitely the more marriageable one of the duo.

Magnus Martnisson:
Found On: Wallander (seasons 1 and 2).
Played by:  Tom Hiddleston.
Why we love Magnus:  He's dashingly handsome, but his longish curly hair makes him look nerdy enough to be attainable.
The down side:  Martinsson saves the day on at least one occasion, but some of the time he can be a little bit incompetent. 

Also worth mentioning from Wallander:

Kenneth Branagh is a little bit too mature to be my type, but his character Kurt Wallander seems to have a way with the ladies on show, in spite of his near constant dourness.

*All "we"s are meant in the royal sense. 

Flock of Seagulls Awards: Best Achievements in Hair and Grooming

After two years of doing the Beardys, I'm officially over beards.  I'm sick of talking about them.  I'm sick of seeing them.  I'm even over Ryan Gosling having one (scorpion jacket? okay, beard? no!).  So instead of awarding the bewhiskered this year, we will celebrate the weird and the wonderful world of hair in pop culture this year. 

I will, however, award a solo Beardy to Jason Segel for most disgusting facial hair in honor of his wispy mutton chops in the Five-Year Engagement...ew.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find a picture on the interwebs of Segel's chops, so here's my mock-up.  The real version is much more terrifying:

Now on to the Flock of Seagull's Hair Awards:

Best Hair Performance by a Group: The cast of Parks and Recreation.
Okay, I'm slightly biased.  Donna (played by Retta)  has more or less my exact haircut.  However, the rest of the Parks department has enviable hair too.  Pawnee must have some pretty good stylists!

Best Hair Performance by an actor:  Kit Harrington as Jon Snow from Game of Thrones.
So pretty, I'm jealous of his curls!

Best hair performance by an actress:  Connie Britton as Tami Taylor from Friday Night Lights.  Pretty much every woman in Hollywood has a good head of hair, but if I could only pick one to emulate, it would have to Mrs. Taylor's big, wavy blond coiffure. 

Best Bangs:  Hannah Simone as Cece on New Girl. 

Best Masterpiece Theatre hair performance by an actor:   Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes on Sherlock.
Besides solving crimes, playing violin and generally being a pain in the neck, Sherlock knows his way with a curling iron!

Best Masterpiece Theatre hair performance by an actress:  Laura Carmichael as Lady Edith Crawley on Downton Abbey. 
Sure, she might be the last Crawley sister to marry, but she has the coolest hair.  Spinster power!

Best Red Head: Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway/ Harris on Mad Men.
Sorry Conan!

Most Red Heads in a single film:  The Help
Including Emma Stone, Jessica Chastain, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sissy Spacek, and Allison Janney.

What We Are Watching: Terriers

When to Watch: Wednesdays at 9 PM on FX.

The FX series Terriers has a misleading name, as it is not about dogs and it doesn't have any major canine sidekicks.  The title instead refers to show's two rough and tumble leading men- ex-cop and recovering alcoholic Hank Dolworth (Donal Logue) and his partner, ex-thief Britt Pollack (Michael Raymond-James).  The two run a small, unlicensed private investigation business in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego.  The sunny, coastal vibe permeates the show right down to the catchy surf rock-inspired theme song, but the show definitely portrays a grittier side to life in Maritime California than say the O.C. (don't call it that!).  

Terriers is often compared to one of my all-time-favorite California-based detective shows, Veronica Mars.  Like VM, Terriers doesn't shy away from depicting class conflicts, especially between the very blue collar Hank and Britt and some of their more white collar clients like Robert Lindus (Christopher Cousins).  Much of the show's dark humor comes form the fast, witty banter between characters.  Hank and Britt are the two biggest culprits, but other characters like the duo's foul-mouth lawyer Maggie, or Hank's socially awkward and sarcastic sister Stephanie, get their share of laughs too.  VM and Terriers also have a noir-ish tone and mixture of stand-alone and multi-episode mysteries.

Though Terriers is essentially a male buddy show, it definitely has its share of interesting and complex female characters.  This includes Britt's girlfriend, Katie, who is studying to be a vet and seemingly the responsible one in the relationship.  But Katie also has a self-destructive side and she's attracted to Britt's darker impulses.  Hank's sister Stephanie is another example.  She is incredibly smart (graduating summa cum laude from M.I.T.), but she also suffers from a debilitating case of schizophrenia.

Another highlight of the show is the performances by Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James.  Both actors are primarily known for supporting roles on bigger shows; Logue played Chuck Martin on ER and Raymond-James played Rene Lenier on everyone's favorite vampire show, True Blood .  Here they are really given a chance to shine.  About half of the lines are only funny because of Logue or Raymond-James's pitch-perfect delivery.  Both actors have really good chemistry together.  Logue's whip-smart and garrulous take on Hank Dolworth is nicely balanced by Raymond-James's laid-back and maundering performance as Britt.  On their own, Hank would be insufferable and Britt would be a bore, but together, they make an adorable pair.

I've been a fan of the show since the pilot episode, but the series seems to get more enjoyable with every episode.  Like so many good TV shows, Terriers has low ratings.  So check it out now and you can have bragging rights over all your friends who'll discover the show on DVD. 

Recommended for Fans Of:  Veronica Mars, The Big Lebowski, anything on the USA Network.