An amazing event has taken place lately...
my mom and sisters are becoming hooked on period films!
You can probably guess why this is a good thing... *heh heh* (evil laugh.)
Shhh, JT... you must lay low until the opportune moment
when you are ready to be unleashed onto the unsuspecting ladies.
No, really, this IS a big deal to me because those brats have been making fun of
my love of "those boring movies" forever. It took some self restraint not to disown them over such heresy.
my love of "those boring movies" forever. It took some self restraint not to disown them over such heresy.
For the longest time, they've turned down my suggestions to watch some of my faves...
but recently something has changed.
My youngest sister Kate borrowed "Pride & Prejudice" (the Matthew MacFadyen version)
and loved it. Of course, I told her if she liked Darcy, she'd LOVE Thornton, but when she found out
"North & South" was a 4 hour mini series, she turned up her nose. The nerve of some people.
Later Kate borrowed "Jane Eyre" (the Toby Stephens version) and loved it as well.
My mom walked into Kate's room while it was playing and it caught her interest, so she took a turn in
borrowing it too. It was soon passed on to my other sister Allie, who has watched it over and over.
While we were gathered together over Thanksgiving weekend, they each told me how
much they enjoyed my movies and asked if I had any other period films to borrow...
That's when I whipped out my Elizabeth Gaskell Collection.
[insert the sound of trumpets here- Dun dun da daaaaaaaaaaa!!!]
I told them of my love of "North & South"
and this time they eagerly listened.
As they began arguing over who would get to borrow it first,
I started getting nervous. It was as if two little imaginary figures appeared
at my shoulders like in the cartoons- Angel Nat and Devil Nat:
Angel Nat wanted to share the RA love with her family members.
After all, this is what she has been trying to do all along, plus there's a New Years Resolution
(converting people to RA fandom) that hasn't been fulfilled yet and the year is almost over!
On the other hand...
Devil Nat didn't want her precious "North & South" DVD to be taken from her home.
"Jane Eyre" had been passed from person to person, and over a month and a half later, it is still missing
from her shelves. Devil Nat didn't know if she could handle JT being gone that long.
What if she needed a Thornton fix and her movie wasn't there!?
Has something similar ever happened to you?
(Torn between being selfish and sharing the RA love.)
I planned to banish my greedy thoughts and let Allie borrow the DVDs, but due to our
(Torn between being selfish and sharing the RA love.)
I planned to banish my greedy thoughts and let Allie borrow the DVDs, but due to our
busy holiday week, she forgot to take it before driving back to the big city! So JT is sitting safely on my
shelf. I've decided that I may just have to do what many other RA fans have done before me...
keep a copy for myself and buy another to lend out to others. A win-win situation, right?
Also, Allie's birthday is this week, and Christmas is coming up. Maybe my mom
and sisters will each receive their own copies this year. :)
Hopefully some of you have
had better luck recruiting RA converts.
Technically, I haven't "brought others to the fold" this year...
but hopefully, I'll soon have 3 under my belt ! :)
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22 comments:
Hi Nat, nice to see you finding time to post...though I don't know how you manage!! Go Supermom!
I confess that I have experienced the sharing dilemma when lending out DVDs. There are some friends/family members "who can be trusted" with the originals...actually, no wait, to be honest, I have extras of my faves which I keep as pristine as possible - I have to watch my sister though....she's always eyeing my collection :)
Hah! Brilliant! Good work, Nat! :D
With regards to converting people, I've never had to part with my precious DVDs, because it's so much better to keep them and show the would-be convertees the shows using other means. Which is just as well, because I get ridiculously protective of my collection and the mere suggestion that I'd lend someone one of the DVDs closest to my heart turns me into friggin' Gollum! I don't care if I don't have time to watch the DVDs very often, they're *drapes herself protectively over the DVD pile* my precioussssssss.
So yes, other means indeed. For the record, these means do include going out and buying spare copies to give away!
I'm so pleased for you Nat! It's about time they discover what you've known all along! I'm lucky enough that my mom and sister will both watch period films but I've yet to introduce them to N&S. Perhaps I should follow your lead :)
I hate sharing my favorite DVDs.
Have you considered inviting them over for a Girls' Night Bonding Time? You'd get to keep the DVD and show them N&S - AND spend time with the fam. :)
I lent my beloved copy of N&S to my Mom and Sis. Well my Mom, love her as I do calls RA, Richard Thornton! Who is a cousin of Mine! And I have to correct her every time! and the Sis, well she loves Matthew MacFayden, and was unimpressed with RA... so my plot to recruit them and the excruciating days without my beloved copy of N&S which was tough to say the least, proved to all for naught! So this Masterpiece loving family only has one RA fan still...
I actually have two copies of North & South - "MINE" and "the one I will loan". So far it's worked pretty well. I've converted one of my sisters, and two of the women at work. I eventually bought my sister her own copy as a gift. =)
bandia53
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who is overly protective of her favorite DVDs. :)
Traxy, you made me laugh out loud at your Gollum analogy. Love it.
Anon, Richard Thornton... ha! Your mom is cute.
I too am protective of my favorite DVDs...You just don't know when you will need a "fix" and what if it is months before you get it back...Or ever get it back...What if the person you give the DVD too has a sudden and intense RA love that forbids giving the DVD back...LOL...
Better that maybe they rent it at the library..You give them their own copy..or send them a link to view all or parts of the movie on the internet...
To date, I'm on convert #7, unless you count several salesladies at DVD stores, my hair lady & a couple of unsuspecting librarians to whom I gave crash courses in N&S 101. First copy was loaned to DIL & who knows where it is by now. With visions of scratched DVD, broken DVD or Heaven forbid!, LOST DVD, I raced to nearest DVD store (40 miles away) & got backup. Whew! From now on possible victims/converts get their own copy cause DVD#2 is MINE all MINE!and it does NOT leave this house as I assume Traxy's "drape position" mentioned above.
It's so hard to convert people to RA fandom although it should be easy with JT and his charm. I just don't get it. I made watch N&S my three friends and my aunt (they were quite willing, I didn't have to persuade them at all). The outcome? 2 friends and aunt: "it was OK", 1 friend didn't finish watching the first episode - she said it's boring! So I'm very discouraged to try again. So... if they can't appreciate JT, then I'll have him all to myself:-D Thank God for the internet otherwise I wouldn't know that other ladies suffer from Thornton syndrome as well and I would end up thinking I'm insane:-)
Hola I fully agree with you Natalie and most of the comments, I am very difficult to give my favorite films
[Read Pride and Prejudice movie with Matthew and miniseries with Colin Firth, Jane Eyre, Sense and Sensibility] and especially "deliver" to Mr. Thornton. I lent it to my sister but did not like at first but if you really liked the end and gave it back fast, then I said "Thanks to the Lord of the heavens" I have it back with me where I should not have gone! I know that I am something,... [veeery] selfish but felt pain in my stomach knowing that my DVD N & S was in another place and not under my roof.
Moral of the story: Being a bit selfish is not so bad! LOL [I hope I have understood] Besos from Argentina
I have N&S on my computer so it is safe with me :) So far I converted 1 friend with a library copy and my other friend actually said that she was more impressed with Margaret, hm.... while she is pretty and all, how can she ;)
I am still waiting for a more quiet time to get my dh to watch N&S with me. Not that I expect him to convert him to a RA fan, but I want to see what he says.
I do understand though Nat and everyone else what you are feeling in your reluctance to share. I have the same with my favourite books and CD's. I just don't collect DVD's.
Thank you for sharing your efforts with us. I have both, devil and angel, sitting on my shoulders as well. I must ad, that my previous experiences with borrowing DVDs are not good, especially to my sister. She is the nicest to talk me into borrowing them, but the worst to give them back.
Fortunately, my N&S and Spooks DVDs are safe in my keeping for the moment.
Well, if you can't convert others to RA fandom...Don't worry..more of him for us!!! LOL
Selfishness when it comes to RA? Totally okay *evil laugh*.
Seriously though, I go with the idea of inviting people over and watching with them. That way I know where my stuff is, plus get to enjoy it too, and get to see all their reactions when I'm trying to "convert" someone. Unfortunately, I haven't succeeding in making anyone a true RA convert other than my mom, not too long after I discovered him myself.
So 3 converts Nat? and 7 converts for Sunflowersue? Holy moly! you guys are good!
MTA: Glad to see you are back to posting Nat!
I sooo understand needing 2 copies of N&S now as I had the experience of lending out my copy to a friend (who really liked it) but it wasn't in my possession during that all important 5th anniversary celebration when I suddenly HAD to rewatch it (everyone else in blogland was watching) but I couldn't! So I had to resort to Youtube to see it. I vowed then that I needed a lending copy. I received the Gaskell collection for my birthday so my original DVD is my lending copy.
I don't have any new converts though.
Except this summer I showed the first episode of Strike Back to one of my sisters and now I think she "gets" why I like RA so much. I could tell she was impressed with him!
Next time I have a get together with all my sisters I will try for a N&S viewing!
May the power of The Armitage be with you! :)
I am sooo with all of you who find it hard to lend out your DVD's. I would far rather have them come over to my place so I am in control at all times, but that isn't always an option! One party has had my RH season/series 1 DVD's for weeks now. Grrrrr! I don't have the heart to say "Hurry up and return them" as they are a busy family. Even though I have seasons 2 & 3 if I need a GoG *fix*, it still isn't easy not having them right here. Now someone else wants to borrow season 3 and I wonder if I can do it. Maybe I just shouldn't admit that I have them!! I think I am just a little reticent to admit to certain people my obsession with all things RA. I did lend out my N&S to a friend who returned it in a matter of a few days. She said she NEVER watched TV in the daytime but sat down one afternoon and, as she said, "four hours later...!!" She was hooked! Come to think of it, one of my granddaughters still has my Spooks/MI 5 Season 7 DVD's! Now I really think I will have to resort to buying copies that I keep all to myself as some of you already do!
I also *converted* the lady in the bookstore when I went in to order the N&S book, as well as my hair lady and am trying hard with a couple of friends. Why can't they see him like I do???? But I was happy when a college-mate of this same granddaughter said she loved him too! lol!! He is loved by people of ALL ages isn't he??:))
Good to see your blog Nat and the picture of your little treasure you recently posted. Aren't babies wonderful!:)
B*, it may seem that I've been blogging away this week, but I actually wrote this and the previous 2 entries as one big post last Sunday. When I realized it would be a beast of a post, I broke it up into 3 separate entries.
I'm definitely not a supermom! I don't know how some people manage to take care of kids, have a tidy house, cook meals, plus look all cute and put together. (If any of you know the secret to such a feat, please fill me in.)
Hey, I have that same collection too! *ahem* My mom (who absolutely LOVES RA like I do) lent N&S to some of my girlfriends. The end result? Loved him! They're very much into period films/British accents/handsome men, which is basically RA in a hot, leather-clad nutshell *did I say that outloud?!? Oops! ;P* so that was pretty easy. It makes for a great girls' night flick.
No one is a supermom...So don't worry about being one..This is for all ladies...Sometimes the house won't be supertidy when you have little ones..Oh well...Plus, you need time for yourself [RA DVDS...LOL]...The children will remember the love and how happy you were...Kids don't care if the house isn't 100% tidy...:)
Based on my own experiences, I wonder if success depends on careful selection of initial RA exposure?
I introduced my mother to RA when we watched the Impressionists together (thank you, netflix), since she loves art. Now she quite likes RA, and loves the film enough to buy it!
After that success, I had a more mixed "conversion" experience at a group viewing of N&S. One of my friends (who had a secret love of RA and N&S which I didn't know about) invited me and a few gals over for a big 5 hour food-and-N&S viewing party. Results: one friend kept insisting that RA looked exactly like Hugh Jackman. Another couldn't get past the plot similarities to Pride and Prejudice, and isn't a fan of period dramas in general--she refuses to see the charms of RA. But two other friends really liked the film, and asked what else RA has been in. I'm so glad that I can share my appreciation with them now!
You are right Jane..RA does look a bit like Hugh Jackman..I could see how many might get them confused...Maybe that is part of the RA conversion problem...;) LOL
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