genplant29, I buy samosas (which are prepared locally) at a small specialty store that otherwise imports items from all around the world. But they're probably available (maybe in frozen form) in some large grocery stores that feature ethnic foods.

I agree with you that the show got better as the season progressed. AND thanks to Ep. 4, I was surprised to learn there were Mennonites in other parts of the world. I was totally unaware of that, thinking they were an American cult located mainly in and around Pennsylvania.

@genplant29 said:

Thanks for the info both of you have provided. I'm glad I decided to not only give this series a serious try at the beginning of S4, but then not to pass premature judgment and move on when the season premiere didn't impress me like I had been hoping it would. The season then took another couple of episodes before I not only got to feeling invested but also realizing I really like, and care about, the main group of six or so regular characters.

Fortunately, the series got steadily better with each new episode, and I think its very best during the final two episodes. Such a shame that now there will be a long wait till next summer, or whenever, to see Season 5! (On the other hand, I'm very happy that, before much longer, The Durrells will have its 2019 season finally air on PBS Masterpiece! [I love The Durrells!])

Did you see this gen? I left it in another thread.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-7349537/Grantchester-series-5-Tom-Brittney-set-day-Rev-Davenport.html

Very true about the Mennonites episode! I remember, at the time of viewing it, it occurring to me that I don't think I've ever seen anything about any Mennonite characters on any UK shows. I, like you, thought they were/are strictly in the US MidAtlantic region (including to a smallish extent in my general portion thereof).

Hopefully some viewers who abandoned this series after disliking the season premiere episodes will give S4 another (and fair) try in rerun. It's still the show that viewers of Seasons 1 through 3 followed and enjoyed, except for now having a different co-star (who's overall quite stable and admirably sane, and actually seems reasonably vicar-like) - who in my opinion is doing an excellent job and proving a great fit.

Thanks for that link, brat!

I hadn't realized that Mrs. C's first name is Sylvia till checking out that article.

Btw, what was James Norton's reason for leaving the series? I'm guessing it was so he could/can accept other lucrative projects, as I realize he's become in quite high demand.

@genplant29 said:

Thanks for that link, brat!

I hadn't realized that Mrs. C's first name is Sylvia till checking out that article.

Btw, what was James Norton's reason for leaving the series? I'm guessing it was so he could/can accept other lucrative projects, as I realize he's become in quite high demand.

Here are a couple of articles about that:

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/specialfeatures/james-norton-interview/

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/grantchester-season-4-why-james-norton-is-leaving-the-show.html/

https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-12-14/james-norton-leaving-grantchester-series-4-replacement/

According to his IMDb page, he has done a couple of things, 2 mini-series & he plays John Brooke in the new "Little Women' film (out in December).

Thanks for the links to those articles, brat.

Regarding Sidney's past love interest Amanda who I saw mentions of, is she a character who's still supposedly living in or near Grantchester, or did she go off to somewhere in S3, presumably never to return?

As for James Norton, he was absolutely outstanding and amazing in the UK crime series Happy Valley https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/61244-happy-valley?language=en-US . Any fans of his for sure will want to watch that. I've seen all of that series (which has the possibility of eventually more seasons) and am definitely a fan of both it and (via it) Norton.

Here are some Happy Valley discussions: https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/61244-happy-valley/discuss/category/5047951f760ee3318900009a

OMG, sometimes I hate this site, I was almost done with writing my post & all of a sudden it whisked me to the support pages & gave me advice on how to make MY FIRST POST! I've been a member since February 2017? I'll try to do it again (with my old brain 👵, I probably won't remember all of it).

As far as I remember Amanda wasn't mentioned in season/series 4 at all (unless it was a brief mention of the breakup?).

I watched the season finale last night & I have to say I was seriously underwhelmed. I'm glad that Will & Leonard made amends but as for the rest of his 'problems', I was hoping he would have a bit more backbone. I was also glad to see that Hobbs was fired but would have liked Cathy to have had a bit more to do with the outcome (although I know that wasn't the way things were back then, I'm a boomer so I do remember). I did like that she told him off in the end.

I hate, hate, hate when, for whatever reason, something (particularly if involved) I've just been writing, that's right on the verge of being "good to go", gets unceremoniously zapped, then it's between attempt to rewrite everything from scratch or just walk away and move on. Typically I begrudgingly do it over, but shortcut it all the second time around.

(Speaking of losing connections, remember the bad old days of dial-up internet connections, that if someone in your home picked up the telephone to make a call you'd lose your internet connection, thus your writing, or whatever else you were doing, and it would go straight down the drain?!!! Ugh!)

Thanks for the answers and new comments, brat. I seem to recall Amanda being mentioned a time or two during the first two hours of the most recent season. I was too new to the series at the time for whatever was said about her to actually register or mean anything to me at the time. (FYI: Am typing quickly, as bad thunderstorm right about to strike, and want to power down computer STAT!)

Regarding the finale, do you mean you wish Leonard had more backbone with Mrs. C about her mandate that Daniel go? I agree that he went along with that seemingly way too easily, though at the same time I did totally "get" it, as it had so rocked his world, and completely devastated him, to lose her from his life. Like he said (about he and Will), something to the effect of, "We don't work without you." I don't remember whether he said that solely in the fully personal context, or if he meant the life and functioning at the vicarage overall.

@genplant29 said:

I hate, hate, hate when, for whatever reason, something (particularly if involved) I've just been writing, that's right on the verge of being "good to go", gets unceremoniously zapped, then it's between attempt to rewrite everything from scratch or just walk away and move on. Typically I begrudgingly do it over, but shortcut it all the second time around.

(Speaking of losing connections, remember the bad old days of dial-up internet connections, that if someone in your home picked up the telephone to make a call you'd lose your internet connection, thus your writing, or whatever else you were doing, and it would go straight down the drain?!!! Ugh!)

Thanks for the answers and new comments, brat. I seem to recall Amanda being mentioned a time or two during the first two hours of the most recent season. I was too new to the series at the time for whatever was said about her to actually register or mean anything to me at the time. (FYI: Am typing quickly, as bad thunderstorm right about to strike, and want to power down computer STAT!)

Regarding the finale, do you mean you wish Leonard had more backbone with Mrs. C about her mandate that Daniel go? I agree that he went along with that seemingly way too easily, though at the same time I did totally "get" it, as it had so rocked his world, and completely devastated him, to lose her from his life. Like he said (about he and Will), something to the effect of, "We don't work without you." I don't remember whether he said that solely in the fully personal context, or if he meant the life and functioning at the vicarage overall.

Yes, I wish he had stood up to her. The 'we don't work without you' is a bit much. Change can be good, they would have adjusted to a new housekeeper.

Oh & lucky you with the thunderstorms, we don't get many here anymore. I love thunder & lightning, even as a child.

I've never had a 'dial-up connection, always broadband, so I can't imagine that frustration. But outages make me crazy sometimes (thank goodness they don't happen often), it's usually when I'm doing something I think is important or when the company is closed, so there's nothing I can do until morning.

I was on dial-up until in late 2007 switching to broadband. There certainly were lots of unceremonious internet disconnects during the dial-up years; all it would take is someone to pick up a phone receiver so they could make a call, and that was it for whatever was on my computer (if I was on the internet at the moment)!

Regarding Grantchester, I suspect we'll continue to see plenty of Daniel, though writers always love to come up with complications for characters, particularly where otherwise happy relationships are concerned.

@genplant29 said:

I was on dial-up until in late 2007 switching to broadband. There certainly were lots of unceremonious internet disconnects during the dial-up years; all it would take is someone to pick up a phone receiver so they could make a call, and that was it for whatever was on my computer (if I was on the internet at the moment)!

Regarding Grantchester, I suspect we'll continue to see plenty of Daniel, though writers always love to come up with complications for characters, particularly where otherwise happy relationships are concerned.

Isn't that the truth. If there isn't conflict then TPTB & the 'general public' think a show is boring & will not watch. I personally do not want constant 'Sturm und Drang'.

Same here! I'm a very settled person, and am perfectly contented with movies and shows where people don't get slapped with some out-of-nowhere distressing relationship challenge or torment every single time things are going agreeably or wonderfully for a little too long.

genplant29, I have a feeling if you ever watch the 3 previous seasons you'll not only gain insight into the Sidney/Amanda romance (which was bittersweet from nearly the very beginning due partly to class differences: Pip Torrens portrayed her father -- enough said?!?!), but eventually tire of the angst and drama of it. IMO the writer jerked them around a bit too long with a bit too much equivocation. I'm glad it's over but Sidney's exit had him jumping (the shark?!?!) from the frying pan into the fire: a Brit preacher hooked up with a black preacher's devoted daughter in the 1950s Deep South is sure to be fraught with angst and drama from the get-go. I found it a little hard to believe that a man ostensibly so committed to his vocation could be so screwed up personally, so lacking in peace of mind. Having said that, there's background pertaining to his service in WWII that sheds some light on this. Sidney reminded me of psychiatrists who pursue that discipline in part to gain better understanding of their own lives.

That's a bad thing about drama series (the ones with soapy tendencies) - is all the "drama" where relationship harmony is concerned. It can get to be a drag after a while, especially when you know something bad will definitely be around the bend if a particular couple has been having things go too well and happily for too long. Either there will be a "secret from the past", or an accident or dire (possibly fatal) illness, or some local schemer finds a way to throw a wrench into things, etc. It's like you know something is bound to tear these happy people apart.

Will seems infinitely more in the believable realm of someone who would be a person with a religious vocation than did Sidney. From the little bit of Sidney I saw during the season's first two hours (plus things I read about him in past seasons), the extent of his character's faults and issues, considering he was a vicar that his congregation would have expected otherwise from, seemed highly far-fetched and unlikely. Wouldn't any vicar who actually was so screwed up, and apparently (judging from the impression I've gotten) a known severe alcoholic with somewhat violent-inclined tendencies (am I correct with those conclusions?), and not exactly virtuous - regardless of that he apparently was kind and had a heart of gold (and was great at helping fight crime!) - be unceremoniously fired?

Now that you mention it, considering some of Sidney's behaviors, I guess it IS surprising that he wasn't fired, or AT LEAST ostracized by some of his parishioners, especially since Grantchester's a small town. Yet he was beloved by the otherwise judgemental and censorious Mrs. C. Go figure.