TVSquad

This is a first: I'm actually going to recommend you watch Masterpiece Theater this evening. I'm sure their have been some great films shown on the long-running public television mainstay, but this is the first time I've actually thought to myself, 'you know, I should actually check that out.'

I'm talking about The Wind in the Willows, an adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's classic children's tale that centers on Mr. Toad, a creature with a proclivity for extravagance and crazy hobbies. The adaptation, which airs tonight on most PBS stations (you'll have to check your local listings), isn't an animated version, or even a live-action version with a lot of fancy special effects. Instead, the story relies on the actors' ability to inhabit their animal roles: Bob Hoskins as Badger, Matt Lucas (Little Britain) as Mr. Toad, Mark Gatiss (League of Gentlemen) as Ratty and Lee Ingleby (The Street, Spaced) as Mole. The movie was shot in Romania and directed by Rachel Talalay, whose directing credits include a slew of television series including The Dead Zone, What About Brian and Ally McBeal.

I'm guessing the live-action won't hold the attention of younger children, who would probably enjoy something closer to Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, but adults and older children who grew up with Grahame's book might appreciate it a bit more.

(S03E04) Mark Sheppard makes his return in what has become a yearly tradition for Medium. Fans of the show will remember him from the season one episode "Penny For Your Thoughts" and season two's "Doctor's Orders." And, of course, fans of TV will remember him as Badger on Firefly. We still don't know whether there will be a fourth season of Medium yet, but if there is, I would be all for a fourth Dr. Walker episode. I get the feeling that the powers that be at the show might be into it as well, given the "we'll just have to wait and see" ending of last nights show. IfMagazine did an interview with Sheppard in August that goes into some of the details about how the Walker story came to be.