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Masterpiece (TV series)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Masterpiece Classic)

Masterpiece
Also known asMasterpiece Theatre (1971–2008)
GenreAnthology
Presented by
Theme music composerJean-Joseph Mouret
Opening themeSinfonies de Fanfares: Rondeau
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons53
Production
Production companyWGBH
Original release
NetworkPBS
ReleaseJanuary 10, 1971 (1971-01-10) –
present

Masterpiece (formerly known as Masterpiece Theatre), is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on PBS on January 10, 1971. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions. Many of these are produced by the BBC, but the lineup has also included programs shown on the UK channels ITV1, Channel 4, and Channel 5.

Overview

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Masterpiece is known for presenting adaptations of novels 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; Reckless; House of Cards; Traffik, The Moonstone, Strangers and Brothers and Jeeves and Wooster. More recent popular titles include Prime Suspect, The Forsyte Saga, Sherlock, Downton Abbey, Endeavour, Victoria and Guilt.

The theme music played during the opening credits is the Fanfare-Rondeau from Suite of Symphonies for brass, strings and timpani No. 1 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.

During the first seasons in the 1970s, the theme music accompanied varying closeup shots of a waving British flag, which panned out into a still image of a British flag on a staff serving as the P in "Masterpiece". In the late 1970s, the opening video switched to views of antique books and other literary artifacts, many of which titles had been dramatized on the program.

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.

Awards and nominations

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One of television's most honored series, the various shows aired on Masterpiece have won numerous Emmy and Peabody Awards.[1]

In 2013, TV Guide ranked it #3 in its list of the 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time[2] and #16 in its list of the 60 Greatest Shows of All Time.[3]

History

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The success of the broadcast of the 1967 version of The Forsyte Saga on NET (the precursor of PBS) led Stanford Calderwood, then serving as president of WGBH, to investigate whether the BBC would sell programs to the station. Suggestions for the series format came from, among others, Frank Gillard in the UK[4] and Christopher Sarson in the US.[5] In looking for an underwriter for the series, Calderwood eventually met with Herb Schmertz of Mobil Corporation. Schmertz was able to gain funding for the show, and with Joan Wilson of WGBH-TV bought the US distribution rights for fifty hours of British dramas for about $1 million per year.[6] He and several other men, including Frank Marshall, met in London and made a selection of programs to be broadcast.[7]

Decisions on the format of the show were finalized and the series premiered on January 10, 1971, with the first episode of The First Churchills. The working title for the series had been The Best of the BBC, which was changed to Masterpiece Theatre before the first broadcast, with Sarson insisting upon the British spelling for Theatre.[7] The series was hosted by British-American broadcaster and author / journalist Alistair Cooke (1908–2004), who initially had been reluctant to take the role. Cooke appeared for two decades until 1992; native Baltimorean, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and longtime columnist for The New York Times, Russell Baker (1925–2019), was next and hosted for over a decade 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.[8] Mobil pulled out in 2004.[9] In 2011 Eaton launched the Masterpiece Trust as a fundraising initiative, in collaboration with WGBH Boston. The Trust gives donors the opportunity to support their local PBS station and also "secure the future of superb British drama...invest upfront in the development of new scripts and programs, and grow the [Masterpiece] series both on-air and online".[10] In the same year the series attracted new sponsors Viking River Cruises and Ralph Lauren (Ralph Lauren was subsequently replaced by Farmers Insurance).[11] In the first three years the Trust raised $12 million from 45 donors.[9]

The Masterpiece approach has been reported as being to put up about 10% of the production budget, in return for distribution rights and a degree of consultation on casting and content, but not editorial control.[9] Masterpiece licences programs for several years, after which the broadcast rights revert to the original owners, generally the British producer or distributor.[11] Interviewed in 2017, Eaton described her role at Masterpiece as "the person who chooses which British programs will be included in Masterpiece...looking at a lot of shows that are already made, reading scripts, and choosing the ones that would suit this audience."

They're made by British companies and British broadcasters – for the BBC and ITV – and once they're done, we bring them back here. It's also my job is to make sure the whole country knows about Masterpiece and knows about whatever show is being produced. There's a great deal of publicity and marketing to be done. I also have to raise money.[12]

Format change

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Logo used immediately before the title change.

As reported by The New York Times, in December 2007, was series would be split into three, Classic, Mystery, and Contemporary (premiering at years open, in the summer, and in the fall of 2008, respectively),[13][14] with the word "Theatre" being dropped, the franchise officially becoming known as Masterpiece.[citation needed]

Masterpiece Classic was initially hosted by Gillian Anderson;[14] the following year, 2009, Laura Linney would take her place.[15] Masterpiece Mystery!, which premiered in June 2008, was introduced with Alan Cumming as host.[16] Finally, Masterpiece Contemporary would be hosted, later in 2008, by Matthew Goode,[13] who would be replaced by David Tennant in May 2009.[17]

All three versions received unique opening sequences and theme music, the latter with a common signature based upon the First Suite in D by Mouret.[11][verification needed] (Originally chosen by Sarson,[who?] he had heard it played at a Club Med resort in Sicily, choosing it because to him it had sounded "British and heraldic".[7][verification needed])

In the opening to the "Classic" edition of shows, the word "Theatre" appears for a brief moment.[citation needed] (This has been suggested as a means to maintain WGBH's trademark registration on the former name.[according to whom?][18][non-primary source needed][failed verification]) The theme music of the show[which?] was composed by Man Made Music, Inc.[citation needed] The opening sequences of the show[which?] were designed by Kyle Cooper of Prologue.[citation needed]

In 2011, at the show's 40th anniversary, the opening of the show [which?] was altered to show "Classic" briefly before showing "40 years".[citation needed]

Then, as of 2017's broadcast of series one of Victoria, the program Masterpiece Classic no longer aired with a regular host, and the series was no longer branded as "Masterpiece Classic" but simply "Masterpiece".[original research?][citation needed]

The Best of Masterpiece Theatre

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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 Sir Derek Jacobi and featured interviews with Dame 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 websites, 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.

Parodies

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See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Peabody Award-Winning BBC Programs". Archived from the original on September 24, 2014.
  2. ↑ Roush, Matt (February 25, 2013). "Showstoppers: The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time". TV Guide. pp. 16–17.
  3. ↑ Fretts, Bruce; Roush, Matt. "The Greatest Shows on Earth". TV Guide Magazine. 61 (3194–3195): 16–19.
  4. ↑ "Wild Film History – Frank Gillard". Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
  5. ↑ Kamp, David (May 11, 2020), "Come On and Zoom-Zoom", The New Yorker, archived from the original on July 14, 2024, retrieved July 14, 2024
  6. ↑ Starr, Jerold (2001). Air Wars: The fight to reclaim public broadcasting. Temple University Press. p. 48. ISBN 1-56639-913-0.
  7. 1 2 3 "How should public TV follow up the Forsyte Saga success?". Archived from the original on May 18, 2011. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Masterpiece Theatre – Series – Hosts + Producers". PBS. Archived from the original on June 9, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 Brown, Maggie (March 1, 2015). "Rebecca Eaton: Masterpiece is the 'little black dress of British drama'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on February 16, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  10. ↑ "The Masterpiece Trust". www.pbs.org. PBS. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 "Masterpiece: Frequently Asked Questions". WGBH digital. Archived from the original on April 8, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  12. ↑ Legg, Heidi (March 4, 2017). "Before You Say Goodbye to 'Downton Abbey'..." The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on January 14, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  13. 1 2 Jensen, Elizabeth (December 10, 2007). "'Masterpiece Theater,' Now in 3 Flavors: Classic, Mystery, Contemporary". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2008.
  14. 1 2 PBS Staff (December 12, 2007). "Masterpiece Theatre Introduces Masterpiece Classic, Masterpiece Mystery! and Masterpiece Contemporary". PBS. Archived from the original on December 12, 2007. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  15. ↑ PBS Staff (December 25, 2008). "Laura Linney to Host Masterpiece classic 2009 on PBS". PBS. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  16. ↑ PBS Staff (May 16, 2008). "Tony Award–winning Actor Alan Cumming To Host PBS's Masterpiece Mystery! 2008". PBS. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved August 1, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Tennant Signs as Masterpiece Host". BBC News. May 14, 2009. Archived from the original on May 18, 2009. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
  18. ↑ USPTO Staff (August 18, 2009). "WGBH Educational Foundation: Combined Declaration of Use in Commerce & Application for Renewal of Registration of a Mark under Sections 8 & 9". United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2013.[non-primary source needed][failed verification]
  19. ↑ Lehman, Daniel (October 2, 2010). "John Hodgman's 'Masterpiece Theater'". Blog Stage. Backstage. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  20. ↑ Perpetua, Matthew (October 2, 2008). "Masterpiece Theater: John Hodgman's Spam". Vulture. New York. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2016.

Further reading

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  • 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
  • Making Masterpiece: 25 years behind the scenes at Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery! on PBS by Rebecca Eaton (2013) ISBN 978-1-4104-6841-3
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