| Masterpiece | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Anthology |
| Presented by | Alistair Cooke Russell Baker Gillian Anderson Alan Cumming Matthew Goode Laura Linney David Tennant |
| Theme music composer | Jean-Joseph Mouret |
| Opening theme | Sinfonies de Fanfares: Rondeau |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | PBS |
| Original run | January 10, 1971 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Masterpiece (formerly known as Masterpiece Theatre) is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) on January 10, 1971, making it America's longest-running weekly prime time drama series. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions. Many of these are produced by the BBC, but the line-up has also included programs shown on the commercial ITV network and Channel 4.
Contents |
Masterpiece is best known for presenting adaptations of novels and biographies, but it also shows original television dramas. The first title to air was The First Churchills, starring Susan Hampshire as Sarah Churchill. Other programs presented on the series include The Six Wives of Henry VIII; Elizabeth R; I, Claudius; Upstairs, Downstairs; The Duchess of Duke Street; The Citadel; The Jewel in the Crown; House of Cards; Traffik; and Jeeves and Wooster. More recent popular titles include Prime Suspect and The Forsyte Saga.
The theme music played during the opening credits is the Rondeau from "Symphonies and Fanfares for the King's Supper" by French composer Jean-Joseph Mouret. The theme was performed by Collegium Musicum de Paris. Roland Douatte was the conductor. It was recorded in 1954 by Vogue Records in Paris, France and was later remastered in stereo and re-released by Nonesuch records in the 1960s.
In 1980, Masterpiece gained a sister series, Mystery!, featuring a mix of contemporary and classic British detective and crime series, such as The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Touching Evil. In 2000, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the show, it presented Masterpiece: The American Collection, nine works by American writers, including Thornton Wilder's Our Town, starring Paul Newman.
One of television's most honored series, the various shows aired on Masterpiece have garnered 33 Primetime Emmys, seven International Emmys, 15 Peabodys, and two Academy Award nominations.
The success of the broadcast on NET (the precursor of PBS) of The Forsyte Saga led Stanford Calderwood to investigate whether the BBC would sell programs to WGBH. Suggestions for the series format came from, among others, Frank Gillard in England[1] and Christopher Sarson in the US. In looking for an underwriter for the series Calderwood eventually met with Herb Schmertz at Mobil. Schmertz was able to gain funding for the show and he and several other men, including Frank Marshall, met in London and made a selection of programs to be broadcast.[2]
Decision on the format of the show were finalized and the series premiered on Jan. 10, 1971 with the first episode of The First Churchills. The series was hosted by British/American broadcaster/journalist Alistair Cooke until 1992; Pulitzer Prize-winning author Russell Baker hosted from 1992 to 2004. From 2004 to 2008 it was broadcast without a host.
The original series producer was Sarson. He was succeeded in 1973 by Joan Wilson. The current series producer, Rebecca Eaton, took over in 1985 after Wilson's death from cancer.[3]
In 2008 the word "Theatre" was dropped, and the show, officially known as Masterpiece, was split into three different sections. Masterpiece Classic was initially hosted by Gillian Anderson;[4] the following year, Laura Linney stepped into the role of host.[5] Masterpiece Mystery! is hosted by Alan Cumming.[6] Masterpiece Contemporary was initially hosted by Matthew Goode;[7] he was replaced by David Tennant [8] in 2009.
All three versions received their own opening sequences and theme music with a common signature based upon Rondeau. In the opening to the "Classic" strand of shows, the word "Theatre" appears for a brief moment (in 2011, the show's 40th anniversary, the opening was altered to show "Classic" briefly before showing "40 years"). The theme music was composed by Man Made Music, Inc; the opening sequences were designed by Kyle Cooper of Prologue.
From its 1971 premiere, the series was underwritten by Mobil (which later became Exxon Mobil). After 25 years of support, the series added the funder's name to its title. ExxonMobil ended its sponsorship in 2004, and the series remains without a corporate sponsor. The show is currently funded by the Masterpiece Trust, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. and by contributions to various PBS stations from, as PBS puts it, "Viewers Like You".
In March 2007, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the show, PBS aired an entertainment special produced and directed by Darcy Corcoran. The Best of Masterpiece was hosted by Derek Jacobi and featured interviews with Helen Mirren, Hugh Laurie, Damian Lewis, Robson Green, Ian Richardson, Gillian Anderson, Charles Dance, Alex Kingston, Anthony Andrews and Jean Marsh. The countdown special was based on more than 20,000 survey responses posted to the Masterpiece and PBS affiliate web sites, the top 12 series were:
At the end of the program Anthony Andrews thanked the audience for voting the 1981 serial Brideshead Revisited as the seventh favorite series. He then pointed out that it had not aired as a part of Masterpiece Theatre. Rather, it had aired as a part of the PBS series entitled Great Performances.
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