Masterpiece Theatre
Encyclopedia
Masterpiece is a drama anthology television series
produced by WGBH Boston
. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS) on January 10, 1971, making it America's longest-running weekly prime time
drama series. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions. Many of these are produced by the BBC
, but the line-up has also included programs shown on the commercial ITV network
and Channel 4
.
s of novel
s and biographies
, but it also shows original television dramas. The first title to air was The First Churchills
, starring Susan Hampshire
as Sarah Churchill
. Other programs presented on the series include The Six Wives of Henry VIII; Elizabeth R
; I, Claudius
; Upstairs, Downstairs
; The Duchess of Duke Street
; The Citadel; The Jewel in the Crown; House of Cards
; Traffik
; and Jeeves and Wooster
. More recent popular titles include Prime Suspect and The Forsyte Saga
.
The theme music played during the opening credits is the Rondeau
from "Symphonies and Fanfares for the King's Supper" by French composer Jean-Joseph Mouret
. The theme was performed by Collegium Musicum de Paris. Roland Douatte was the conductor. It was recorded in 1954 by Vogue Records in Paris, France and was later remastered in stereo and re-released by Nonesuch records in the 1960s.
In 1980, Masterpiece gained a sister series, Mystery!
, featuring a mix of contemporary and classic British
detective
and crime series
, such as The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
, Agatha Christie's Miss Marple
and Touching Evil
. In 2000, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the show, it presented Masterpiece: The American Collection
, nine works by American writers, including Thornton Wilder
's Our Town
, starring Paul Newman
.
, and two Academy Award nominations.
in England and Christopher Sarson in the US. In looking for an underwriter for the series Calderwood eventually met with Herb Schmertz at Mobil. Schmertz was able to gain funding for the show and he and several other men, including Frank Marshall, met in London and made a selection of programs to be broadcast.
Decision on the format of the show were finalized and the series premiered on Jan. 10, 1971 with the first episode of The First Churchills. The series was hosted by British/American broadcaster/journalist Alistair Cooke
until 1992; Pulitzer Prize-winning author Russell Baker
hosted from 1992 to 2004. From 2004 to 2008 it was broadcast without a host.
The original series producer was Sarson. He was succeeded in 1973 by Joan Wilson. The current series producer, Rebecca Eaton, took over in 1985 after Wilson's death from cancer.
In 2008 the word "Theatre" was dropped, and the show, officially known as Masterpiece, was split into three different sections. Masterpiece Classic was initially hosted by Gillian Anderson
; the following year, Laura Linney
stepped into the role of host. Masterpiece Mystery! is hosted by Alan Cumming
. Masterpiece Contemporary was initially hosted by Matthew Goode
; he was replaced by David Tennant
in 2009.
All three versions received their own opening sequences and theme music with a common signature based upon Rondeau
. In the opening to the "Classic" strand of shows, the word "Theatre" appears for a brief moment (in 2011, the show's 40th anniversary, the opening was altered to show "Classic" briefly before showing "40 years"). The theme music was composed by Man Made Music, Inc; the opening sequences were designed by Kyle Cooper
of Prologue.
. and by contributions to various PBS stations from, as PBS puts it, "Viewers Like You".
and featured interviews with Helen Mirren, Hugh Laurie, Damian Lewis, Robson Green, Ian Richardson, Gillian Anderson, Charles Dance, Alex Kingston, Anthony Andrews and Jean Marsh. The countdown special was based on more than 20,000 survey responses posted to the Masterpiece and PBS affiliate web sites, the top 12 series were:
At the end of the program Anthony Andrews thanked the audience for voting the 1981 serial Brideshead Revisited
as the seventh favorite series. He then pointed out that it had not aired as a part of Masterpiece Theatre. Rather, it had aired as a part of the PBS series entitled Great Performances
.
Anthology television series
An anthology series is a radio or television series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each episode. These usually have a different cast each week, but several series in the past, such as Four Star Playhouse, employed a permanent troupe of character actors who...
produced by WGBH Boston
WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS) on January 10, 1971, making it America's longest-running weekly prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
drama series. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions. Many of these are produced by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, but the line-up has also included programs shown on the commercial ITV network
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
.
Overview
Masterpiece is best known for presenting adaptationAdaptation
An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....
s of novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s and biographies
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
, but it also shows original television dramas. The first title to air was The First Churchills
The First Churchills
The First Churchills was a BBC serial from 1969 about the life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and his wife, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough...
, starring Susan Hampshire
Susan Hampshire
Susan Hampshire, Lady Kulukundis, OBE is an English actress, best-known for her many television and film roles.-Early life:Susan Hampshire was born in Kensington, London, the youngest of four children. She had two sisters and one brother...
as Sarah Churchill
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill , Duchess of Marlborough rose to be one of the most influential women in British history as a result of her close friendship with Queen Anne of Great Britain.Sarah's friendship and influence with Princess Anne was widely known, and leading public figures...
. Other programs presented on the series include The Six Wives of Henry VIII; Elizabeth R
Elizabeth R
Elizabeth R is a BBC television drama serial of six 85-minute plays starring Glenda Jackson in the title role. It was first broadcast on BBC2 from February to March 1971, through the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia and broadcast in America on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre.- Episodes...
; I, Claudius
I, Claudius (TV series)
I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time...
; Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
; The Duchess of Duke Street
The Duchess of Duke Street
The Duchess Of Duke Street is a BBC television drama series set in London between 1900 and 1935. It was created by John Hawkesworth, the former producer of the highly successful ITV period drama Upstairs, Downstairs...
; The Citadel; The Jewel in the Crown; House of Cards
House of Cards
House of Cards is a 1990 political thriller television drama serial by the BBC in four parts, set after the end of Margaret Thatcher's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It was televised from 18 November to 9 December 1990, to critical and popular acclaim...
; Traffik
Traffik
Traffik is a 1989 British television serial about the illegal drugs trade. Its three stories are interwoven, with arcs told from the perspectives of Pakistani growers and manufacturers, German dealers, and British users. It was nominated for six BAFTA Awards, winning three...
; and Jeeves and Wooster
Jeeves and Wooster
-External links:*—An episode guide to the series, including information about which episodes were adapted from which Wodehouse stories.*—Episode guides, screenshots and quotes from the four series....
. More recent popular titles include Prime Suspect and The Forsyte Saga
The Forsyte Saga
The Forsyte Saga is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by John Galsworthy. They chronicle the vicissitudes of the leading members of an upper-middle-class British family, similar to Galsworthy's own...
.
The theme music played during the opening credits is the Rondeau
Rondeau (music)
The rondeau was a Medieval and early Renaissance musical form, based on the contemporary popular poetic rondeau form. It is distinct from the 18th century rondo, though the terms are likely related...
from "Symphonies and Fanfares for the King's Supper" by French composer Jean-Joseph Mouret
Jean-Joseph Mouret
Jean-Joseph Mouret was a French composer whose dramatic works made him one of the leading exponents of Baroque music in his country...
. The theme was performed by Collegium Musicum de Paris. Roland Douatte was the conductor. It was recorded in 1954 by Vogue Records in Paris, France and was later remastered in stereo and re-released by Nonesuch records in the 1960s.
In 1980, Masterpiece gained a sister series, Mystery!
Mystery!
Mystery! is an episodic television series that debuted in 1980 in the USA. It airs on PBS and is produced by WGBH...
, featuring a mix of contemporary and classic British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
detective
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
and crime series
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
, such as The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries is a series of BBC television programmes about Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley, 8th Earl of Asherton of Scotland Yard and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers...
, Agatha Christie's Miss Marple
Miss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...
and Touching Evil
Touching Evil
Touching Evil is a British television drama serial, which began airing in 1997. It was produced by United Productions for Anglia Television, and screened on the ITV network. The first series consisted of six fifty-minute episodes. It was created by Paul Abbott, and written by Abbott with Russell T...
. In 2000, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the show, it presented Masterpiece: The American Collection
The American Collection
The American Collection was a spinoff series of Masterpiece Theater, which ran from 2000 to 2003, for the former series' 30th anniversary. It was funded originally by Exxon Mobil ; however, funding for both series was withdrawn in 2005. It aired on PBS...
, nine works by American writers, including Thornton Wilder
Thornton Wilder
Thornton Niven Wilder was an American playwright and novelist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes, one for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and two for his plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and a National Book Award for his novel The Eighth Day.-Early years:Wilder was born in Madison,...
's Our Town
Our Town
Our Town is a three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder. It is a character story about an average town's citizens in the early twentieth century as depicted through their everyday lives...
, starring Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
.
Awards
One of television's most honored series, the various shows aired on Masterpiece have garnered 33 Primetime Emmys, seven International Emmys, 15 PeabodysPeabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
, and two Academy Award nominations.
History
The success of the broadcast on NET (the precursor of PBS) of The Forsyte Saga led Stanford Calderwood to investigate whether the BBC would sell programs to WGBH. Suggestions for the series format came from, among others, Frank GillardFrank Gillard
Frank Gillard CBE was a BBC reporter and radio innovator.-Early years:Gillard was born in Tiverton, Devon and attended Wellington School, Somerset. He gained a Batchelor's degree from St Luke's College, Exeter. He then taught in a private school.-Broadcaster:In 1936 he became a part time...
in England and Christopher Sarson in the US. In looking for an underwriter for the series Calderwood eventually met with Herb Schmertz at Mobil. Schmertz was able to gain funding for the show and he and several other men, including Frank Marshall, met in London and made a selection of programs to be broadcast.
Decision on the format of the show were finalized and the series premiered on Jan. 10, 1971 with the first episode of The First Churchills. The series was hosted by British/American broadcaster/journalist Alistair Cooke
Alistair Cooke
Alfred Alistair Cooke KBE was a British/American journalist, television personality and broadcaster. Outside his journalistic output, which included Letter from America and Alistair Cooke's America, he was well known in the United States as the host of PBS Masterpiece Theater from 1971 to 1992...
until 1992; Pulitzer Prize-winning author Russell Baker
Russell Baker
Russell Wayne Baker is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning writer known for his satirical commentary and self-critical prose, as well as for his autobiography, Growing Up.-His career:...
hosted from 1992 to 2004. From 2004 to 2008 it was broadcast without a host.
The original series producer was Sarson. He was succeeded in 1973 by Joan Wilson. The current series producer, Rebecca Eaton, took over in 1985 after Wilson's death from cancer.
Format change
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson is an American actress.After beginning her career in theatre, Anderson achieved international recognition for her role as Special Agent Dana Scully on the American television series The X-Files. During the show's nine seasons, Anderson won Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen...
; the following year, Laura Linney
Laura Linney
Laura Leggett Linney is an American actress of film, television, and theatre. Linney has won three Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has been nominated for three times for an Academy Award and once for a BAFTA Award...
stepped into the role of host. Masterpiece Mystery! is hosted by Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
. Masterpiece Contemporary was initially hosted by Matthew Goode
Matthew Goode
Matthew William Goode is an English actor. His notable films have included Match Point, Watchmen, Brideshead Revisited, Leap Year, Imagine Me and You and A Single Man.-Early life:...
; he was replaced by David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
in 2009.
All three versions received their own opening sequences and theme music with a common signature based upon Rondeau
Rondeau (music)
The rondeau was a Medieval and early Renaissance musical form, based on the contemporary popular poetic rondeau form. It is distinct from the 18th century rondo, though the terms are likely related...
. In the opening to the "Classic" strand of shows, the word "Theatre" appears for a brief moment (in 2011, the show's 40th anniversary, the opening was altered to show "Classic" briefly before showing "40 years"). The theme music was composed by Man Made Music, Inc; the opening sequences were designed by Kyle Cooper
Kyle Cooper
Kyle Cooper is a modern designer of motion picture title sequences.Cooper studied graphic design under Paul Rand at Yale University. Early in his professional career, Cooper worked as a creative director at R/GA - an advertising agency with offices in New York and Los Angeles...
of Prologue.
Funding
From its 1971 premiere, the series was underwritten by Mobil (which later became Exxon Mobil). After 25 years of support, the series added the funder's name to its title. ExxonMobil ended its sponsorship in 2004, and the series remains without a corporate sponsor. The show is currently funded by the Masterpiece Trust, the Corporation for Public BroadcastingCorporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
. and by contributions to various PBS stations from, as PBS puts it, "Viewers Like You".
The Best of Masterpiece Theatre
In March 2007, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the show, PBS aired an entertainment special produced and directed by Darcy Corcoran. The Best of Masterpiece was hosted by Derek JacobiDerek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
and featured interviews with Helen Mirren, Hugh Laurie, Damian Lewis, Robson Green, Ian Richardson, Gillian Anderson, Charles Dance, Alex Kingston, Anthony Andrews and Jean Marsh. The countdown special was based on more than 20,000 survey responses posted to the Masterpiece and PBS affiliate web sites, the top 12 series were:
- Upstairs, DownstairsUpstairs, DownstairsUpstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
- The Forsyte SagaThe Forsyte SagaThe Forsyte Saga is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by John Galsworthy. They chronicle the vicissitudes of the leading members of an upper-middle-class British family, similar to Galsworthy's own...
(2002 adaptation) - I, ClaudiusI, Claudius (TV series)I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time...
- Bleak House (2006 adaptation)
- Prime Suspect parts 4–7
- The Jewel in the Crown
- PoldarkPoldarkPoldark is a BBC television series based on the novels written by Winston Graham which was first transmitted in the UK between 1975 and 1977.-Outline:...
- House of CardsHouse of CardsHouse of Cards is a 1990 political thriller television drama serial by the BBC in four parts, set after the end of Margaret Thatcher's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It was televised from 18 November to 9 December 1990, to critical and popular acclaim...
- RecklessReckless (TV serial)Reckless is a British television serial written by Paul Abbott. Produced by Granada Television for the ITV network, it aired in six parts in the UK in 1997.A two-hour sequel, Reckless: The Movie, was shown in 1998....
- The Fortunes & Misfortunes of Moll FlandersMoll FlandersThe Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders is a novel written by Daniel Defoe in 1722, after his work as a journalist and pamphleteer. By 1722, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, with the success of Robinson Crusoe in 1719...
- Wives & DaughtersWives and Daughters (1999 miniseries)Wives and Daughters is a 1999 four part BBC serial adapted from the novel Wives and Daughters: An Everyday Story by Victorian author Elizabeth Gaskell...
- Jeeves and WoosterJeeves and Wooster-External links:*—An episode guide to the series, including information about which episodes were adapted from which Wodehouse stories.*—Episode guides, screenshots and quotes from the four series....
At the end of the program Anthony Andrews thanked the audience for voting the 1981 serial Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited (TV serial)
Brideshead Revisited is a 1981 British television serial produced by Granada Television for broadcast by the ITV network. The teleplay is based on Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited...
as the seventh favorite series. He then pointed out that it had not aired as a part of Masterpiece Theatre. Rather, it had aired as a part of the PBS series entitled Great Performances
Great Performances
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
.
Parodies
- A series of film, theatre, and television show parodies were shown on Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
as "Monsterpiece TheaterMonsterpiece TheaterMonsterpiece Theater is a recurring segment on the American version of the popular children's tv series Sesame Street portrayed as a children's educational parody of Masterpiece Theatre.-Format:...
", hosted by Alistair CookieAlistair CookieAlistair Cookie is Cookie Monster's alter ego when hosting "Monsterpiece Theater" on Sesame Street. Created as a spoof of the original Masterpiece Theatre host Alistair Cooke, Alistair Cookie is basically Cookie Monster in an English smoking jacket and ascot tie, although Cooke was neither a pipe...
(an alter ego of Cookie MonsterCookie MonsterCookie Monster is a Muppet on the children's television show Sesame Street. He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating phrases: "Me want cookie!", "Me eat cookie!", and "Om nom nom nom" . He often eats anything and everything, including danishes, donuts, lettuce, apples,...
) in reference to Alistair Cooke. The theme music for Monsterpiece Theater (composed by Sam Pottle) was similar to the theme composed by Mouret. - On the 1976 Captain and Tennille TV variety show, a weekly parody sketch spoof of "Masterpiece" was featured called "Masterjoke Theatre" with a different celebrity guest each week playing the host Allistar Banister who before each part of the "Masterpiece" story put on a Groucho Marx style glasses with mustache disguise and at the end of each "Masterjoke Theatre" sketch throw a cream pie in his face all by himself.
- On Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, Dan AykroydDan AykroydDaniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
, playing the high-bred but low-brow Leonard Pinth-Garnell, hosted "Bad Theatre," in which horrible, pseudo-intellectual skits were presented. - Disney ChannelDisney ChannelDisney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
had a show titled "Mousterpiece TheaterMousterpiece TheaterMousterpiece Theater was an American television show that ran on the Disney Channel that was made in the mid-1980s and was rerun into the 1990s. It was a parody of the PBS show Masterpiece Theatre, except instead of showing dramatic works, it featured classic Disney cartoons. George Plimpton hosted...
" hosted by George PlimptonGeorge PlimptonGeorge Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.-Early life:...
featuring classic Disney cartoons. - On In Living ColorIn Living ColorIn Living Color is an American sketch comedy television series, which originally ran on the Fox Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Brothers Keenen and Damon Wayans created, wrote, and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with 20th Century...
during Season 5 a sketch called "Parody of Masterpiece" aired in which Jamie FoxxJamie FoxxEric Marlon Bishop , professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, and talk radio host. As an actor, his work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a...
and David Alan GrierDavid Alan GrierDavid Alan Grier , also known as "D.A.G." , is an American actor and comedian known for his work on the sketch comedy television show In Living Color.-Early life:...
recited the lyrics of popular gangster rap songs of the early 1990s by artist such as Dr. DreDr. DreAndre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
and Ice CubeIce CubeO'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
. Cast member Marc Wilmore was the host imitating James Earl JonesJames Earl JonesJames Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership... - The Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "StorytellerStoryteller (Buffy episode)"Storyteller" is the sixteenth episode of season 7 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Storyteller refers to Andrew Wells, who has become a pseudo-member of the Scooby Gang after being a villain in the previous season, and has been held hostage at Buffy's home since early in the...
" opened with the character of Andrew WellsAndrew WellsAndrew Wells is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, played by Tom Lenk. The character also appears in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, the canonical continuation of the series....
introducing the episode in the style of Masterpiece Theatre. - In the film HeartburnHeartburn (film)Heartburn is a 1986 American drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Nora Ephron is based on her semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, which was inspired by her tempestuous second marriage to Carl Bernstein and his affair with Margaret Jay. Rachel is a food writer at a New...
(1986), Rachel (played by Meryl StreepMeryl StreepMary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
), at two points in the story, is watching a Masterpiece Theatre style program, wherein she imagines that the Alistair Cooke-esque host (played by John WoodJohn Wood (English actor)John Wood, CBE was an English actor.-Biography:Wood was born in Derbyshire and studied law at Jesus College, Oxford where he was president of the Oxford University Dramatic Society. Changing to drama, Wood became known as a stage actor, appearing in numerous West End productions as well as on...
) is narrating the story of her own life. - Tracey UllmanTracey UllmanTracey Ullman is a British stage and television actress, comedienne, singer, dancer, screenwriter and author ....
's early television special Tracey Ullman: A Class Act (1992) starts out with the famous opening fanfare from the series and a set made up to look like Masterpieces with Tracey Ullman "standing in for Alistair Cooke." - The sitcom My Name Is EarlMy Name Is EarlMy Name Is Earl is an American television comedy series created by Greg Garcia that was originally broadcast on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States...
had an alternative reality themed episode called "Bad Karma" in which Jason LeeJason Lee (actor)Jason Michael Lee is an American actor and skateboarder known for his role as the title character on the NBC television series My Name is Earl, his portrayal of Syndrome in the film The Incredibles, his role as Dave Seville in the Alvin and the Chipmunks films, and his work with director Kevin...
(Earl) introduces the episode in a set made to look like that of Masterpiece Theatre. While there Lee shows the viewers that he really is on a set and not in a real room. This is on the Season 1 DVD as a Bonus Feature. - The South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
episode PipPip (South Park episode)"Pip" is the fourteenth episode of the fourth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 62nd episode of the series overall. "Pip" originally aired in the United States on November 29, 2000 on Comedy Central...
is based on Great ExpectationsGreat ExpectationsGreat Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
. The episode is hosted by Malcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
as a British person ala Alistair Cooke.
See also
- List of Masterpiece Theatre episodes
- List of Masterpiece Classic episodes
- List of Masterpiece Mystery! episodes
- List of Masterpiece Contemporary episodes
Further reading
- Masterpiece: A Celebration of 25 Years of Outstanding Television by Terrence O'Flaherty (1996), ISBN 0-912333-74-X
- Masterpiece and the Politics of Quality by Laurence Jarvik (1999) ISBN 0-8108-3204-6
External links
- Official web site, including a List of all programs.
- ExxonMobil will stop underwriting Masterpiece, a 2002 article in CurrentCurrent (newspaper)Current is an American trade journal that covers public broadcasting in the United States. It is described by the Public Broadcasting Service as "The most widely read periodical in the field"...
- Podcast Interview of Masterpiece Executive Editor, Rebecca Eaton talking with Bookbuffet.com's Paula Shackleton (Jan, 2009)