3.63/5
Author: Rebecca Eaton
Publication Date: Oct 29, 2013
Formats: PDF,Hardcover,Kindle,Paperback,MP3 CD,Audible Audiobook
Rating: 3.63/5 out of 675
Publisher: Viking
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Jan 04, 2014
Interesting trivia for fans of Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery!. Who knew Rebecca turned down the 1995 Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth and almost turned down Downton Abbey?Jun 27, 2013
Really enjoyed this as a lifelong Masterpiece fan (courtesy of my British mum), but also as a television news producer. Rebecca Eaton wrote the best two paragraph description of what television producers do that I have ever read. And, as before I read the book, I think Eaton has one of the best jobs in television!Dec 08, 2013
All the logistics of putting together a television series, all the problems of finding and maintaining funding as well as the tidbits behind the scenes fills the pages. Interesting if you like to learn about Alistair Cooke's quirks and how "Downton Abbey" found its place on PBS. But the book would have benefited from some additional editing.Aug 21, 2016
This is a combination memoir of Rebecca Eaton and of Masterpiece Theatre. I have long been a fan of Masterpiece theatre and love the theme music. It was fun to learn where and how the theme music came about and how the program began. Eaton weaves an absorbing story of her own life with that of the Masterpiece Theatre. Eaton tells of her early life as the daughter of a famous actress and a father who was a Shakespeare professor.Jan 13, 2014
I come late to the plate of Masterpiece Theatre, so late in fact that the Theatre piece had been dropped from the title by the time I tuned in. Perhaps I wasn't quite a woman of a certain age or time was at a premium or I watched something else on Sunday nights. I do remember a time when my family did not get any PBS stations so maybe that was the reason. At any rate I'm now making up for lost time.Jan 13, 2014
Many of us remember that first Masterpiece Theatre production, back in 1969, of the Forsyte Saga. It went on for 26 weeks and since there were no commercial tapes let alone DVDs we had to watch it every single week for half a year on Sunday night at 9 PM. Who could forget?Apr 19, 2014
As a Masterpiece Theatre junkie, you would think this book is right up my alley. However, the thing I like about Masterpiece (especially the Masterpiece of the last few years) is that it’s usually very well done, from the writing to the scenery, the filming to the acting. The British accents might help with this a little. While this book is about how all of that gets put together, this book felt very much like a rough draft. There were large portions that felt like they were cut and pasted As a Masterpiece Theatre junkie, you would think this book is right up my alley. However, the thing I like about Masterpiece (especially the Masterpiece of the last few years) is that it’s usually very well done, from the writing to the scenery, the filming to the acting. The British accents might help with this a little. While this book is about how all of that gets put together, this book felt very much like a rough draft. There were large portions that felt like they were cut and pasted directly from lengthy email conversations with different Masterpiece employees. In all, I liked the tidbits I learned about one of my favorite shows. I just wish the book was as polished as the show is. ...moreOct 02, 2019
As a lifetime fan of Masterpiece Theatre, I happily read memoirs of the producer who oversaw 25years of the show from its inception. My love of things British was born from this show, and led to my eventual marriage to a man who combines the high cheekbone gorgeousness I fell for with thE peculiar good mannered reserve that I came to love while watching all those period dramas. One gets the sense that Rebecca Eaton has put her foot in her mouth many times, and has been as awed by British acting As a lifetime fan of Masterpiece Theatre, I happily read memoirs of the producer who oversaw 25years of the show from its inception. My love of things British was born from this show, and led to my eventual marriage to a man who combines the high cheekbone gorgeousness I fell for with thE peculiar good mannered reserve that I came to love while watching all those period dramas. One gets the sense that Rebecca Eaton has put her foot in her mouth many times, and has been as awed by British acting brilliance as any viewer, and may have been a challenge to work with. she had her own sorrows and sacrificed much for her job, and I respect her self awareness. And humanity. ...moreNov 01, 2013
It's not a good sign when reading a memoir makes you like the person who wrote it less. I had thought that I'd find a kindred spirit in Rebecca Eaton since she's produced so much television that I've adored, but there was something about how she wrote about it that made me feel like we weren't on the same page. I really liked learning background details of how Masterpiece Theater came to be, but I was disappointed that she wrote so disparagingly of films she produced in the 90s, since that was It's not a good sign when reading a memoir makes you like the person who wrote it less. I had thought that I'd find a kindred spirit in Rebecca Eaton since she's produced so much television that I've adored, but there was something about how she wrote about it that made me feel like we weren't on the same page. I really liked learning background details of how Masterpiece Theater came to be, but I was disappointed that she wrote so disparagingly of films she produced in the 90s, since that was when I started watching and have the happiest memories of Sunday night viewing with my mom. And I felt that she gave way too much space to Downton Abbey (three whole chapters!) at the expense of many other (more) worthy shows.Mar 26, 2014
Very interesting book inside the Masterpiece workings. There is so much behind-the-scenes stuff that goes into a production it is mind boggling. The author gives a pretty good picture of how all this works, and the outcome would either be good for the station, or reflect a poor choice.Jun 08, 2014
I loved this book so much I am sorry I've finished it! I loved the backstage feel of it...the insider's look at one of my all-time favorite forms of entertainment, Masterpiece Theatre...and I learned a lot about the challenges of producing high quality public television, too. Reading this book brought back many happy memories of watching Sunday night TV with my late mom. Mom introduced me to Masterpiece as a kid and I have been a fan ever since. I also learned of many shows I either didn't know I loved this book so much I am sorry I've finished it! I loved the backstage feel of it...the insider's look at one of my all-time favorite forms of entertainment, Masterpiece Theatre...and I learned a lot about the challenges of producing high quality public television, too. Reading this book brought back many happy memories of watching Sunday night TV with my late mom. Mom introduced me to Masterpiece as a kid and I have been a fan ever since. I also learned of many shows I either didn't know about or had simply breezed past over the years. I've watched two of them since picking up this book and appreciate learning of them. If you are a fan of Masterpiece and/or you are a committed lifelong Anglophile like I am, pretty sure you will enjoy this book! ...moreOct 21, 2013
I was a loyal Masterpiece fan for many years. I haven't found most of their recent presentations very compelling - not even Downtown Abbey - but this book is full of interesting anecdotes about many of my old favorites.Mar 23, 2014
This was so interesting. Only in the last five years or so have my husband and I become avid Masterpiece watchers, now rarely missing an episode. Oh how I wish I had been interested in the 1990s and early 2000s as there some wonderful shows then as well. Rebecca Easton's focus was on the making of Masterpiece and only lightly touches on her personal life throughout the book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.Apr 14, 2013
Thank you very much to Goodreads and Penguin Canada for this giveaway - I loved it! As soon as I saw the listing for this book I couldn't wait to read it. I've enjoyed Masterpiece (Theatre) since I was a teenager and knew this would be a great read. I had very little idea what a tv producer actually did and I found it very interesting to learn about the many facets of Ms. Eaton's job. Loved the parts about Alistair Cooke, Cranford and of course, Downton Abbey. A must read for every Masterpiece Thank you very much to Goodreads and Penguin Canada for this giveaway - I loved it! As soon as I saw the listing for this book I couldn't wait to read it. I've enjoyed Masterpiece (Theatre) since I was a teenager and knew this would be a great read. I had very little idea what a tv producer actually did and I found it very interesting to learn about the many facets of Ms. Eaton's job. Loved the parts about Alistair Cooke, Cranford and of course, Downton Abbey. A must read for every Masterpiece (and Mystery) fan.Dec 07, 2013
Really enjoyed this book! Rebecca Eaton is a Vassar Alum, and when she came in to sign her books, I couldn't have been *more* of a fangirl! It was great to chat with her and I was more excited than if a movie start had shown up. I most enjoyed reading about the Masterpiece shows that I know best, and how the different hosts found their way into the roles. I was also shocked to realize that there are so many hit shows of which I've never even heard. I have a lot of work to do! The only part of Really enjoyed this book! Rebecca Eaton is a Vassar Alum, and when she came in to sign her books, I couldn't have been *more* of a fangirl! It was great to chat with her and I was more excited than if a movie start had shown up. I most enjoyed reading about the Masterpiece shows that I know best, and how the different hosts found their way into the roles. I was also shocked to realize that there are so many hit shows of which I've never even heard. I have a lot of work to do! The only part of the book I didn't enjoy was the bit about Downton Abbey. I like the show, but it is not my favorite in the Masterpiece catalogue, and I would have liked more time spent on the Mystery titles. Obviously I have to own this! ...moreOct 27, 2013
Making Masterpiece by Rebecca Eaton is a free Goodreads advance reader copy of a book I began reading on Halloween 2013 while on the city bus to school. Having already whet my whistle with a biography on English domestic service between the 1910s-1940s with Rose: My Life in Service to Lady Astor, I was looking forward to reading about British lit drama on television, as told by an American producer.Oct 26, 2013
This Goodreads first-reads is both Rebecca Eaton's autobiography and the 25 yr. history of the PBS Masterpiece and Mystery series. It is also a fascinating look at the people involved with PBS productions and what it takes to bring a successful program such as Downton Abbey into our homes.Sep 15, 2014
So you like Downton Abbey or Sherlock. Maybe even Call the Midwife, if you’re a bit sleepy and don’t mind the pacing. But what about Rebecca Eaton? Do you know who she is, or what her relationship is to these new but instant classics for anglophiles in America? If you’re like me and enjoy figuring out how things work––after all, I did watch every single extra feature in my boxed set extended edition Lord of the Rings DVDs––then there’s a dash of built-in appeal to a book like Eaton’s Making
So you like Downton Abbey or Sherlock.  Maybe even Call the Midwife, if you’re a bit sleepy and don’t mind the pacing.  But what about Rebecca Eaton?  Do you know who she is, or what her relationship is to these new but instant classics for anglophiles in America?  If you’re like me and enjoy figuring out how things work––after all, I did watch every single extra feature in my boxed set extended edition Lord of the Rings DVDs––then there’s a dash of built-in appeal to a book like Eaton’s Making Masterpiece, ostensibly a book about how she, as executive producer for both Masterpiece Classic and Mystery! somehow ... well ... made the shows happen.  And let’s face it, who doesn’t want to read about real-life interactions with stars like Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Kenneth Brannagh, Emma Thompson, and Maggie Smith?
The truth of the matter, as revealed in Eaton’s book, is far less glamorous.  I might even add, with a touch of hesitation, that it’s far more boring than it should be.
Eaton’s book suffers from two fatal flaws, both of which stem from one gargantuan root cause: a misunderstanding of what a good nonfiction book actually is.  The flaws, as I see them, are actually clumps of finer problems, gathered loosely into the categories of ‘jumbled content’ and ‘slapdash framing.’  It doesn’t particularly help that Eaton knows of these flaws, and actually draws attention to them in her introduction and repeatedly throughout the book itself. Â
It’s not as though the book doesn’t have potential.  I love a good snippet of green-room gossip and hand-wringing over money troubles as much as the next romantic sap, but I don’t find that there’s much more going on here.  The book never pulls together, so to speak.  I found it impossible to know what was coming next, chronologically, or even to look back and understand what had happened in the previous chapter.  Information, tidbits of stories––they just come at the reader from all angles, launched willy-nilly into the unknown in some sort of continuous stream-of-consciousness infodump.  Is this a book about Eaton’s difficulties juggling work and family?  Or is it about her difficulties raising money for Masterpiece?  And where will we find any sort of reflection on the actual shows that have launched Masterpiece’s ratings in the last few years?  Eaton surely doesn’t seem to know. Â
It’s unforgivable, in my mind, that someone so conscious of a book’s organizational difficulties should not seek out a stronger editorial hand.  That’s what editors are for.  I do get a sense that Eaton is one of those micromanaging control freaks, which seems from several stories to have contributed to her many other woes.  Put simply, the book lacks focus, both in form and content.Â
Maybe I’m just upset because I picked up this book wanting to read about Downton Abbey and Sherlock––and I don’t particularly care about the hazy technical details of when this or that no-longer-famous actor swapped out introductory comments with this or that slightly-more-famous actor.  There’s so much meat to the background of the show that doesn’t get any sort of deliberation at all: Where’s the inquiry into the dubious relationship between art and economy as prompted by Masterpiece’s longstanding funding partner, that monstrous soul-sucking environmental tragedy known as Mobil Oil?!  Eaton never once questions it.  (Maybe she’s afraid of a legal suit?)  The fact that Mobil pulled Masterpiece’s funding when it no longer deemed the program to be lending the company a veneer of credibility says something awesomely interesting about our world.  And yet it’s never once engaged. Â
My general response to this book was one of equal parts boredom and eye-rolling distaste.  As a writer myself, I look for a story with rock-solid architecture that holds together under scrutiny.  Strike one.  As a reader, I look for readability and likable characters.  Strike two.  And lastly, as a feminist and social justice advocate, I look for a book that engages with the deep questions about why things happen, and how the world we live in comes to exist the way it does.  Strike three.  If Rebecca Eaton had written this book as a series of blog posts, it would have struck a different chord, and perhaps a more fitting one.  As it is, she delivers a book only partially-formed, and moth-eaten along the binding, to a readership that hungers for substance.  I can’t help but feel this was an opportunity missed.
[ for more of my reviews, visit Fatal Shore Reviews ]
...moreOct 18, 2018
If you enjoy Masterpiece and if you are the type who watches all the behind the scenes features, this is a great book for you! This book felt like sitting down and having coffee on a regular basis with Rebecca Eaton - she shares much of her background and many entertaining stories about her experiences and what it takes to make a successful Masterpiece production. I find myself using what I learned from this book to give me more context and appreciation as I enjoy other media- there is a If you enjoy Masterpiece and if you are the type who watches all the behind the scenes features, this is a great book for you! This book felt like sitting down and having coffee on a regular basis with Rebecca Eaton - she shares much of her background and many entertaining stories about her experiences and what it takes to make a successful Masterpiece production. I find myself using what I learned from this book to give me more context and appreciation as I enjoy other media- there is a tremendous amount of work and faith that goes into these productions. Rebecca Eaton's book gives your a glimpse into her world - warts and all. A casual and informative read! ...moreMar 19, 2019
This was a fine memoir. I enjoyed the overlay of Eaton's personal stories with that of the programs and opportunities of Masterpiece. I learned some fun facts about Downton Abbey, which was my original interest in the book. I found through reading though that I was familiar with and/or own many of the programs that Masterpiece has produced through the years. I'm a much more enthusiastic supporter of Masterpiece after reading this book.Oct 15, 2017
I greatly enjoyed this book - having grown up watching PBS. My sister and I loved the Mystery intro. created by Edward Gorey! Rebecca Eaton's backstory on Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery was a quick, engaging read.Oct 25, 2013
I first began watching Masterpiece, the acclaimed PBS series, when I was nineteen, precisely the year when PBS and WGBH were rebranding the series from the famous Masterpiece Theatre to the sleeker, more modern Masterpiece and its three chapters: Masterpiece Classic, Masterpiece Mystery!, and Masterpiece Contemporary. Having recently finished all of Jane Austen’s novels, as well as being an aspiring Anglophile and burgeoning costume drama devotee, I was hooked on the prospect of the upcoming I first began watching Masterpiece, the acclaimed PBS series, when I was nineteen, precisely the year when PBS and WGBH were rebranding the series from the famous Masterpiece Theatre to the sleeker, more modern Masterpiece and its three chapters: Masterpiece Classic, Masterpiece Mystery!, and Masterpiece Contemporary. Having recently finished all of Jane Austen’s novels, as well as being an aspiring Anglophile and burgeoning costume drama devotee, I was hooked on the prospect of the upcoming Complete Jane Austen, the collection of adaptations Masterpiece would be airing which covered each of Austen’s finished novels. I watched, I fell in love with Masterpiece, and I stayed with it in complete dedication – through Inspector Lewis and Cranford to Little Dorrit and Zen; of course to Downton Abbey and Sherlock, all the way to Mr. Selfridge, Silk, and The Paradise. I instantly connected with Masterpiece as an outlet for both my Anglophilia and my fascination with seeing history – especially that of the literary variety – captured on the screen, and I grew to greatly admire the lady behind the curtain on my side of the Atlantic: Masterpiece’s executive producer, Rebecca Eaton. Needless to say, when I realized she had written a book, Making Masterpiece, about the beloved Masterpiece Theatre and its original sister program Mystery!, I was understandably ecstatic.Dec 05, 2013
Whenever I pick up a history, memoir or biography, the first thing I do is look at the pictures. Naturally, that's what I did when I got home from the library with Making Masterpiece. I was puzzled, because the first photos in the book are of the author as a young girl. I thought this was a book about producing PBS's Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery! series, not about the author's life. It turns out that it's both and it also turns out that's mostly a good thing.Oct 12, 2013
This book was received through GR First Reads giveaway program.Oct 12, 2013
Making Masterpiece: 25 Years Behind the Scenes at Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery! on PBS was a fascinating read. On the one hand, Eaton's breezy style makes you feel as though you're seated in comfy chairs in front of the fire with her while she regales you with clever anecdotes of her extreme good fortune and very very hard work as Executive Producer of Masterpiece Theatre. On the other hand, she provides loads of context, background, and insights into the world of public television, its Making Masterpiece: 25 Years Behind the Scenes at Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery! on PBS was a fascinating read. On the one hand, Eaton's breezy style makes you feel as though you're seated in comfy chairs in front of the fire with her while she regales you with clever anecdotes of her extreme good fortune and very very hard work as Executive Producer of Masterpiece Theatre. On the other hand, she provides loads of context, background, and insights into the world of public television, its financing challenges, and a great deal of behind-the-scenes logistics of where such shows come from and how they relate to the evolution of television and social media, sociopolitics and the wider economy in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.Take your time and choose the perfect book.
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