A review by agray002
Making Masterpiece: 25 Years Behind the Scenes at Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery! on PBS by Rebecca Eaton
3.0
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book as a First Reads
As a loyal viewer of Masterpiece and a self-professed Anglophile, this book was practically written for me to love. However, reality didn't quite work out.
The writing was very weak. It felt like a sixth grader had written it. The organization felt off as well. Eaton has a habit of wandering away from the topic at hand. For example, the second half of the chapter about the start of Masterpiece Mystery was all about the TCA's in LA and the reception that the Downton Abbey cast got there (and a short bit about Daniel Radcliffe doing press for David Copperfield pre-Potter). I think one of the most distracting things was how many references were made to Downton Abbey. Not only were the last three chapters of the book devoted to it, but nearly every other chapter had at least two references to it. I began to see it as a game, to work out how Eaton would make a Downton connection from something fairly unrelated. I'm a fan of the show and I understand how important it has been for Masterpiece and PBS, but it started to feel like Eaton was trying to ride the Downton coat tails in an attempt to sell more books. She didn't need to do that - the history of Masterpiece and a behind the scenes look at how these programs are made should be interesting enough on its own.
As a loyal viewer of Masterpiece and a self-professed Anglophile, this book was practically written for me to love. However, reality didn't quite work out.
The writing was very weak. It felt like a sixth grader had written it. The organization felt off as well. Eaton has a habit of wandering away from the topic at hand. For example, the second half of the chapter about the start of Masterpiece Mystery was all about the TCA's in LA and the reception that the Downton Abbey cast got there (and a short bit about Daniel Radcliffe doing press for David Copperfield pre-Potter). I think one of the most distracting things was how many references were made to Downton Abbey. Not only were the last three chapters of the book devoted to it, but nearly every other chapter had at least two references to it. I began to see it as a game, to work out how Eaton would make a Downton connection from something fairly unrelated. I'm a fan of the show and I understand how important it has been for Masterpiece and PBS, but it started to feel like Eaton was trying to ride the Downton coat tails in an attempt to sell more books. She didn't need to do that - the history of Masterpiece and a behind the scenes look at how these programs are made should be interesting enough on its own.