Masterpiece Theater: Les Miserables

Victor Hugo's Les Miserables is being brought to the screen once again, this time as a six-episode miniseries: Les Misérables on MASTERPIECE

Last night I checked out the first episode. I was terrific, but sad to say, we can't finish the series unless one becomes a member, which is a minimum of 5.00 per month.

It used to not be this way, and in fact, PBS -- public broadcasting system -- has been receiving sponsorship from private companies for some time now.

The amount the government spends on PBS is not a significant amount of the federal budget. It's a shame this PBS has become "pay as you go" and even having to accept funding from private corporations.

If it came down to repairing and maintaining infrastructure (e.g., bridges) I would withdraw my complaint, but that ain't the problem.

 

Oh, the irony.

If you view over the air, it is 'free', right? Just on-line requires a 'contribution'?

 

The series is a BBC adaptation from 2018. It might be available on Britbox.

Indeed. PBS Passport means you're only paying for on-demand features, really. PBS continues to be free of charge over your antenna.

 

The problem I had with PBS is that there was usually not that much worth watching.

When there was, it was during a pledge drive, which has more interruptions than commercial TV.

 

Yeah, it was amazing how much begging went on during Downton Abbey, which was the biggest hit they had for years and years.

I feel bad for PBS because the government has cut their budgets so drastically over the years, but it's a tough channel to watch. And their competition is pretty great, with A&E, Bravo, BBC America, Discovery, History, NatGeo, and Lifetime kind of cross-pollinating into that area.

 

It really is terrific.
Lily Collins turns in a great performance as Fantine.

I guess it's good to have an antenna, I get 3 PBS stations over the air here in Detroit.

 

I watch very little television. What little I do watch is predominately PBS.
Unfortunately, they would be toast without the BBC.

 

I’m under the impression that each episode will be available on the free PBS streaming app for a period of two weeks after its initial over the air broadcast. Is that not correct? I watched the first episode that way last week, and now I’m about to watch last night’s episode.

 

Because my Mrs is such a musicals fan she made me watch a rendition of the musical Les Mis all the way through.
First time I had heard it and I never expected it to be so unrelentingly miserable(i know the clue is in the title), half expected Roger Waters to pop up and sing about his dad.
1/10 would not listen to again.
However......did watch the BBC adaption and yeah it was good , Dominic West is a brilliant actor.

 

This is the most ridiculous post yet!
Masterpiece Theatre, American Masters, Frontline, Nova, Call The Midwife, Ken Burns, This Old House, PBS News Hour, Nightly Business Report, Local programming such as Oregon Experience.
Maybe your taste palette needs a bit of cleansing.

 

...tough channel to watch?!?
The so-called "competition" is jam-packed with commercials.

 

This. I think you are correct . . . I jumped the gun in my original post and misunderstood what was going on. Thanks for the correction.

 

PBS was there at a time when the other choices were the three network channels.

Wow! Masterpiece Theatre, This Old House...

I don't see how I ever got by without those TV shows?

 

Yeah. They don’t show Marvel films.

 

Shame...

Don't want to crowd out those old Doctor Who episodes from the 60's. No doubt PBS viewer's are begging to see as re-runs.

But then, these is nothing quite English soap opera's and someone hammering on an old house for the umteenth time.

 

Quite true. That's not the case now, though. My point is not to denigrate the programming on PBS, but merely to point out the arguments they made thirty years ago aren't as valid today. And they are now showing programs sponsored by commercial entities; what's the difference between Antiques Roadshow being sponsored by an insurance company (complete with commercials before and after the show) and The Beverly Hillbillies being sponsored by Kellogg? It's a bit like the old joke whose punch line is "We've already established what you are; we're merely haggling over the price."

DVR to the rescue!! Record the whole program and you can watch it at your leisure, zipping through the begging segments.

 

Don't like it? Don't watch. Seems you wandered into the wrong thread.

 

No accounting for taste, is there?

 

I don't understand your post. Since when is PBS a 'pay as you go' enterprise? "We'll show one episode to get you hooked, but won't continue unless you hand over the cash." Both PBS stations I receive, Detroit and Buffalo, are broadcasting the series, all of the episodes, every Sunday night.

 

I have a plasma TV, but no "TV" service, not even OTA. I watched everything on my computer -- for now (I am in transition.) If you go to the PBS web site, you will see much of the archived material is only available by subscription. As pointed out in this thread, a show is broadcast for "free" for the first two weeks, and then for some shows or episodes, you can only watch them later by subscription -- you have to make a donation to become a member.

Check the link below: Sealab | Season 31 Episode 2 | American Experience

 

A $60 yearly donation gets you the entire streaming catalog. Not a bad investment.

That's less than half what Netflix is per year.

 

Thanks for explaining that.

 

Don't think so. I like Les Miserables, excellent story and an excellent musical, the play and the movie.

The thread is about Les Miserables, it is not about PBS as an entity, which overall, I find boring.

Apparently not on PBS for their dull and lifeless overall programming.

I do like Nova.

 

That's true, but unfortunately, that was then and this is now. The taxes we pay now affect life in 2019.

Commercials are not a factor for me. I just record it on the DVR and fast forward. It's an annoyance for five seconds.