I hope the local TV studios were in fact just the local TV studios.
Yes, I think they are - and much less changed since 1979 than I would have guessed, judging from those pictures.
How have the revival episodes been?
I've generally enjoyed them, particularly because (with the exception of Whistle and I’ll Come to You 2010) they have tended to do stories which weren't adapted in the 1960s / '70s anyway, so it is all a bonus rather than a frustrating replication of something which had already been done very well. The one they did this Christmas (Martin's Close) was a bit weak, but it isn't on the box set anyway (obviously, being too new).
I think my favourites versions will always be Christopher Lee's Ghost Stories for Christmas, a) because Christopher Lee, b) because they were the first context in which I encountered M.R. James and c) because the format, in which he reads the stories directly to a circle of rapt students with only light dramatisation to aid the imagination, is so beautifully evocative of James' original practice. Frustratingly, only three of the four stories he originally did are on the BFI box set, as there is some kind of copyright problem with the music on the fourth (The Ash Tree) that prevents commercial release. It can generally be found on YouTube, but often with the title written in funny letters to avoid being taken down for copyright infringement. If you're ever desperate for that one, I have a downloaded copy which I could probably share with you via Dropbox or similar.
no subject
Yes, I think they are - and much less changed since 1979 than I would have guessed, judging from those pictures.
How have the revival episodes been?
I've generally enjoyed them, particularly because (with the exception of Whistle and I’ll Come to You 2010) they have tended to do stories which weren't adapted in the 1960s / '70s anyway, so it is all a bonus rather than a frustrating replication of something which had already been done very well. The one they did this Christmas (Martin's Close) was a bit weak, but it isn't on the box set anyway (obviously, being too new).
I think my favourites versions will always be Christopher Lee's Ghost Stories for Christmas, a) because Christopher Lee, b) because they were the first context in which I encountered M.R. James and c) because the format, in which he reads the stories directly to a circle of rapt students with only light dramatisation to aid the imagination, is so beautifully evocative of James' original practice. Frustratingly, only three of the four stories he originally did are on the BFI box set, as there is some kind of copyright problem with the music on the fourth (The Ash Tree) that prevents commercial release. It can generally be found on YouTube, but often with the title written in funny letters to avoid being taken down for copyright infringement. If you're ever desperate for that one, I have a downloaded copy which I could probably share with you via Dropbox or similar.