Tristram Powell Movies

A weary London novelist looking to escape her failing marriage flees the city for her Yorkshire cottage only to find that country charm can mask menacing intent in director Tristram Powell's tense tale of romantic deceit. Daisy Langrish (Penelope Wilton) has finally broken free of her straining marriage, and upon arriving at her country cottage she is warmly greeted by her outwardly charming neighbor Henry Kent (Michael Kitchen). Though by all appearances a polite and respectable gentleman, Henry's benevolent offer to maintain Daisy's long-neglected garden masks decidedly malevolent intent. As the manipulative and obsessive Henry carefully conceals his all-consuming fondness for drink and erotica while setting a deadly emotional trap for his unsuspecting new neighbor, Daisy discovers all too late that her flight from the city was only the beginning of her harrowing journey. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The protagonist of this six-part British drama series was Detective Chief Jack Mowbray, played by Ross Kemp. When his district was invaded by an elusive serial killer, Mowbray was browbeaten by his boss, DCS Henderson (Kenneth Cranham), to catch the murderer yesterday, if not sooner. As the unknown villain continued to cut a bloody swath through the moors, the overworked Mowbray's personal life suffered mightily. Without Motive was originally broadcast from October 2 to November 5, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Not to be confused with the British sitcom of the same name, the dramatic BBC1 miniseries Tears Before Bedtime focused on three married couples, each with the standard skeletons in the closet and special set of neuroses. The lives of the six protagonists were thrown into a tizzy when they decided to hire three nannies to look after their children. Debuting January 8, 1995 in Britain, the four 50-minute episodes of Tears Before Bedtime were later aired in the U.S. in 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Monty Python's Michael Palin plays an Oxford don with acute female trouble in American Friends. While on holiday in the Swiss Alps, Palin crosses the path of American tourist Connie Booth and her adopted daughter Trini Alvarado. Both women express an inordinate desire for the bookish Palin, leading to profound changes in the lives of all concerned. Michael Palin insists that the plot of American Friends was drawn from an actual incident in the life of his own great-grandfather. The film unfolds like a good novel; slow on the uptake, but fascinating once it gets going. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Written by Alan Bennett, the British anthology series Talking Heads consisted of a batch of direct-to-camera monologues, delivered by Bennett and a corps of dependable character actors, all portraying a variety of what the writer referred to as "repressed souls." The first six half-hour programs, telecast by BBC1 in 1987, included "Cream Cracker Under the Setee," "A Chip in the Sugar," "Soldiering On," "A Lady of Letters," "Bed Among the Lentils," and "Her Big Chance." The second and final group of six, broadcast in 1998, included "Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet," "The Hand of God," "Playing Sandwiches," "The Outside Dog," "Nights in the Gardens of Spain," and "Waiting for the Telegram." The 1998 episodes were shown under the official blanket title Talking Heads II. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ghostwriter was based on the 1979 Philip Roth novel, part of his unofficial "Zuckerman trilogy". Based loosely on an incident in Roth's own youth, the story, set in 1956, centers around 23-year-old novelist Nathan Zuckerman (Mark-Lynn Baker). Nathan's insistence upon writing about the Holocaust brings forth a warning from his father that too much dwelling on the past might rekindle anti-Semitism. In response, Judge Leopold Wapter (Joseph Wiseman) advises Nathan to see the Broadway production of Diary of Anne Frank. Nathan is so impressed with the story that he begins to fantasize that Anne Frank is still alive. Later, during a visit to the New England farm of his idol, author E. I. Lonoff (Sam Wanamaker), Nathan meets a gamin-like stranger (Paulette Smit) whom he imagines to be Anne Frank in the flesh. Philip Roth adapted his own novel (with director Tristam Rogers) for the made-for-TV Ghostwriter. Originally slated for telecast over the BBC, the film eventually became a coproduction of the BBC and America's Public Broadcasting System, and had its American debut on PBS' American Playhouse on January 17, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi