I remember seeing two different versions - years ago - on PBS and thinking one was acceptable and the other ... meh.

Thanks, Dana! What I have found is a single DVD with the three Harriet titles and other collections of more titles starring Ian Carmichael and if they were streaming I would be happy to rent them one at a time but buying DVDs, I don’t know.

I bet your local library might have copies of those dvds??

Also, brings up something I’ve been thinking about: how do you (or can you even) recommend something that includes things which were unremarkable at the time but which would never fly now? Not so much if they’re prominent/the focus of the book/movie, but if it’s one scene or character who is not main but is still....not ok. I was thinking in particular of like, 80s and 90s movies where gay stuff is made fun of or imitated or the brunt of a joke, or people with disabilities, or whatever, more so than racism, but that too—if it’s throughout, that you can’t just say “skip this book/scene”? Do you not recommend? Recommend but say “I’m aware X is in there and wanted to warn you and say I’m not recommending that part”?

We watched Sixteen candles with Casper when she was maybe 14 and the whole thing is a disaster - I recall cringing at Long Duc Dong at the time, but the plot revolves around date rape! So we basically talked about how we were clueless and/or cringed but accepted that nonsense at the time.

The Secret Garden is one of my favorite books but it requires a little discussion for a child about both race and class. Luckily "this is set a long time ago when X people were not treated equally" goes a long way. On the other hand I tried to read Peter Pan aloud and realized it wasn't worth it.

So I'd say, "I loved X for X reason, but warning, period-typical homophobia," if I wanted to rec something, but also a rewatch/reread can make you decide if it's actually still worth recommending.

Yeah, I haven't entirely figured that out, meara. Library is an excellent idea! I have old fines that have made me embarrassed to show my face there, but maybe I can, you know, pay the fines and get over that

Does your library have an amnesty period? I know some will have a time when you can return any book and not have to pay fines. I kind of gave up on the local library because I'd bring books back but the staff never checked them in and I'd get nailed with fines; I resorted to either taking out the card showing the due date and saying that gee, it must have fallen out or, on occasion, pulling the book off the shelf and waving it under their noses.

how do you (or can you even) recommend something that includes things which were unremarkable at the time but which would never fly now?

In my book group, I suggested Georgette Heyer's The Grand Sophy by saying something along the lines of, "This book is a good example of an author whose work was seminal in developing the Regency romance genre. However, she was writing in the first half of the 20th century, and her antisemitism is blatant. Given that, would you be interested in putting it on our reading schedule?"

We ended up reading it. And we had a good conversation about it, including tearing apart the racist, antisemitic tropes.

I will share that sometimes it has been a really long time at the library and they have changed computer systems, and they don’t remember your fines... Not saying that has happened....

I also now only get e-books and online audio books from the library, because then they just disappear and no fines.

Yes I only do ebooks because they disappear, no fines!

Potentially they might also have those shows on Hoopla or Kanopy through the library?

And the movie I wish I could wholeheartedly recommend is Drop Dead Gorgeous. But even the last time I watched it a few years ago, the intellectually challenged brother in overalls bit is egregiously bad, even if it’s a very small part of the movie.

Like Breakfast at Tiffany's. The Mickey Rooney part is so horrible that it's hard to divorce the rest of the movie from it.

(Brain wanted to type Mickey Rourke. Wrong Mickey, brain.)