Making Masterpiece (Eaton)

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

Also, consider these LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for Making Masterpiece:

1. Rebecca Eaton says, "Brought up on a steady diet of classic British literature, I'm amazed at the inevitability that my life's work has turned out to be as a purveyor of this particular opiate."
How did Rebecca Eaton's upbringing shape her role as executive producer of Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery?

2. Oh, and what does she mean by "opiate"?! (See question 1.)

3. Does her job sound enviable to you...or difficult and anxiety-provoking?

4. Do you agree with Eaton's assessment of the hyper-popularity of Downton Abbey? What are the reasons you think it has become a such a mega-hit?

5. Eaton talks about the need to bring in younger audiences. What is her plan...and do you think it will work? In other words, what do you think the future holds for MpT and Msytery?

6. Are your suprised at the myriad technical details that go into making a TV show?

7. Which episodes in Eaton's book, which behind the scenes incidents, do you find most fascinating?

8. Whom would you most like to meet among all the individuals Eaton writes about?

9. Which are your favorite MpT or Mystery! programs...and why?

10. Why do the shows all come from the U.K.? Do MpT and Msytery! have any relevance to U.S. culture? Or do they feed into a segment of Anglophiles who love anything British while disdaining American culture? If so, should U.S. taxpayers foot the bill? Why do YOU watch MPT and Mystery? Why do ANY of us?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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