An Episode of "Friends" in the 1800s
937699
The "poor relation"--a woman with limited funds and no man to protect her--is the staple of many a romance novel.

In this case, four friends, former teachers at a now defunct school for girls, band together to avoid being objects of pity living under the roof of male relatives.

The quartet is quite a mixture of ages and personalities, but they truly love and support each other. Of course, most of them wind up having their problems solved by marriage, but they do their own choosing of spouses, thank you.

The book adds that the author is a mystery writer who wrote this homage to Heyer and Austen anonymously.

The hand of an experienced writer is evident. About a dozen characters appear at Clarissa's newly-inherited estate--each with a distinct personality. They never merged into each other or into an indistinguishable mass of humanity, as so often happens.

There was a plot, and it had logic behind it.

Many of Heyer's stock characters are present: the older, jaded upper class man capable of falling in love wholeheartedly; the rather clueless young buck; the acclaimed beauty; the spirited, naive young woman. None of them had Heyer characters' sparkle and depth, but they were fun.

I enjoyed such an array of good women characters. And, there were no crazy, vile villains, just a few annoying, flawed people who were too self-absorbed to extend kindness to others.
460646
I first watched some of these episodes when I was a kid in 1976.  I am sorry that it only lasted one season, but the guest stars on these episodes added to the acting ability of Jim Hutton and David Wayne as well as John Hillerman.  Each show I tried to solve the crime and I was able to do it for a few of them.  The use of 1940's New York made it even more mysterious.  Even though no one can touch the original, it would be nice to see if someone would create a similar series like this where the viewer could try to solve the mystery before the answer is revealed.
1628358
The five stars rating I'm giving here is for the show, since this product has yet to be released as of the date of this review.  But instead of wasting your time with another comment on how great the show is - I have to presume you also feel this way, otherwise you wouldn't be reading the reviews of this product - I wanted to comment that years after I first discovered The Jeffersons, I was surprised to learn that the actress who played Louise Jefferson (Isabel Sanford) was, in real life, 20 years OLDER than the actor who played George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley).  I don't know how old the characters George and Louise were supposed to be on the show, but I'm sure if there was an age difference it was a few years at best, and if anything George would probably be older than Louise.

Of course, in real life there are married couples where there's a significant age difference between husband and wife, but you don't expect to see it on TV where the actress playing the wife is just about old enough to be the mother of the actor playing her husband, but the characters are similar in age.

The fact that Isabel Sanford didn't "act her age," as it were, yet I never thought she was trying to "act young," is a testament to her ability and talents as an actress.

(EDITED TO ADD: During later seasons, random bits of dialogue in various episodes indicate that Louise was, indeed, younger than George.  And, adding to this whole "age ain't nothin' but a number' thing, there's a 1980 episode where George's 50th birthday is celebrated - whereas in real life Sherman Hemsley was 42 on the day that episode aired.)
4631021
If you like stories in the 1880s about police using intuition,and how they used to have to prove the science behind solving crimes because they did not have the tools they have now, then you will love this show.  It is a man ahead of his time with a story and secrets of his own.  He is an honorable man which was hard to find during that era.  Many of the police there in White Chapel on the East End of London have great background stories, and it keeps you interested in the show.  The show starts off immediately after the Ripper murders, and is pretty accurate with how the police blamed every murderer caught afterwards for the Ripper murders and tried to tie them in.  Great show.
3417323
I prefer the segments set in 1822 to those set in 2015.  It seemed very unlikely to me that these modern incidents described could have actually occurred.  Little things disturbed me:  Kate's dragging a scrap of paper out of her pocket and making a sketch that actually made sense.  Really?  Meeting Gabriel who eventually turned out to be her nephew:  very unlikely. Meeting Rose, finding her half-brother:  all too coincidental to be taken seriously.  I think it was an interesting story, that could have been told more believably.  It was so predictably easy to figure out what was coming.
4507126
A great story; An easy and fun read. I lived through that time and the story very closely chronicles the experiences of some close friends.
1576990
There's something to be said about old friends getting together and partying it up. I really enjoy these types of shows. It could be because I'm getting to be an "old man" myself and can relate.
3947074
I'm really enjoying this. A friend recommended it to me. I especially marveled at the depictions of smallpox inoculation (in Colonial times!) and the tarring and feathering of a man (who knew it was HOT tar? Yikes!) I've only completed two episodes and look forward to the rest.
82560
nice story about love,friendship, and trust in earlier American history.  I really liked the story, but the back cover description is a little misleading
3219630
I have always wanted to read this story , it is referred to in a lot of other books that I have enjoyed in the past. It is a very funny story of  buddies having a vacation on the Thames river in the 1800's. A good read!

  Olin B.
1257162
Like many, I am a huge fan of this show.  This episode, "The Hook-Up Reverberation" left me with some doubt about the direction of the story line to come.  99% was good old fashion comedy we have all come to love about this group of actors and the lives the lead.  However, this friction between Penny and Emily where they "hate" each other is truly unnecessary and has the potential to sour the love for the show if they continue along this story line.

Every week many of us turn to this show simply for the pure enjoyment.  Some tune in for the nostalgia for our own past and our ability to connect with these characters in one or another.  We want to cheer for these nerds that overcame adversity and are now able to have successful personal lives.  Aren't we all happy that the nerds all have girl friends and are finding happiness?  Can most of us relate to this?  This is one of the factors that has made this show the ultimate success

This is one of those shows we don't want to see a long running conflict between characters.  The audience wants these characters to find there happiness, we cheer for these characters because we can in fact relate to them from some of our personal experiences.  I recognize that conflict makes for good story lines...such as Penny and Sheldon when she had three strikes and was banished from the apartment.  But the conflict was brilliantly resolved within that episode.

A continuation of conflict between Penny and Emily is not what the viewers want.

Paul
1912594
Great infusions of 19th century history in every episode and, so far up to episode 2 of season 2, imaginative stories.
Stupid me however, I found it on my Netflix and didn't need to buy the Amazon episode 1, Season 1.
Strange, usually if it's for sale on Amazon, it's not on Netflix and vice-versa.
1745183
I received this as a Christmas gift many years ago, and I still enjoy it!

If you watched Friends then you will love this cookbook... great quotes, great photos, and great recipes that pertain to the characters and storylines.

Try Phoebe's Fabulous Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies...

Perfect for any Friends fan!!!
1799380
I enjoyed reading this book about life in the mid 1800s for a devout Catholic family.  Somehow it
 is hard to believe that such religious prejudice was prevalent against Catholic, but it does explain some stories I remember hearings from my grandparent s.
228606
The series arrived right on time as a surprise gift for a friend. He caught one episode when I aired on ONE and raved about it. It was also a nice follow up to our visit to President Roosevelt's Little White House and museum. My friend, a history buff, has greatly enjoyed watching the series, and it will be passed around his family and friends to share. I'm looking forward to seeing the episodes with commentary from my personal historian.
4152122
great companion piece to go along with the tv episodes
1296699
This is such a great history of NYC. I learned a lot... didn't realize the Revolutionary war lasted for 7 years. Looking forward to watching the next episode soon as I have time.