#jonathan firth

[autumncottageattic]

Far from the Madding Crowd (1998) Part IV

[p-isforpoetry]

Poetry in Movies and Television: Highlander - The Modern Prometheus

Episode S05E17: Lord Byron, the brilliant Romantic poet, is alive and well and living the decadent life of a rock star.

The poems in the episode are by Lord Byron:

To A Lady Who Presented The Author With The Velvet Band Which Bound Her Tresses

This Band, which bound thy yellow hair Is mine, sweet girl! thy pledge of love; It claims my warmest, dearest care, Like relics left of saints above.

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

CXXIV.

We wither from our youth, we gasp away -- Sick -- sick; unfound the boon -- unslaked the thirst, Though to the last, in verge of our decay, Some phantom lures, such as we sought at first -- But all too late, -- so are we doubly curst. Love, fame, ambition, avarice -- 'tis the same, Each idle -- and all ill -- and none the worst -- For all are meteors with a different name, And Death the sable smoke where vanishes the flame.

LXXVIII.

Foil'd, bleeding, breathless, furious to the last, Full in the centre stands the bull at bay, Mid wounds, and clinging darts, and lances brast, And foes disabled in the brutal fray: And now the Matadores around him play, Shake the red cloak, and poise the ready brand: Once more through all he bursts his thundering way -- Vain rage! the mantle quits the conynge hand, Wraps his fierce eye -- 'tis past -- he sinks upon the sand!

CLXXXV.

My task is done—my song hath ceased—my theme ⁠ Has died into an echo; it is fit.

She Walks in Beauty

She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes; Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies. One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o’er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express, How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent!

Music: Marcus Testory (Caspian) and his band M.E.L.T. - "Alpha Et Omega"

More music from Marcus (M.E.L.T. and Chamber aka L’Orchestra De Chambre Noir)

[pascaled]

Same vibe

🥰

[rookedonafeeling]

My Pitch for Mamma Mia: How Can I Resist You?

Set between Mamma Mia and the modern sections of Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again so Donna is still alive.

After things didn’t work out with the waiter from Mamma Mia Harry has found a new partner and is about to get married. (Don’t worry about the timeline of gay marriage in Greece in relation to the film)

Where better to hold the ceremony than at Donna’s hotel! And of course the usual crew are all part of the wedding party

Harry is worried though as he has received a mysterious letter saying that an ex-flame of his has died and he has a previously unknown son who wants to meet him

He invites the son (Jonathan Bailey) to the wedding despite being nervous about what he’ll think of him

This has unforseen consequences as through a set of farces the son believes in turn that both Sam and Bill are his father

Through a variety of comedy set pieces along with ABBA songs he eventually finds out Harry is his father and loves him immediately

All is well and at the end Jonathan Bailey sings at his father’s wedding during which it is revealed the groom will be… Hugh Grant!

B Plots: Sam and Bill are the best men and are nervous about doing the speech

Patti LuPone (would also accept Bette Midler or Barbara Streisand) is Hugh Grant’s extremely intimidating mother who is judgemental of Donna’s hotel (or if they can get Cher back then they can have a feud)

Hugh Grants friends are very attractive so Tanya and Rosie try to strike it lucky

ALSO: there’s a flashback where young Harry meets the old flame in a club called Summer Night City (the night the son is conceived) and ALSO meets her friend who ends up being young Hugh Grant

I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do needs to feature heavily during the wedding, ideally with the different couples doing verses each then the final verse being Harry singing it as the real wedding part

[meatgiriii]

BRO

I just found out that there was also another version of "cartoon about roof tileing" on newgrounds and why does litterly NOBODY on here talk about this scene.. and especially the ending.. it made me cry so much Jonathan's death was SO SAD

:((

I love Jonathan a lot.

[missanthropicprinciple]

Huh, they do look similar now that you mention it. Here's Colin's actual brother, Jonathan Firth:

colin firth and this other actor julian firth are not related apparently??? but they look exactly the same?????

[missanthropicprinciple]

mood

[vintagetvstars]

Hot Vintage TV Men's Bracket - Round 1 - Part 1/2 (Polls 1-99)

Round 1 (All Polls)

Ted Bessell Vs. Dick Van Dyke

Jonathan Frid Vs. William Hartnell

Claude Rains Vs. William Hopper

Eric Idle Vs. Peter Tork

Henry Winkler Vs. Tom Smothers

Martin Kove Vs. Tom Selleck

Jeff Conaway Vs. John de Lancie

Dave Foley Vs. Michael J. Fox

David Hyde Pierce Vs. Tony Shalhoub

Jason Bateman Vs. Rob Lowe

Ted Cassidy Vs. Boris Karloff

Eddie Albert Vs. Russell Johnson

Bobby Sherman Vs. Micky Dolenz

Robin Williams Vs. Fred Grandy

Kevin Smith Vs. Bruce Campbell

Brad Dourif Vs. LeVar Burton

Seth Green Vs. Brandon Quinn

Matthew Perry Vs. Tim Daly

Mike Farrell Vs. Judd Hirsch

Matt Bomer Vs. Timothy Olyphant

Larry Hagman Vs. Kent McCord

Fred Rogers Vs. Bobby Troup

David Cassidy Vs. Luke Halpin

George Takei Vs. Richard Hatch

Ricardo Montalban Vs. John Forsythe

Richard Dean Anderson Vs. Bruce Willis

Anthony Head Vs. Paul McGann

Thorsten Kaye Vs. Michael Horse

Darren E. Burrows Vs. Dana Ashbrook

Adam Brody Vs. Milo Ventimiglia

Adam West Vs. Richard Chamberlain

Randy Boone Vs. Dean Butler

Clint Walker Vs. George Maharis

Erik Estrada Vs. Paul Michael Glaser

Billy Dee Williams Vs. Rock Hudson

Ted Danson Vs. Jameson Parker

Sylvester McCoy Vs. Armin Shimerman

Joe Lando Vs. Spencer Rochfort

Ben Browder Vs. Keith Hamilton Cobb

Richard Ayoade Vs. Kevin McDonald

Patrick McGoohan Vs. Robert Vaughn

Chad Everett Vs. DeForest Kelley

Jon Pertwee Vs. Mark Lenard

Darren McGavin Vs. Peter Falk

Terry Jones Vs. Alan Alda

Michael Tylo Vs. Timothy Dalton

Sean Bean Vs. Valentine Pelka

Ioan Gruffudd Vs. Colin Firth

David Tennant Vs. Robert Carlyle

Jason Priestley Vs. Tom Welling

Martin Milner Vs. James Garner

David Soul Vs. Lee Majors

Derek Jacobi Vs. Andrew Robinson

David Hasselhoff Vs. Stephen Nichols

Jimmy Smits Vs. Hal Linden

Brent Spiner Vs. Ted Raimi

Patrick Troughton Vs. Andreas Katsulas

Miguel Ferrer Vs. Mitch Pileggi

David James Elliot Vs. Andre Braugher

Blair Underwood Vs. Mark-Paul Gosselaar

Don Adams Vs. Cesar Romero

Bob Crane Vs. John Astin

Walter Koenig Vs. Davy Jones

Tom Baker Vs. Jamie Farr

Woody Harrelson Vs. John Schneider

John Goodman Vs. Joseph Marcell

Danny John-Jules Vs. Marc Alaimo

Michael Praed Vs. Kevin Sorbo

Mark McKinney Vs. Colm Meaney

Neil Patrick Harris Vs. David Schwimmer

James Arness Vs. Robert Fuller

Clint Eastwood Vs. Robert Conrad

Jonathan Frakes Vs. Michael Hurst

David Duchovny Vs. Michael T. Weiss

Luke Perry Vs. Jeremy Sisto

Matt LeBlanc Vs. John Stamos

Reece Shearsmith Vs. Alexander Siddig

Eric Close Vs. William Shockley

Daniel Dae Kim Vs. Robert Beltran

Scott Cohen Vs. Scott Patterson

Dick Gautier Vs. Michael Landon

Wayne Rogers Vs. Alejandro Rey

Gerald McRaney Vs. Robert Wagner

Simon Williams Vs. John Cleese

Brian Blessed Vs. James Earl Jones

Noah Wyle Vs. Kyle MacLachlan

James Marsters Vs. Paul Gross

Paolo Montalban Vs. Robert Duncan McNeill

Garrett Wang Vs. Nate Richert

Christian Kane Vs. Michael Vartan

David McCallum Vs. David Selby

Leonard Nimoy Vs. Colin Baker

Randolph Mantooth Vs. Michael Nesmith

Demond Wilson Vs. Tony Danza

Ron Perlman Vs. Mr. T

Ron Glass Vs. Dirk Benedict

John Shea Vs. Michael Ontkean

Jeffrey Combs Vs. Rowan Atkinson

Tim Russ Vs. Bruce Boxleitner

Round 1 Polls 100 - 128

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Brigerton Round-Up

Ok, so I have read all of the Bridgerton books I care to at this point, but my reviews are spread across this blog and possibly like a year of time??? So I thought it would be fun to bring them all together in a single post!

All of these reviews were written between S2 and S3 of Netflix's Bridgerton Series, so bear that in mind when you're wondering why I haven't talked about all the seasons!

Content warning for some misogyny and discussion of sexual assault.

Also...THERE ARE SPOILERS HERE.

The Viscount Who Loved Me

There comes a point where a girl can't deny she has engaged in a fandom. It probably is well before you start writing fic (you can find The Polin Fic on Ao3), but y'know, here we are. Let's talk Bridgerton.

Ok, couple things right off the top.

We are not dealing with either The Duke and I or S1 of Bridgerton on Netflix. We are not dealing with *THAT* scene and it's complete disregard for consent. Find that somewhere else on the internet, it's a big place.

We are literally only talking about The Viscount Who Loved Me and Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. They're the only books I've read, and at this point they're the only books in this series I care to read. That means we'll also chat about S2 of Netflix's Bridgerton.

Ok, with the ground rules established, let's jump on in!

I think the reasonable place to start here is with Kate. I watched Bridgerton the Netflix series before reading The Viscount Who Loved Me, and Kates Sheffield and Sharma are objectively not the same woman. They wouldn't even LIKE each other. Kate Sharma is self-assured, confident, driven, and quite frankly, a force of nature when she wants to be. Kate Sharma understands that not only is she a grown ass woman but also that if she does not get in gear and go for her goals, they ain't happening. You guys, I freaking love Kate Sharma.

By contrast, Kate Sheffield is a blond, blue-eyed, infantilized debutante with some serious unresolved PTSD. I was not at all sorry to see that Shondaland did away with THAT library scene and THAT bee sting scene. I think that the show did both of them way better, and I will never be mad when an adaptation takes an adult female character and lets her ACT like an adult. I also appreciated the shift from creepy Anthony trying to *checks notes* suck the venom out of the bee sting to a full-blown panic attack. It subverted a highly gendered trope and put both Kate and Anthony on a much more even and human footing. It was also--and I cannot stress this enough--so much LESS CREEPY than the book scene. Anthony describing what he was doing in detail while the reader is told but not shown that he's panicky left several different flavors of bad taste in my mouth. Kate Sharma showing actual dimensionality in her strength in the show in this scene as Anthony goes fully nonverbal is objectively a stronger scene that does far more to develop the characters.

Generally speaking, Anthony Bridgerton is Anthony Bridgerton in both the show and the book, with maybe some of the high-and-mighty, self-righteous edges sanded off for the show. He's a regency era Viscount, there's not a whole lot you can do with him in adaptation. Show Anthony is my preference because he has some of the high-handedness sanded off, and because Jonathan Bailey is extremely nice to look at. I don't even hate the S1 (*gasp* she mentioned Bruno!) sideburns and hair, they had a very 1995 Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy vibe that I was willing to lean into. I honestly don't have a whole lot else to say about Anthony, so let's move on and hope that maybe we get an S3 release date before I get to the end of this post. (Spoiler Alert: We did not)

An Offer From a Gentleman

Dearest Gentle Reader, I suppose if you play with fire, you do eventually get burned. This Author has finally been burned by a Bridgerton novel. --Lady Bookshelf's Society Papers, 7 June 2023

So uhh...yeah. We gotta talk about Benedict Bridgerton. And we gotta talk about what the actual hell happened between book and Netflix series, because I found the series before the book, and even knowing that the characterizations were different, this book was JARRINGLY different, and not gonna lie, I absolutely cannot stand book Benedict and I fully do not understand the Benophie appeal. Now that I've finished painting a target on my back, let's talk An Offer from a Gentleman.

Ok y'all, I have recipts for this one, because book Benedict was basically a "too aloof and edgelordy to give a damn" and he really, REALLY needed to stop telling Sophie she was stupid or thinking too much. He also was hideously high-handed about blackmailing, coercing, and passive aggressively manipulating Sophie into doing the closest possible thing he can make happen to what he wants. He can't hear the word "no." His art seems somehow less important to him than the bowl of rocks at the cottage.

Show Benedict is a sweetheart artist with a wicked sense of humor and a real damn good sense for his siblings' moods and needs. I like show Benedict. I was prepared to yeet book Benedict off a cliff.

So real quick before this descends into incoherent screeching, I just need to point out the section where Sophie leaves the Cavendar's house during a party that is SUPER not safe for her. The "male lead saves the female lead from getting raped" is not my favorite trope in the world, but I'm not here to shame anyone for rescue fantasies. What I am here to do is explainin why Benedict is the WORST POSSIBLE EXAMPLE of this trope. I'm just gonna go ahead and put the passage up here, for ease. This is Benedict's reaction to seeing Sophie is an objectively scary situation:

Cavender was standing under a stately old elm with two other gentlemen. They appeared to be having a bit of fun with a housemaid, pushing her back and forth between them. Benedict Groaned. He was too far away to determine whether the housemaid was enjoying their attentions, and if she was not, then he was going to have to save her, which was not how he'd planned to spend his evening. He'd never been particularly enamored of playing the hero, but he had far too many younger sisters--four, to be precise--to ignore any female in distress.

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS REACTION??? What is this "ugh, I guess I HAVE to step in, what a pain in the ass FOR ME" nonsense??? This is not allyship, this isn't even--as Benedict tepidly says--"having sisters," this is just "ugh, I guess I have to be a hero, how annoying."

If you're going to do the rescue trope, it kind of works better if your leading man gives a rat's ass. Like, give him a strong position on rape being bad. Give him a motivation. Give him something other than an eye roll and vague irritation that he has to do the thing! He's not even particularly T-ed off with the guys in this situation, it's just...and event. That he has to deal with. Like going to the DMV or something.

Can we PLEASE not do this. This is gross, it is bare minimum, and frankly? It's the least interesting version of this trope. I wasn't a Twilight girl, but the scene where Edward rescues Bella from implied gang rape was done better than this moist tissue of a scene purely because HE GIVES A RAT'S ASS ABOUT BELLA.

Bare freaking minimum, your romantic leads have to have strong feelings for each other. Those feelings can be positive or negative, depending on whether or not you're doing enemies to lovers, but the feelings have to EXIST. And when you're dealing with limited third omninscient narration, the character in who's head you are should probably have stronger emotions than *eye roll* to keep it interesting for the reader!! We know Sophie is already in love with Benedict at this point in the novel, but we aren't in Sophie's HEAD just now.

I'm basically out of coherent things to say about this book, so let's just go over key examples of other things in this book that made me rage. It's not every instance, but it's a selection of demonstrative examples.

Let's check the receipts:

She shot him an arch look. "Horse races are almost always silly." "Spoken just like a woman," he muttered.

And just WHAT is wrong with speaking like a woman, Benedict??? Is it maybe because you think they're somehow LESSER than men???

"Sophie," he said, "I can practically see the steam coming out of your ears. Stop taxing your brain with useless mathematical computations and do as I asked."

TAXING HER BRAIN, BENEDICT??? Let the woman think for her own damn self for five seconds!

"His chin jutted out belligerently. "You're not supposed to be thinking. That's the point of of it."

LET. HER. THINK. FOR. HER. OWN. DAMN. SELF.

"You bloody fool," he swore. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is in the world for a woman alone?" "Er, yes," she managed. "Actually I do. If he heard her, he gave no indication, just went on about "men who take advantage" and "helpless women" and "fates worse than death." [...] About halfway through his tirade, she lost all ability to focus on his words. She just kept watching his mouth and hearing the tone of his voice, all the while trying to comprehend the fact that he seemed remarkably concerned for her welfare... "Are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" Benedict demanded.

YOU SPENT THE WHOLE BOOK TELLING HER NOT TO THINK AND NOW YOU'RE MANSPLAINING CLASS TO HER??? SERIOUSLY???

"Don't you ever call me stupid," she hissed. " Benedict blinked, trying to get his eyesight back to the point where he only saw one of her. "I wasn't--" "Yes you were," she replied in a low, angry voice."

Oh, yes, call her stupid. That's a GREAT way to get in any woman's skirts, Benedict. (Please excuse me while I scream incoherently into a pillow in rage.) Punch him again, Sophie.

"I didn't save you from Cavender just to let you squander your life away." "That isn't your choice to make." She had a point there, but he wasn't inclined to give it to her. "Perhaps," he allowed, "but I'm going to make it, anyway."

Wow, so you do ONE DECENT THING and suddenly you own her life??? PUNCH HIM AGAIN, SOPHIE. And no, gentlemen, going "oh shit, I am actually being a huge dick here" and then DOING THE THING ANYWAY does not earn you any points.

"I didn't want--" "You don't know what you want," he cut in. It was a cruel statement, condescending in the extreme, but he was beyond caring. She'd wounded him in a way he hadn't even known was possible, with a power he'd never dreamed she possessed.

ACTUALLY SHE DOES KNOW WHAT SHE WANTS, BENEDICT, BECAUSE SHE IS A HUMAN PERSON WITH AGENCY!!!!!! AND SHE HAS SAID NO TO YOU LIKE FIFTEEN TIMES!!! Dear god, someone throw this man back in the lake and hold his head under.

"I didn't think," she whispered, more to herself than to him. "I know." He smiled. "I know. I hate it when you think. It always ends badly for me."

FOR FUCKS SAKE-- *screams in impotent rage while channeling Beatrice's "would eat his heart in the marketplace" vibes*

So...I actually don't recommend this book. Don't read this one. Just enjoy show Benedict and we can all collectively pretend that the book didn't happen.

Romancing Mr. Bridgerton

I actually thoroughly enjoyed the fluffy confection that is Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, which makes it much harder to talk about than The Viscount Who Loved Me. I suppose the biggest difference between the book and what the show is setting up for Polin is in the stakes. The book stakes are arguably extremely low; the consequences for being Lady Whistledown in the book are essentially a round of polite applause and some deep-seated rage that Cressida freaking Cowper would dare to take credit for Penelope's work. And frankly, I was 100% with Penelope on that one. The show cannot possibly roll with that ending (or if they do, they're going to disappoint everyone) because Penelope has pissed off a reigning monarch, and that has, historically, gone poorly. So I think the show is setting up to give Colin real, concrete reasons to be pissed as hell when it comes out that Penelope is Whistledown, and to actually make the pair work for their romance. And for all I enjoyed the fluff in the book, I am a sucker for multiple layers of increasingly high stakes and I hope the show really goes ham on the payoff for this setup. Frankly, I want Colin to be absolutely furious with Penelope and still ready to sneak her out of England if the Queen decides that Lady Whistledown is too dangerous to leave at liberty.

In terms of how Colin himself changes in the show, I'm fairly cool with the "I am a bottomless pit where is the food" aspect of Colin's character being quietly left behind. I think we can do more interesting things with our male characters than that. However, like many of the people who have both read the book and kept up with the show, I am WORRIED about how much Colin's writing has been downplayed. Yes, he and Penelope have a correspondence, and clearly they mean a lot to each other, but writing letters does not necissarily set up Colin's journals and the writing relationship that the two develop in the book. It's so, so wildly uncommon for game to recognize game and form a partnership of equals in skill in regency romance novels, and that was one of the things I loved about Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. I also loved that Colin, not Penelope, was the less experienced newbie of the writing partnership.

Not that the book didn't complicate this issue, because Julia Quinn didn't hesitate for a millisecond to slot Penelope into the historical role of "uncredited, unpaid, and historically unknown editor and 80% of the reason that history remembers the husband who's name is on the cover of the book." And that SUCKS for Penelope.

That takes me really smoothly into the thing that I love most about what Nicola Coughlan brings to Penelope in the show. She has an edge, a little more willingness to take risks, and that really makes me believe that the Penelope of the show could be behind the edgier, sharper, WAY riskier Whistledown. I am excited to see what they do with Polin in S3!

When He Was Wicked

Ok, as a Bridgerton book, When He Was Wicked was UNUSUAL. Given how tightly knit and very much there for each other the Bridgertons are (although I admit, this might be show bias affecting my reading), the fact that Francesca was, for the most part, isolated up in Scotland and very separate from the rest of the family was odd. It really allowed us to see what a Bridgerton-raised person would do when their back was to the wall and they were more or less alone.

Add to that the fact that most of this book is Francesca's second season and second love and that she gets to have actual EXPERIENCE and CONFIDENCE and not be your bog standard romance ingenue meant that this was a refreshing change of pace. I also would be absolutely remiss to point out that this novel went unapologetic on the fact that Francesca knows a little something about sex and her own body and that she has zero doubt that her needs, wants, and pleasure are important and that she can (and does) ask for what she wants with Michael. That's something that contemporary 2023 still really struggles with, so props to Julia Quinn for making it clear that Francesca can, should and DOES have a voice that matters during sex.

I also want to say that while Francesca wanting to be a mother so badly that she goes for a second season often gets side-eyed or openly pooh-poohed for being anti-feminist, breeding kinky, or somehow lesser, I would say that while the "All I want in the world is to be a mother" is complicated by the regency setting and the gender roles and expectations imposed on women whether they wanted them or not, Francesca is a widow for most of this novel, and widows historically had more (not complete, this isn't perfect) choice about their remarriage, and had Francesca not wanted to, she didn't have to remarry. So I'm willing to give this book the benefit of the doubt that Francesca actually DOES want to be a mother, actually DOES want children, and making the choice to remarry to have kids is an active, intentional choice on her part. Motherhood isn't for everyone, and that's 100% fine. But we shouldn't shame people who do want it, and I think a generous read of this book puts Francesca in that camp without some of the weird vibes and setting complications that you get with Daphne.

Again, none of this is wholly unproblematic, and there are arguments to be made that social conditioning overrode any choice Francesca could make. However, that's a deeply cynical read of a fun, fluffy romance novel, and I'm not here to shame people who can get pregnant for their reproductive choices, whatever those may be.

Michael is, in the grand tradition of non-Bridgerton love interests, fairly bland. His whole thing is being the merry rake, which, like, whatever. That's fine. I'm not like, terribly enamored of his full-on BAILING on Francesca for like three years after her first husband unceremoniously drops dead. I'm also not super enamored of his whole "did I secretly cause my cousin's death because I was coveting his wife and now I can never be with Francesca because I don't deserve her for killing my cousin" schtick, but this is Bridgerton so the absurd drama is pretty par for the course.

The reason to read this book really is Francesca, and Francesca finding her feet as a more mature heroine than we typically see in these books. I was very very much here for Francesca, and I hope that if the show gets this far, we really do get to see how Frannie is different from Daphne, Eloise, Penelope, and Hyacinth.

It's In His Kiss

This is now the fifth Bridgerton book I've read, and I actually have to say that while it's not my favorite of the series, it was a nice change of pace. Hyacinth and Gareth feel like they spend more time together as a couple really getting to know one another, which honestly was not really the vibe of previous couples. Anthony was too wrapped up in waiting to die, Benedict was too busy being shitty Prince Eric and generally devaluing all women everywhere, and Francesca and Colin were working through dead spouse trauma and a variation on professional jealousy, respectively. Hyacinth and Gareth just like each other, and Gareth was refreshingly brief in his daddy issues in favor of seducing Hyacinth and realizing that whoops, he actually meant it. So frankly, Gareth and Hyacinth feel more like they are actually good friends. And as a Polin Stan, that is a little heartbreaking to say, since Polin was supposed to be the friends to lovers storyline and as far as the books go, I actually think Hyacinth and Gareth feel more friends to lovers. Polin is more she fell first, he fell harder, which is a great trope but it's not really friends to lovers.

I swear I'm not going to be low-key disappointed about Polin for this whole post though, because in addition to Hyacinth being genuinely good friends with Gareth, we get her friendship with Lady Danbury. And THAT friendship is an absolute delight, although Jukia Quinn might be flying just a TAD close to the sun by spoofing bad romance books that we read to mock in her series of borderline read-to-mock romance books. This is very akin to my feelings about Penelope getting weak-kneed over Colin's writing talent because he described the temperature of the Agean Sea as half-hour old bathwater. Like, I get what you were going for emotionally, but on a very realistic level, you fell flat on your face and your skirt rode all the way up so you flashed your panties at people by accident, and not in a kinky way. Not that that makes Hyacinth and Lady D's dynamics any less wonderful, it's just one of those "my eyebrows were raised while I was smiling" things. We cannot help but love Lady Danbury.

I also just want to call out the objectively hilarious scene where Gareth goes to ask Anthony for permission to marry Hyacinth and Anthony completely blows the tone with his combination "YES ALL MY SISTERS ARE MARRIED OFF I AM KING" and "hurt her and I won't kill you, I will make your long life a living hell" reactions. I enjoyed this Anthony.

Now, having noted what I enjoyed about this book, it wouldn't be a Bridgerton novel if there weren't also a couple of things that I feel the need to call out as WILDLY WTAF. We're gonna go ahead and start with the prologue, because we need to take a minute and ask ourselves why the actual hell the girl Lord St. Clair was trying to force Gareth to marry had to have a mental disability, and why the hell we needed Lord St. Clair's "kick the dog" moment to be telling his son to rape a vulnerable woman. And that's before we even get into the issues with the rampant asexual objectification and infantilization of disabled people, and how that plays into wildly ableist tropes throughout literature. And the worst part is, this adds literally nothing to the story. We do not even see this character on the page, she is just briefly mentioned twice in the novel and is literally not even an obstacle. This didn't have to be casually thrown in and frankly I saw ten different shades of red when I was reading it. Honestly, it's one of hose thoughtlessly, pointlessly ableist things that causes real harm in the world and I am not here for it.

The other WTAF thing about this book is the fact that Gareth plans to "ruin" Hyacinth. I'm not gonna go do ar as to say there are consent issues here, because to say that would be to wildly and willfully misrepresent their relationship and I'm not going to do that. But I'm not wild about the perpetuation of the idea of virginity as some magical thing that can be taken from a woman and tbat devalues her. And yes, I know, it's it's regency romance. But I can understand scenes-a-faire and still not like it. Which I do not, because it says more about the level to which Gareth initially values Hyacinth than anything else, and you shouldn't have to devalue your SO to feel worthy of them. That is some toxic bullshit, do not do it.

Overall, though, this book was pretty cute and it was heisty, and I am a bit of a sucker for a good heist. Insofar as I recommend any Bridgerton novel, this one was pretty fun.

On The Way To The Wedding

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a hot romantic regency male lead must be in want of a more intelligent heroine. But even given that, Gregory flippin' Bridgerton strains credibility about how obtuse he is throughout this book. Anthony might have been lying to himself and deeply traumatized, Benedict might have been a chauvinist dickhead, and Colin might have been a golden retriever, but none of them were so vacuously vague as Gregory managed to be. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy this book; there were chunks of it I found thoroughly amusing. So let's talk On the Way to the Wedding.

I guess we might as well start with Gregory, because holy cow there was no critical thought in this man's head. He literally did not hear a thing Lucy said to him the night before her wedding to Haselby, because AS COLIN POINTED OUT while he and Gregory were *checks notes* SITTING IN A TREE SPYING ON LUCY'S HOUSE, she did not actually ever at any point say that she wasn't going to marry Haselby, she just made bland statements and let Gregory hear what he wanted to. Like, Greg. Sweetie, honey, friend, she did not explicitly say she was calling off the wedding, and you KNOW she would have if she really intended to. You were thinking with the wrong head, my dude, and frankly it's on your own dang head for being so shocked the next morning.

But on top of having cloth ears when it comes to hearing "no," Gregory managed to talk himself into being in love with Hermione and out of being in live with Lucy. And this is AFTER separate sit downs with Anthony, Kate, and Violet that collectively tell the reader (and should have told Gregory, except he has cotton wool instead of a brain inside his skull) that Gregory has exactly zero connection with reality, no drive or ambition, and has had so much handed to him in life that he won't extend effort to get something that isn't handed to him. Quite literally, my reaction was, "Aww, Lucy gets the second-worst brother. She and Sophie should get together and start a support group." So Gregory and Benedict are super not my favorite Bridgerton Brothers.

One thing about Gregory that was well set up and paid off and used fairly humorously throughout though, is his complete inability to hit anything he aims at with a firearm. I was impressed that he was not toxically masculine about that, and the fact that he nonfatally shot Uncle Richard at the end was well executed, and Lucy telling her Uncle that he is lucky Gregory can't aim for shit actually got a laugh from me. It was very good. AND it established that all four Bridgerton girls can shoot as well, so at some point I want a pall mall game settled via target shooting. My bet is that Eloise thinks she's the best shot, Francesca actually is, Hyacinth does trick shots just to piss off Eloise, and Daphne is scarily efficient as a markswoman.

However, what really kept this book interesting were Lucy and the CW drama-esque plot, because I did not see "oopsie poopsie, did a treason, and now my neice has to marry my blackmailer's gay son" coming in the Bridgertonverse, but here we are, I guess.

Lucy falls into line with Penelope and Sophie in terms of women who are head and shoulders more competent than the Bridgerton man they married, although admittedly Lucy has less personality than either Penelope or Sophie. Lucy is a people manager and pleaser, and she is extremely organized. She also has some excellent one-liners and is more than smart enough to wrap Gregory around her little finger when she needs to.

Unfortunately, she couldn't talk Gregory's stubborn streak out of tying her to a water closet (seriously, what is this, a regency Criminal Minds episode???), which is how we get the big reveal that it's her Uncle, not her father, who committed treason. It's also how we somehow end up with Uncle Richard holding a gun to Sophie in a random bedroom before her marriage to Haselby was consummated, which... Richard. Honey. What was the plan here??? You needed that girl legally and permanently married before Davenport gave up the blackmail. Why are you holding a gun on her right now??? What the hell was the way out of this room of you hadn't been interrupted by the husband squad and their two guns? Weird time for a power trip, is all I can say. You might as well have gotten caught monologuing for all the sense this scene setup made.

And Gregory once again proves that he is a COMPLETE IMBECILE because if you spend an entire book announcing repeatedly that you can't hit the broad side of a barn, why on God's little green earth do you take the shot at a man holding a gun to your love's head? You're as likely to hit her as him! He got lucky because plot armor, but he wasn't the only man in the room with a gun, Lucy's very angry brother ALSO had one, and he was almost certainly a better shot than Gregory. Nobody is exercising critical thought in this scene, is all I'm saying.

Now, for all my criticisms, if you suspend your disbelief, this whole scene is VERY fun, and in principle I quite enjoyed it. Sometimes you have to meet a book where it's at, and in this case it was at CW-esque dramatic farce. So this book was very fun for what it was.

OOH and before I wrap.up and forget: Hyacinth gets to be totally furious in this book, and holy cow I wish we got Hyacinth in a decade st some point, because she would have been show Lady Danbury's equal but more spitfire, and I love that so much for all of us.

This is definitely the last Bridgerton book I'm reading because I have no desire to deal with Daphne or Eloise's books. That said though, the books I have read I was largely either pleasantly surprised by or thoroughly entertained, and really you can't ask more of these books than that. Book Benedict still sucks though.

[themakeupbrush]

List of Met Galas since 2001

I've gotten a few asks for a list of Met Galas. Technically, the gala has existed since 1948, and been themed since 1973, but I started at 2001 to keep it short (there was no gala in 2000 apparently). If you're interested in every theme that's ever existed, there's a chart on Wikipedia.

Most lists online start somewhere around 2011-2013, since it wasn't covered by the press the same way before then.

2001 Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Christina and Lindsay Owen-Jones, Annette and Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera Caroline Kennedy and Edwin A. Schlossberg

Sponsor: L'Oreal

2003 Goddess: The Classical Mode

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Tom Ford, Nicole Kidman

Sponsor: Gucci

2004 Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Renée Zellweger, Lawrence Stroll, Silas Chou, Edgar Bronfman Jr. Jacob Rothschild, Jayne Wrightsman

Sponsor: Asprey

2005 The House of Chanel

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, Nicole Kidman Caroline, Princess of Hanover

Sponsor: Chanel

2006 AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Christopher Bailey, Sienna Miller Rose Marie Bravo, The Duke of Devonshire

Sponsor: Burberry

2007 Poiret: King of Fashion

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Cate Blanchett, Nicolas Ghesquière François-Henri Pinault

Sponsor: Balenciaga

2008 Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Giorgio Armani

Sponsor: Giorgio Armani

2009 The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Kate Moss, Justin Timberlake Marc Jacobs

Sponsor: Marc Jacobs

Ticket Price: $7,500

2010 American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Oprah Winfrey, Patrick Robinson

Sponsor: Gap

2011 Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Colin Firth, Stella McCartney François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek

Sponsor: Alexander McQueen

2012 Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Carey Mulligan, Miuccia Prada, Jeff Bezos

Sponsor: Amazon

2013 Punk: Chaos to Couture

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Rooney Mara, Lauren Santo Domingo, Riccardo Tisci Beyoncé

Sponsor: Moda Operandi

Ticket Price: $15,000

2014 Charles James: Beyond Fashion

Co-chairs: Aerin Lauder, Anna Wintour, Bradley Cooper, Oscar de la Renta, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch

Sponsor: AERIN

Ticket Price: $25,000

Theme Announcement: September 4th, 2013

2015 China: Through the Looking Glass

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Jennifer Lawrence, Gong Li, Marissa Mayer, Wendi Murdoch, Silas Chou

Sponsor: Yahoo

Ticket Price: $25,000

Theme Announcement: September 11th, 2014

2016 Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Jonathan Ive Nicolas Ghesquière, Karl Lagerfeld, Miuccia Prada

Sponsor: Apple

Ticket Price: $30,000

Theme Announcement: October 13th, 2015

2017 Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady, Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, Rei Kawakubo

Sponsor: Apple, Condé Nast, Farfetch, H&M, Maison Valentino

Ticket Price: $30,000

Theme Announcement: October 21st, 2016

2018 Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Rihanna, Amal Clooney, Donatella Versace Christine and Stephen A. Schwarzman

Sponsors: Christine and Stephen A. Schwarzman, Versace

Ticket Price: $30,000

Theme Announcement: November 8th, 2017 (currently the latest they've announced the theme)

2019 Camp: Notes on Fashion

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Lady Gaga, Harry Styles, Serena Williams, Alessandro Michele

Sponsor: Gucci

Ticket Price: $35,000

Theme Announcement: October 9th, 2018

Planned for May 4, 2020 (canceled) About Time: Fashion and Duration

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Meryl Streep, Emma Stone, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Nicolas Ghesquière

Sponsor: Louis Vuitton

September 2021 In America: A Lexicon of Fashion

Co-chairs: Timothée Chalamet, Billie Eilish, Amanda Gorman, Naomi Osaka, Tom Ford, Adam Mosseri, Anna Wintour

Sponsor: Instagram

Ticket Price: $35,000

2022 In America: An Anthology of Fashion

Co-chairs: Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Regina King, Tom Ford, Adam Mosseri, Anna Wintour

Sponsor: Instagram

Ticket Price: $35,000

2023 Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty

Co-chairs: Anna Wintour, Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel, Penélope Cruz, Roger Federer

Sponsors: Chanel, Fendi, Karl Lagerfeld (brand)

Ticket Price: $50,000 (most expensive to date)

Theme Announcement: September 30th, 2022

[autumncottageattic]

Far from the Madding Crowd (1998) Part III

[acti-veg]

hi acti! what are the best books about veganism that you would recommend for a newer vegan?

thank you!

Hey, I have a few goodreads shelves for various topics here, but I’ll also pull out some particularly good ones for someone new to veganism:

1) Eating Animals, Jonathan Safran Foer

Foer isn’t vegan himself and he’s explicit that it isn’t a book about veganism, it’s about eating animals and how we can ethically justify it. He writes beautifully on the topic and it’s much more readable than any other non-fiction on the topic that I’ve encountered. This is the first book I read on the topic and it stuck with me.

2) The Case For Animal Rights, Tom Regan

This is not an easy read, it’s essentially a summary of the philosophical argument for animal rights so it’s a philosophical text, but recommended reading for anyone interested in the philosophy behind the movement.

3) Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows, Melanie Joy

Dr. Joy is a social psychologist and writes all about the psychology of eating animals, and the invisible belief system structured around it. It’s a brilliant read and very accessible. She also has several excellent talks on YouTube.

4) Regenesis: Feeding The World Without Destroying The Planet, George Monbiot

George Monbiot is a respected journalist and environmental activist. This book is fascinating, I learned new things even as someone who has been reading about animal issues for over a decade now. This is the newest on this list, and will give you a really good grounding in the food security and environmental problems with animal agriculture.

5) The Emotional Lives of Animals, Mark Bekoff

This is not about veganism or animal rights specifically but does touch on it and explores the depth of animal emotion and the scientific bias against acknowledging it. I don’t see this one recommended nearly often enough.

6) Bosh! Henry Firth

This is a recipe book but I think it’s so important not to just focus on theory but to start cooking when you’re new to veganism, to build up a new bank of meals for yourself. There are dozens of brilliant vegan cookbooks but this one is really accessible and simple.

[medievalandfantasymelee]

The Properties

A Comprehensive* Index of Films, Shows and Franchises whence our Noble and Worthy contenders hail.

1234

The 13th Warrior (1999) [Film] Genre: Action, Drama Starring: Antonio Banderas, Diane Venora, Omar Sharif

A

A Knight’s Tale (2001) [Film] Genre: Comedy, Action, Romance Starring: Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Rufus Sewell, Alan Tudyk, Laura Fraser, Paul Bettany, James Purefoy

The Accursed Kings (1972-1973) [TV Series] Genre: Political Drama Starring: Jean Piat

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance Starring: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patrick Knowles

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-1959) [TV Series] Genre: Action, Adventure Starring: Richard Greene, Alan Wheatley

Aladdin (2019) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Romance Starring: Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Will Smith, Marwan Kenzari

Army of Darkness (1992) [Film] Genre: Action, Comedy, Dark Fantasy, Horror Starring: Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert

Arn: The Knight Templar (2007) [Film Series] Genre: Action, Drama Starring: Joakim Nätterqvist, Stellan Skarsgård, Sofia Helin, Milind Soman

Arthur of the Britons (1972-1973) [TV Series] Genre: Action, Drama Starring: Oliver Tobias, Michael Gothard, Brian Blessed

Assassin’s Creed (2016) [Film] Genre: Action

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson

B

Baahubali (2015-2017) [Film Franchise] Genre: Action Starring: Prabhas, Anushka Shetty

Becket (1964) [Film] Genre: Drama Starring: Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole

Beowulf & Grendel (2005) [Film] Genre: Action, Drama Starring: Gerard Butler, Ingvar Sigurðson, Stellan Skarsgård, Tony Curran, Rory McCann, Sarah Polley

The Black Adder (1982) [Season 1 of Blackadder TV Series] Genre: Comedy Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Tim McInnerny, Brian Blessed, Robert East

Borgia (2011-2014) [TV Series] Genre: Political, Drama Starring: John Doman, Mark Ryder, Isolda Dychauk, Diarmuid Noyes

The Borgias (2011-2013) [TV Series] Genre: Political, Drama Starring: Jeremy Irons, Francois Arnaud, Holliday Grainger, David Oakes, Lotte Verbeek, Joanne Whalley, Sean Harris, Julian Bleach

Braveheart (1995) [Film] Genre: Action Starring: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGooan

C

Cadfael (1994-1998) [TV Series] Genre: Mystery Starring: Derek Jacobi, Sean Pertwee

Camelot (1967) [Film] Genre: Musical, Drama Starring: Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero

The Canterbury Tales (1972) [Film] Genre: Dark Comedy, Drama Starring: Pier Paolo Pasolini, Josephine Chaplin

Carlos, rey Emperador (2015-2016) [TV Series] Genre: Political, Drama Starring: Álvaro Cervantes, Bianca Suárez

The Chronicles of Narnia (2005-2010) [Film Franchise] Genre: Fantasy, Action Starring: William Mosely, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Ben Barnes, Will Poulter, Liam Neeson, Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Peter Dinklage, Eddie Izzard, Warwick Davis, Ken Stott, Cornell John

The Court Jester (1955) [Film] Genre: Musical, Comedy, Romance Starring: Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury

Covington Cross (1992) [TV Series] Genre: Drama Starring: Nigel Terry, Cheri Lunghi, Jonathan Firth

D

Doctor Who: “Battlefield” (1989) [TV Serial] Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Fantasy Starring: Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Jean Marsh, Christopher Bowen, Marcus Gilbert

Doctor Who: “The Robot of Sherwood (2014) [TV Episode] Genre: Science Fiction, Action Starring: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Louise Coleman, Tom Riley, Ben Miller

Double World (2020) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Action Starring: Henry Lau, Peter Ho

Dracula Untold (2014) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Action Starring: Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper, Sarah Gadon, Charles Dance

Dragonheart (1996) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Action Starring: Dennis Quaid, Sean Connery, David Thewlis

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure Starring: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Hugh Grant

E

Edward II (1991) [Film] Genre: Drama, Romance Starring: Steven Waddington, Andrew Tiernan, Tilda Swinton, Nigel Terry, Jerome Flynn

Ella Enchanted (2004) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Comedy Starring: Anne Hathaway, Hugh Dancy, Cary Elwes, Vivica A. Foxx, Joanna Lumley

Eragon (2006) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Action Starring: Ed Speelers, Jeremy Irons, Garrett Hedlund

Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998) [Film] Genre: Romance, Drama Starring: Drew Barrymore, Dougray Scott

Excalibur (1981) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Action Starring: Nigel Terry, Cheri Lunghi, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Nicol Williamson, Gabriel Byrne

F

First Knight (1995) [Film] Genre: Drama, Romance Starring: Richard Gere, Julia Ormond, Sean Connery

G

Galavant (2015-2016) [TV Show] Genre: Musical, Fantasy, Comedy Starring: Joshua Sasse, Timothy Omundson, Vinnie Jones, Karen David, Luke Youngblood

Game of Thrones (2011-2019) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Political, Drama, Action Starring: Sean Bean, Lena Headey, Kit Harrington, Emilia Clarke, Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner, Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Jerome Flynn, Aiden Gillen, Rory McCann, Ian McElhinney, Iwan Rheon,

The Great Wall (2016) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy Starring: Matt Damon, Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, Andy Lau

The Green Knight (2021) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Adventure Starring: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris, Ralph Ineson

H

Hamlet (1948) [Film] Genre: Drama Starring: Laurence Olivier, Normal Wooland, Jean Simmons

Hamlet at Elsinore (1964) [TV Movie] Genre: Drama Starring: Christopher Plummer, Michael Caine, Robert Shaw, Jo Maxwell-Muller, Donald Sutherland

Henry V (1944) [Film] Genre: Drama, Political, Action, Romance Starring: Laurence Olivier, Renee Asherson, Esmond Knight

Henry V (1989) [Film] Genre: Drama, Political, Action Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Derek Jacobi, Brian Blessed, Ian Holm

Henry VIII (2003) [TV Serial] Genre: Drama Starring: Ray Winstone, Helena Bonham Carter, Charles Dance, Mark Strong, Assumpta Serna, David Suchet, Emilia Fox, Sean Bean

Highlander (1986) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Action Starring: Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown

The Hollow Crown (2012-2016) [TV Series] Genre: Drama, Political Starring: Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Jeremy Irons, Tom Hiddleston, Simon Russell Beale, David Dawson, Tom Sturridge, Sophie Okonedo, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sam Troughton, Keely Hawes, Judi Dench, Phoebe Fox

House of the Dragon (2022-) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Political, Drama, Action Starring: Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Millie Alcock, Olivia Cooke, Paddy Considine, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Wean Mitchell, Graham McTavish, Fabian Frankel

The Hobbit Trilogy (2012-2014) [Film Franchise Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Aiden Turner, Dean O'Gorman, James Nesbitt, Lee Pace, Evangeline Lilly L Luke Evans, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee, Orlando Bloom, Andy Serkis

I

I Am Dragon {On — Drakón} (2015) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Romance Starring: Maria Poezzhaeva, Matvey Lykov

If I Were King (1938) [Film] Genre: Adventure Starring: Ronald Colman, Basil Rathbone, Frances Dee

Into the Woods (2014) [Film] Genre: Musical, Fantasy Starring: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp

Ivanhoe (1982) [TV Movie] Genre: Drama, Adventure, Romance Starring: Anthony Andrews, Olivia Hussey, Nam Neill, Lysette Anthony, Julian Glover, John Rhys Davies, Stuart Wilson

Ivanhoe (1997) [Mini Series] Genre: Drama, Adventure, Romance Starring: Steven Waddington, Victoria Smurfit, Ciaran Hinds, Susan Lynch, James Cosmo, Christopher Lee

J

JourneyQuest (2010) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Action, Comedy Starring: Christian Doyle, Emilie Rommel Shimkus, Jesse Lee Keeter

K

Kaamelott (2004-2009) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Comedy Starring: Alexandre Astier, Thomas Cousseau, Alexis Hénon, Anne Girouard, Christian Bujeau

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) [Film] Genre: Action Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, Eric Bana, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Freddie Fox, Millie Brady

Kingdom of Heaven (2005) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure Starring: Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Liam Neeson

Knights of the Teutonic Order (1960) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure Starring: Grażyna Staniszewska, Urszula Modrzyńska, Mieczysław Kalenik, Stanisław Jasiukiewicz 

L

Labyrinth (1986) [Film] Genre: Fantasy Starring: David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly

Lancelot du Lac (1974) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Adventure Starring: Luc Simon, Laura Duke Condominas, Humbert Balsan, Vladimir Antolek-Oresek, Patrick Bernhard

Ladyhawke (1985) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Romance Starring: Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Broderick

The Last Duel (2021) [Film] Genre: Drama Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Comer, Adam Driver

The Last Kingdom (2015-2022) [TV Series] Genre: Action, Adventure, Political, Drama Starring: Alexander Dreymon, David Dawson, Millie Brady, Ian Hart Mark Rowley, Arnas Fedaravicius, Ewan Mitchell

Legend (1985) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Romance Starring: Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry

The Legend of the Seeker (2008-2010) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Adventure Starring: Craig Horner, Bridget Regan, Bruce Spence, Tabrett Bethell

The Lion in Winter (1968) [Film] Genre: Drama Starring: Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Athony Hopkins, John Castle, Nigel Terry, Timothy Dalton

The Little Hours (2017) [Film] Genre: Dark Comedy Starring: Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Kate Micucci

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) [Film Franchise] Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Action Starring: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys Davies, Sean Bean, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Bernard Hill, Karl Urban, Miranda Otto, Brad Dourif, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis, Craig Parker

M

Marco Polo (2014) [TV Series] Genre: Adventure, Political Starring: Lorenzo Richelmy, Benedict Wong, Joan Chen, Rick Yune, Remy Hii, Mahesh Jadu, Claudia Kim

The Masque of the Red Death (1964) [Film] Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Drama Starring: Vincent Price, Jane Asher, Hazel Court, John Westbrook

Marketa Lazarová (1967) [Film] Genre: Drama, Adventure Starring: Magda Vášáryová, Josef Kemr, František Velecký

Medici (2016-2019) [TV Series] Genre: Drama, Political Starring: Richard Madden, Annabel Scholey, Danial Sharman, Bradley James, Sarah Parish, Matteo Martari, Sean Bean, Jack Roth

Merlin (1998) [Miniseries] Genre: Fantasy, Drama Starring: Sam Neill, Miranda Richardson, Helena Bonham Carter, Martin Short, Jason Done, Rutger Hauer

BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Adventure Starring: Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Angel Coulby, Katie McGrath, Anthony Head, Eoin Macken, Tom Hopper, Santiago Cabrera, Rupert Young, Adetomiwa Edun

Miracle Workers: The Dark Ages (2020) [TV Series] Genre: Comedy Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Karan Soni, Geraldine Viswanathan, Steve Buscemi

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) [Film] Genre: Comedy Starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michel Palin,

N

Nirvana in Fire {Lángyá Bǎng} (2015) [TV Series] Genre: Drama, Adventure Starring: Hu Ge, Liu Tao, Wang Kai

The Northman (2022) [Film] Genre: Action Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Gustav Lindh, Ethan Hawke, Björk. Willem Dafoe

Northmen: A Viking Saga (2014) [Film] Genre: Action Starring: Tom Hopper, Charlie Murphey, Ed Skrein

O

Outlaw King (2018) [Film] Genre: Action, Drama Starring: Chris Pine, Florence Pugh, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Stephen Dillane, Tony Curran

P

Padmavaat (2018) [Film] Genre: Drama Starring: Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh

The Physician {Der Medicus} (2013) Genre: Drama Starring: Tom Payne, Ben Kingsley, Stellan Skarsgård, Olivier Martinez, Emma Rigby

Pilgramige (2017) [Film] Genre: Action Starring: John Bernthal, Tom Holland, Richard Armitage

The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957) [Film] Genre: Starring: Van Johnson, Claude Rains

The Pillars of the Earth (2010) [Miniseries] Genre: Drama Starring: Rufus Sewell, Ian McShane, Donald Sutherland, Hayley Atwell, Eddie Redmayne, David Oakes

The Prince and the Pauper (1937) [Film] Genre: Adventure Starring: Errol Flynn, Claude Rains

BBC’s Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989) [TV Serial] Genre: Fantasy Starring: Samuel West, Richard Dempsie, Sophie Cook, Jonathan R. Scott, Sophie Wilcox, Jean-Marc Perret, Warwick Davis

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina

The Princess Bride (1987) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Adventure Starring: Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Andre the Giant, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Peter Falk

R

Ran (1985) [Film] Genre: Drama, Action Starring: Nakadai Tatsuya, Terao Akira, Nezu Jinpachi, Ryu Daisuke, Harada Mieko

Rashomon (1950) [Film] Genre: Drama Starring: Mifune Toshiro, Mori Masayuki, Kyo Machiko, Shimura Takashi, Chiaki Minoru

Ressurection: Ertğrul {Diriliş: Ertuğrul} (2014-2019) Genre: Action, Adventure, Political, Drama Starring: Engin Altan Düzyatan, Kaan Taşaner, Esra Bilgiç, Cengiz Coşkun

The Rings of Power (2022-) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Action, Drama Starring: Morfydd Clarke, Robert Aramayo, Lloyd Owen, Maxim Baldry, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Nazanin Boniadi

Rise of Empires: Ottoman (2020-2024) [TV Series] Genre: Docu-drama Starring: Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu, Daniel Nuță, Tuba Büyüküstün

Robin and Marian (1976) [Film] Genre: Action, Romance, Drama Starring: Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn, Nicol Williamson, Robert Shaw, Richard Harris

Robin Hood (1922) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance Starring: Douglas Fairbanks, Enid Bennett, Wallace Beery, Sam de Grasse

Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) [Film] Genre: Comedy Starring: Cary Elwes, Richard Lewis, Roger Rees, Amy Yasbeck, Eric Allan Kramer, Dave Chapelle, Matthew Porretta, Isaac Hayes, Patrick Stewart, Dom Deluise

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance Starring: Kevin Costner, Alan Rickman, Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Wincott

BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009) [TV Series] Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama Starring: Jonas Armstrong, Lucy Griffiths, Richard Armitage, Sam Troughton, Joe Armstrong, Harry Lloyd, Anjali Jay, Gordon Kennedy, Keith Allen

Robin Hood (2010) [Film] Genre: Action Starring: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchette, Matthew McFayden, Oscar Isaac

Robin of Sherwood (1984) [TV Series] Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama Starring: Michael Praed, Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, Robert Addie, Ray Winstone,

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990) [Film] Genre: Comedy, Drama Starring: Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Iain Glen, Richard Dreyfuss

S

The Seventh Seal {Det sjunde inseglet}(1957) Genre: Fantasy, Drama Starring: Max von Sydow, Bengt Ekerot, Bibi Andersson, Gunnar Björnstrand 

Shannara Chronicles (2016) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Drama Starring: Austin Butler, Poppy Drayton, Ivana Baquero, Manu Bennett

The Shamer's Daughter {Skammerens Datter} (2015) [Film] Genre: Drama Starring: Jakob Oftebro, Rebecca Emlile Sattrup

The Story of Minglan (2018) [TV Series] Genre: Drama, Romance Starring: Zhang Liying, Feng Shaofeng, Zhu Yilong, Cao Cuifen,

The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure Starring: Richard Todd, Joan Rice, Peter Finch

The Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure Starring: Richard Greene, Peter Cushing, Sarah Branch

T

Thierry la Fronde (1963-1966) [TV Series] Genre: Action, Adventure Starring: Jean Claude Drouot, Celine Leger

Tristan and Isolde (2006) [Film] Genre: Romance, Drama, Action Starring: James Franco, Sophia Myles, Rufus Sewell

V

Valhalla Rising (2009) [Film] Genre: Surreal, Horror, Adventure Starring: Mads Mikkelsen

Vikings (2013) [TV Series] Genre: Action, Adventure, Political Starring: Travis Fimmel, Kathryn Winnick, George Blagden, Clive Standen, Gustaf Skarsgård, Linus Roache, Alexander Ludwig, Alex Høgh Andersen, Jordan Patrick Smith

Vikings: Valhalla (2022) [TV Series] Genre: Action, Adventure, Political Starring: Sam Corlett, Frida Gustavsson, Leo Suter, Bradley James

W

Warcraft (2016) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure Starring: Travis Fimmel, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell,

The White Queen (2013) [Miniseries] Genre: Drama, Romance, Political Starring: Rebecca Ferguson, Max Irons, David Oakes, Aneurin Barnard, Amanda Hale, James Frain, Faye Marsay, Elinor Tomlinson, Janet McTeer

The Wheel of Time (2022) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Action Starring: Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, Josha Stradowski, Marcus Rutherford, Donal Finn, Hammed Animashaun, Sophie Okonedo,

When the Raven Flies {Hrafninn flýgur} (1984) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure Starring: Jakob Þór Einarsson, Edda Björgvinsdóttir, Helgi Skúlason, Egill Ólafsson, Flosi Ólafsson, Gotti Sigurdarson

Willow (1988) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Adventure Starring: Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh

Willow (2022) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Adventure Starring: Warwick Davis, Ellie Bamber, Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman, Tony Revolori, Amar Chadha-Patel

The Witcher {Wiedźmin} (2002) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure Starring: Michał Żebrowski, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Maciej, Kozłowski, Grażyna Wolszczak

The Witcher (2019-) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure Starring: Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Joey Batey

Wolf Hall (2015-2024) [TV Series] Genre: Political, Drama Starring: Mark Rylance, Damien Lewis, Claire Foy, Charity Wakefield, Thomas Brodie Sangster, Mark Gatiss, Jonathan Pryce, Mathieu Amalric, Anton Lesser

Word of Honor {Shānhé lìng} (2021) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Romance Starring: Zhang Zhehan, Gong Jun

World Without End (2012) [Miniseries] Genre: Drama, Political Starring: Charlotte Riley, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Rupert Evans, Tom Weston-Jones, Tom Cullen, Tatiana Maslany, Blake Ritson, Miranda Richardson, Indira Varma

Y

Yeelen (1987) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Adventure Starring: Issiaka Kane, Aoua Sangare, Niamanto Sanogo

*This is a lengthy list, if I've missed any, just notify me and I will add it.

[movies-to-add-to-your-tbw]

Title: What a Girl Wants

Rating: PG

Director: Dennie Gordon

Cast: Amanda Bynes, Colin Firth, Kelly Preston, Eileen Atkins, Anna Chancellor, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver James, Christina Cole, James Greene, Ben Scholfield, Sylvia Syms, Tara Summers, Peter Hugo, Jonah Russell, Stanley Townsend, Roger Ashton-Griffiths

Release year: 2003

Genres: romance, comedy, drama

Blurb: Daphne, an American girl, heads to Europe in search of the father she's never met...but instead of finding a British version of her bohemian mother, she learns the love of her mom's life is an uptight politician. The only problem now is that her long-lost dad is engaged to a fiercely territorial social climber with a daughter who makes Daphne's life miserable.

[lilladylancelot]

My Dracula Fancasting

(because it's that wonderful time of year again)

(And I'm bored)

Our good friend, Jonathan Harper played by Nicholas Hout

Dracula played by Benedict Cumberbatch

Mina either portrayed Emmy Rossum

or Anne Hathaway

Lucy, played by Elle Fanning

Arthur Holmwood, played by Corey Mylchreest

Chris Hemsworth as Quincey P. Morris

Dr. Jack Seward presented by Ben Barnes

Willem Dafoe as Renfield

And finally, Collin Firth as Van Helsing.

I am not saying this is perfect, I am open to alternative suggestions, I just thought it might be fun. This is my first real post here so I apologize if the formatation sucks.

Thank you for reading until the end!😊

Have a nice day!

[dieschwartzman]

my dad watched ‘rogue’ without me so rewatched it with me. he said ‘i love [ncuti] as an actor - he’s so demonstrative!’ then called jonathan groff ‘colin firth’s love child’