So, unlike earlier in the summer, I decided to focus on light-hearted fare at the end of August. For TV, it was a rewatch of Shakespeare and Hathaway and for my reading enjoyment, Watership Down by Richard Adams.
Shakespeare and Hathaway. This show is about two private investigators in Stratford-upon-Avon. Frank Hathaway, played by Mark Benton, is a former police officer who becomes a private investigator who is just scraping by until he meets Luella Shakespeare (played by Jo Joyner), first as a client and then as his business partner. They are aided in their work by out-of-work-but-always-auditioning actor Sebastian (played by Patrick Walshe McBride) who loves and quotes Shakespeare (Will, that is, not Lu), much to the dismay of Frank. In fact, most everything has some form of tie-in to Shakespeare, so it’s fun to spot the little Easter eggs sprinkled among the plots and characters. I’m not an expert or even very well-versed on Shakespeare so it’s particularly fun when I catch something!
The cases are fun, the banter is light and punny (yep, meant to say that), and it’s just a relaxing show to watch. The police are involved in every case. Initially, the police officer in charge had worked for Frank when he was on the force, so they got along well and she knew that Frank was a good investigator. Once she moved on, her second in command became the new lead investigator who has the usual dismissive attitude about “amateurs” even though they beat him to the punch every time. Since D.S. Keeler is such an idiot, it’s all part of the fun to see him outsmarted time and again.
There are four seasons and a fifth is apparently coming this year, so that will extend the summer vibe beyond August.
Watership Down. This is one of those books that I’m surprised I haven’t read before. The story follows a group of rabbits who leave their warren in search of a better life. It’s part The Wind in the Willows (by Kenneth Grahame) in that it follows this fun group of friends on their adventures, with a dash of Animal Farm (by George Orwell) in that there is an element of political intrigue, violence, and authoritarianism. Not what you normally expect from an animal adventure story! A group of 11 rabbits, led by the engaging Hazel and the odd Fiver, who can sometimes foretell the future, set out to find a new home. They encounter all sorts of obstacles along the way – a river, men, a dog, cats, a strange warren of rabbits, foxes, and an extreme group of militaristic rabbits!
Our gang fortunately makes it through these obstacles, picks up a few new members, and finds a new place to call home. The strange warren of rabbits was interesting and a bit scary – Fiver was completely undone by the place and wouldn’t go down into the warren, despite rain and cold weather. That should have told the rest of the group that there were problems, but it took a little longer for them to learn to trust Fiver. The rabbits in the warren wouldn’t talk about their experiences and how they came to have such a large but under-populated warren. They had great food that the farmers were “throwing out” including lots of carrots and vegetables. This caused the rabbits to grow very large … only to be snared by the farmers who wanted bigger rabbits to eat! ACK. Needless to say, our little group moves on.
Our rabbits are friendly and just want to live a peaceful life. They make friends with a stranded mouse and help him escape from a predatory bird. They meet a bird who ran into difficulty when migrating and needed to stay with them until healthy enough to fly. The bird not only becomes a friend but a trusted ally who works with them to save the warren.
They find paradise but then realize a problem – they are all male rabbits and their new warren will be short-lived unless they find some female rabbits to share their home. So, they hear about a huge warren called Efrafa that perhaps could spare some lady rabbits. There is also a small farm nearby with a couple of female rabbits. One group sets off to Efrafa and another group to the farm. Both of these adventures are fraught with danger and neither goes to plan. The farm expedition yields two female rabbits, but that is not enough. The Efrafa expedition not only ends badly but starts a confrontation that will nearly wipe out our little gang. Spoiler alert … there is a happy ending. Paradise is defended, female rabbits become part of the gang, and soon there are lots of babies playing in the grass around the warren.
