It’s been a few years since I’ve done anything with this blog. I’m not a writer but more a reader and my wordpress blogging skills are rusty now. Here’s some of the trivial stuff I’ve been up to. Thank you to Nat for this #RABlogReunion that sparked this effort.
Kivanç as Behlul in Forbidden Love (2008-2010)
I owe Richard my love for audiobooks and I am lucky that I can listen to some of his new releases through my library’s growing audiobook collection either on the Libby or Hoopla app. I also aim to read the book before its adaptation comes to screen. Also, it was very gratifying that Normal People by Sally Rooney got an adaptation that did justice to the book.
Following British Drama is also something I thank Richard for. Sean Bean came in focus when Richard voices Lovelace in radio drama Clarissa. I had to look into Sean Bean’s early career starting with his portrayal as Lovelace in the 1991 BBC adaptation. I’ve followed Sean’s work since and am so pleased when he took on different roles such as Broken back in 2017 and recently in World On Fire which finished airing on PBS the other week.
My fellow and much better blogger Fabo bonded over our mutual love of RA & SB and we’ve been online friends ever since.
We also had that Hobbit press conference with a big bearded Aidan Turner sitting next to Richard which made me wander down his career. Then he was cast as Poldark. I made new friends through Poldark fandom as we followed the BBC broadcasts.
An addition to memorable RA blog post, ode to the Period Shirt ?
Going back to 2016 I’ve had the joy of meeting up with 3 other fans for Richard Armitage’s stage play Love, Love, Love. Fabo blogged about it back then. It was momentous to see him in the flesh after following him for 6 years but much more fun to see each other in person, I hope we can do it again.
This year I was lucky that a good friend got us tickets to see Tom Hiddleston in Betrayal. Together with Charlie Cox and Zawe Ashton it was an intimate and powerful play. We had great seats and the whole experience was thrilling.
However I mostly felt my fan girl days in general were over and done with.
Recently, I had North & South flashbacks when cotton mills and workers strikes were featured in series such as Netflix’s The English Game and Epix’s Belgravia where we even saw Margaret Hale’s dress re-used!
And If you haven’t seen The Mill, season 1 and season 2 are on YouTube. It’s also on Amazon Prime in the US
Then this fall I read that Turkish series Kurt Seyit ve Sura was about to leave Netflix end of December 2019 … I had heard the buzz from the Outlander fandom and was determined to see what it was about. Of course, now I wished I had listened to my friends sooner. I managed to binge watch the complete series – 46 episodes formatted for Netflix in 1hr. and made sure my friend Fabo saw it. That is what friends are for after all. 🙂 If only I had listened to Penny sooner!!
There are several reviews and Silver Petticoat ‘s contains mild spoilers and points out its strengths and weaknesses.
More info on Kivanç Tatlitug’s career can be found on Kivanc Tatlitug North America, currently celebrating it’s 3rd anniversary. It’s rather impressive what they have accomplished in introducing him to the English speaking world. Most of his series, even going back to his first role in Gümüs, can be found on YouTube however all are within the Turkish drama genre.
He starred in The Butterfly’s Dream, the official submission of Turkey to the Oscars 2014 of best foreign language film category. Still streaming on Netflix, it was the most expensive Turkish movie at the time.
Those lucky snowflakes…
Have a cup of tea with Seyit and do inspect that collar 🙂
Behold a white period shirt. I really fell in love with those standup collared shirts. Sometimes there was a visible wingtip, other times it was hard to tell.
Another entry for the Period Shirt compilation ?
There is also a great train scene … here’s a video that promotes Kurt Seyit ve Sura for that reason …
I was blown away and fan girl mode kicked in. I had to see other works he had done. It’s obvious why, I am at heart a period drama lover though not exactly crazy about romance. I don’t seek it out in books nor tv series. I didn’t mean for this post to get so long winded. I may have become a fan of Kivanç I’m definitely not of Turkish drama. I think the stories are told too slow, there’s too much emotional revisiting of past scenes and the use of slow motion is overdone. They have beautiful scores but then some themes are overused and overbearing, particularly when things are about to go wrong in the plot which makes me often mute the sound. It’s as if we can’t be trusted to feel with the characters on the screen. I do appreciate how he emotes on screen, it is what he and other Turkish actors are known for. I don’t care for the melodrama in the plot however.
There are no official English subtitled releases except for Kurt Seyit ve Sura, The Butterfly’s Dream and Hadi Be Oglum (My Son) which is available on Amazon. So all the subtitled versions you can find online have imperfections. Turkish drama has a large following and you can find sites and groups dedicated to subtitling new episodes of current running series.
The quirky translations color the viewing experience and I often stumble upon what I call “accidental humor” due to errors. Once you watch enough you develop an inner translator, that corrects those typical mistakes such as use of wrong gender and pronouns. 🙂
A character compilation fan video that shows his various micro expressions.
Here’s a fan video of Ask-I Memnu, Forbidden Love (2008-2010) where he played Behlul – the classic series is currently being re-broadcast and is intensely discussed on social platforms.
However the consensus amongst his fans is his best role is as Kuzey, in Kuzey and Guney.
Kuzey walking the streets of Istanbul trying to stay ahead
Meanwhile his fans, me included, are waiting to hear what the future will bring. There’s a rumored role for a streaming platform but no further details. I’m still working my way through his series and I crossed the halfway mark of Carpisma a crime series, tonight Fabo and I will watch another episode. Each episode is over 2 hours long! Crazy!
Kadir Ali in Carpisma
Today this new picture collage came online though the shots were taken in 2018.
Kivanç guards his privacy and we haven’t seen any new pictures since early March
If you made it this far, I sometimes think of the days when we used to speculate over RA’s moves and what a relief it is to hear his voice and to see a silly picture every so often.
In the real world I do manage to adult. In fact I have to get back to sewing masks for a local donation project. My small family unit is well and I’m pleased to have another adult to take with us to the voting booth.
Phew – I think I figured out WordPress, as for what I wrote ….
DistRActed in ReAlity 
May 29th, 2020 at 6:17 pm
Kivanç Tatlitug? Handsome fellow. Always fun to find new actors, but the problem when you get into someone from a non-English speaking country is that it’s difficult finding things they’ve been in, and you have to be VERY lucky if you find something in a language you know. Might have to give those Turkish dramas a go. Thanks for the tip! 🙂
May 29th, 2020 at 7:00 pm
I can help you find the goodies FYI – The Butterfly’s Dream is hopefully on Netflix over there. I recommend it as jr is what I feel the most mainstream of his work. It’s a movie – you don’t have to invest much time and there’s no over the top melodrama.
May 29th, 2020 at 9:15 pm
I’ll have a look, thanks! 🙂
May 30th, 2020 at 7:09 am
And that applies to social media too, luckily these days twitter and Facebook have google translate built in. And there’s that fansite that actively translates any news on various platforms
May 29th, 2020 at 6:22 pm
I think we may be kindred spirits… I love Poldark and Kurt Seyit ve Sura. (Besides, the obvious- RA.) Yay for angsty costume dramas! 🙂
May 29th, 2020 at 7:02 pm
I figured you would have seen KSvS ♥️ https://media0.giphy.com/media/jO2VHMC9pHyQh0vjjh/giphy.gif?cid=4d1e4f29e5e3e852438778d1310ad9916af44b1fb63bf9dd&rid=giphy.gif
May 30th, 2020 at 1:43 am
Ok, to be honest I was SO ticked off by the realistic ending of KSvS the first time I watched it. (How could they do this to me after 40-something episodes!?) But then I couldn’t get it out of my head and after thinking about it for a while, realized it’s one of those bittersweet stories I do love. (There are several that make me think “what if…” and often have deeper impacts than the happily ever after fairy tale ending movies.)
May 30th, 2020 at 7:11 am
You’re not alone feeling that way Nat! There are many Kivo fans who can’t watch the Istanbul days for that reason, I found myself liking Murvet but more importantly how Seyit behaved with her, tried to coax her out her shell. And still I felt deeply for Sura and so sad for her. And as you probably know it’s Murvet’s granddaughter we have to thank for the story. What is interesting is that this series wasn’t that popular in Turkey and it faired better on Netflix.
May 29th, 2020 at 6:34 pm
Aidan Turner is my main collateral attraction these days although it’s mostly just looking at pictures.
Loved this post. It’s so like you — just full of a dozen different things you are interested in.
May 29th, 2020 at 7:04 pm
I’m behind on some of his recent movies but look forward to Leonardo which should start filming again soon
May 30th, 2020 at 6:45 pm
I haven’t seen the majority of his stuff, only Poldark, And Then There Were None, and a few eps of that vampire show. I just like looking at pictures of him.
May 30th, 2020 at 7:08 pm
I never finished the vampire series either I loved him in Desperate Romantics, it’s a fun romp. I’m sure you’ve seen pics of him from that, they are popular though I always think his hat in that is too small 😉 way back I even uploaded the series to dailymotion. I think it’s still there because I made it hard to find. There’s clips of him reading poetry as Rosetti on YouTube, they are always a quick AT fix 😉 and I did have a thing for Aidan-in-a-chaire even before Sarah Dunn’s photo shoot there’s this shot of him as Mitchell draped in a chair 🪑 Teena was a big fan another older blogger. You might remember her, her Instagram dedicated to photography is gorgeous.
May 30th, 2020 at 8:17 pm
I def remember her — she disappeared her blog relatively early on, though, and she never wanted her fan art to be credited to her.
May 29th, 2020 at 7:16 pm
Now that you’ve mentioned me my friend, I guess I should post something for the RA Blog Reunion before midnight tonight? I hadn’t decided if I would or not. I’m always grateful RA and Sean brings us together. Happy to see Kivanc too. Great post. I need to catch up with everyone this weekend.
May 29th, 2020 at 8:23 pm
You have worked all day. And you have been regularly blogging so don’t feel pressured. 🙂
May 30th, 2020 at 2:14 am
A fellow audiobook lover, walker, and of course aficionado of the period drama white shirt!!! What is it about the shirt – the collar?? I must look up some of the productions you mention. Yes to Poldark – I haven’t seen series three yet, though.
It’s been such fun to catch up!!
May 30th, 2020 at 8:10 am
Not seen S3? There’s 5 even 🙂
May 30th, 2020 at 7:49 am
Speaking as an essential employee, THANK YOU for sewing masks. I have a handful and the ones that were donated are just a little bit special.
You were actually the first member of the fandom I met and I’ll never forget your kindness keeping me company while I waited for my train.
May 30th, 2020 at 8:16 am
Oh that’s right Jazzy! That was fun to meet you at the train station 🚞 🙂 It’s also been nice giving my sewing machine a good workout when it was basically collecting dust in the basement. I broke many needles over those pleats but I got it down now
May 30th, 2020 at 9:14 am
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May 30th, 2020 at 11:51 am
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May 30th, 2020 at 11:54 am
You figured out quite well indeed! Probably it’s a bit like driving, you happen to remember how to do it, even though you haven’t been doing it for a while. 😉
Thank for sharing with us all your latest interests and passions, though I was well aware of them all. I must definitely thank you for helping me watch so many great series! 🤗
May 30th, 2020 at 2:52 pm
It’s always lovely to read about the friendships that were forged because of RA. And all the other interests that fans developed because of him. I share with you the interest in theatre (and incidentally also watched Betrayal in the Pinter Theatre last year – an outstanding production. I am still marvelling how they could convey so much on a stage that was practically empty. They were all marvellous, but I was particularly impressed by Hiddleston whose tears were visible all the way up to where I was sitting). Anyway, it was fun finding out more about this blog – and the blogger – whose name I have often heard!
May 30th, 2020 at 4:22 pm
The only more or less constant side interest to RA I so far discovered, is Ioan Gruffudd. But that mostly is due to him playing the title character of my favourite books by C.S. Forester, “Hornblower”. I am of the opinion that they should be obligatory management course material ;o)
I also liked Gruffudd in his US-series “Forever”, which I found very thoughtful, but which unfortunately was not continued after series 1. Besides that, I try to get my hands on anything historical that is not Ancient Rome or only up to 100 years back, my favourite time being the 18th century.
But among my favourite series are “LeFloch” (French), “Turn. Washington’s Spies” and I even fought myself through the gruesome “Hell on Wheels” series, which partially was much too realistic and brutal for my liking, but nonetheless very truthful to the time.
I wish you lots of enjoyment with your various side interests ;o)
Stay safe and healthy!
May 30th, 2020 at 5:43 pm
I’m overdue to watch Hornblower (I’ll keep that opinion in mind) but you might love the Sharpe Series too, it was made by the same production company. You can find scenes now on YouTube from an official source assuming it’s not blocked for you. The days before CGI … I ADORE Nicolas Le Floch, I’ve seen them all, I’ve not managed to read the books it’s based on, I’m told they talk a lot about food like any good Frenchmen that’s a priority. I also adored TURN (so many heroes, miss Major André) & HoW(that did get intense at times) Guess who’s going to be the next Star Trek captain? The series will be set prior to Captain Kirk. Anson got a haircut of course. We have a poster & Dezzy blogged the announcement last week I think. So nice to catch up & take care.
May 30th, 2020 at 6:19 pm
Have you ever seen Anno 1790? It’s another favorite series of mine https://youtu.be/de7jL7V1exg
May 30th, 2020 at 9:06 pm
For a historian like me, “Turn” was a dream come true. To base a series of films on the newest historic research about the letters between the secret lovers, who were just found out by script analysis … – And the death of Major André really was a shock, but unfortunately, I knew he had to die. Still, the suspense when it would happen in the film was killing me and I had to close my eyes, as I could not watch it happen.
“Sharp” I totally forgot to mention. Yes, I like that too. It is quite some time since I last watched it and now I need to watch it again some time soon.
But “Anno 1790” I have never heard of. The preview sounds fascinating and now I must find a way to get my hands on it somehow. Thank you very much for the tipp!!!
June 1st, 2020 at 10:35 am
I messaged you on Twitter
June 7th, 2020 at 6:52 pm
Your skills don’t seem rusty at all! I enjoyed reading your post! That Turkish fellow really is quite handsome — reminds me a bit of the Hemsworths. I tried watching Poldark, but my problem is that I watched (and own) the original series (and the books) and I can’t quite accept these actors as the “real” characters. To me, Robin Ellis and Angharad Rees will always be Ross and Demelza.
June 7th, 2020 at 7:59 pm
As you probably know, You’re not alone out there feeling that way. I did watch the first season of the original Poldark in anticipation for the new one. Never managed to borrow the second season from the library, these days it would be easy as it’s on AcornTV. I can certainly see how Robin Ellis and ( I felt even more so Angharad Rees) inhabited their characters so well even if the series went off the books. I loved that Robin got to play the judge a couple of times in the new adaptation. And he even got to do a podcast as well. I feel the same way about the many Jane Austen adaptations, I like them all in different ways for various reasons 🙂
June 8th, 2020 at 11:14 pm
Funny… I found that the series was pretty close to the books. Not sure why the author had an issue with the way they tackled them. Back in the ’70’s, Robin Ellis was very swoon-worthy. It was really cool that he was in the new series too. I think I watched the first season, but gave up after that.