One of the recurring joys of this column is “Oh, I Remember That!” Something that you’d forgotten existed, but now that it’s mentioned you knew about and remember liking. Some of these things hold up; some don’t. Either way, this is the feeling no doubt some of you will have when I mention that Judy Parfitt, for roughly a year in the late ’80s, played the role of Queen Lillian White on the ABC sitcom The Charmings. This was a short-lived show that posited that the Evil Queen had cast a spell that put Snow White, Prince Charming—and herself and a dwarf—to sleep for a thousand years, and they’ve all woken up in modern-day Burbank. I have no idea how it holds up; I’m sure none of you know, either.

It’s honestly not all that surprising to me that Parfitt’s done a show like that. She has One Of Those British Careers. Quite a lot of distinguished stage work. Adaptations of Dickens and Austen. A handful of American shows of varying quality. A few episodes of Jackanory. American films of varying quality, mostly including costume dramas but not exclusively. At least one performance that has Oscar buzz. She’s been in a Poirot and a Marple. And her career is old enough so that she was on The Avengers, the non-Marvel one.

Indeed, she’s one of those fine British actresses who just keeps giving quietly solid performances. Apparently she’s doing very good work on Call the Midwife, which I haven’t had time for yet. I’ll admit that, when I saw her on my calendar, I didn’t remember her name. However, I definitely remembered her face as soon as I looked for her and it was just a matter of figuring out where I actually think of her first. And, of course, the joys of exploring the weirder stuff she’s done. I think she herself would agree that The Charmings pretty well tops that list.

So okay, EverAfter (apparently the official spelling of that movie) is not one of her weirder or more interesting movies. She’s playing frankly a bit of a thankless role as Queen Marie; she’s part of a splashy backdrop for the costume drama going on in front of her. We’re not invested in her except to hope that she won’t be fooled by Drew Barrymore’s stepsister. She’s not even playing a historical figure. Her character is sort of Generic Queen. But she does give the role a certain style that you wouldn’t necessarily expect, and while it’s partially the writing that lets her, it’s also her genuine talent.

The other great joy of the column is “Oh, I Have To Watch That.” Today, that’s represented by the version of Hamlet wherein she played Gertrude. With Nicol Williamson, only a few months her junior, as Hamlet. Sir Anthony Hopkins as Claudius. Marianne Faithful as Ophelia. Anjelica Huston as “Court Lady.” Not everyone in the cast was as notable as that, but it’s still a cast that basically begs to be watched, and I will definitely have to get around to it now. You know, in my copious spare time. I’ll certainly seek it out before I go looking to see how The Charmings holds up.

Help feed my pop culture searches by supporting my Patreon or Ko-fi!