John Carlisle Movies

The inaugural season of the British satirical comedy series The Black Adder ended on July 20, 1983, with the episode titled "The Black Seal." Having exhausted all efforts to usurp the throne of England, Edmund (Rowan Atkinson) resorts to drastic measures -- which, characteristically, are really drastic. Planning to seize the throne by force, Edmund enlists the aid of the Seven Most Evil Men in the land -- among them such worthies as Three-Fingered Pete (Roger Slomon), Sir Wilfred Death (John Hallam), and Mad Gerald (played by "himself," though he bears a marked resemblance to character comedian Rik Mayall). After "The Black Seal," The Black Adder would go on a lengthy hiatus, not to be seen again until 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Forsyte Saga was a remake of the classic 1960s British miniseries which put the PBS anthology Masterpiece Theatre on the map. Whereas the original version covered all of John Galsworthy's novels about the upper-crust Forsyte clan, requiring 26 episodes to do so, the remake took in only the first two books, running five episodes in Great Britain and seven episodes when it was exported to the U.S. (several sequels were, however, promised should this "trial balloon" prove successful). This was more than ample time to detail the fortunes and follies of the Forsytes as they made the sometimes painful transition from the Victorian to the Edwardian era. The focus was on frosty, tradition-bound Soames Forsyte (Damian Lewis), whose sincere but sterile relationship with his beloved wife Irene (Gina McKee) was complicated by Irene's fondness for iconoclastic architect Bosinney (Ioan Gruffudd). And in another branch of the Forsyte family, Old Jolyon Forsyte (Corin Redgrave) was vexed by the bohemian lifestyle of his son Young Jolyon (Rupert Graves). Budgeted at ten million dollars and running approximately eight hours, the "new" Forsyte Saga debuted in the U.K. on April 7, 2002, and in the U.S. courtesy of PBS on October 6 of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Stephen Fry, Jemma Redgrave, Joseph Beattie, and Alex Pettyfer star in director Dave Moore's adaptation of Thomas Hughes' timeless coming of age tale. The time is the mid-1800s, and Tom Brown is a timid student at Rugby Public School. Confronted with relentless bullying, the homesick schoolboy makes the transformation into a courageous student who isn't afraid to face life's obstacles by confronting his fears, standing up for what's right, and fighting to overcome the many pratfalls of adolescence. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi