Good afternoon. Nice of you to join me. Did you bring your spot o' tea, Luv? I've got mine right here. Nothing like tea to warm you on a grey rainy day like today.
Don't you just love Downton Abbey? I've been into British period dramas for ages. Is it even possible to watch one of these gems without craving hot tea? Ever since I saw All Creatures Great and Small, in all its seven seasons of glory, I've been enthralled with The English Way. These shows are all little worlds you can enter and inhabit for a time. The people seem real, not all perfectly beautiful and fake as you often find on American TV. The outfits are authentic, the places are inviting and their dilemmas are intriguing. What more could a girl ask for? Here are my top recommendations, ignoring the obvious Upstairs, Downstairs, which is awesome but which you probably already know about.
1. Lark Rise to Candleford (4 seasons): hands down, my possible all-time-fave. This series is based on Flora Thompson's autobiographical novel whereby a young girl in late 19th century Oxfordshire moves to the local market (more prosperous) town to apprentice as postmistress. The railroad is coming to the area, which is controversial. The dude that plays prison guy in Downtown plays this gal's father. These British series are like that - very incestuous, so that practically all of my recommendations share some actors. It could be a drinking game to connect the dots. Just sayin'. Also, on one of the DVD's for this series, part of the supplemental material includes a tour of the actual towns where Flora was from and an inside look at the homes of some of the characters which were lifted from her real life exactly as they truly were. This bit was so exciting, as, up till that point, I didn't realize this show was based on a real person's life. That particular epiphany made the show all that much more dear to my heart.
2. Cranford (and Return to Cranford: a two-part special) Ooh. Aah. These are based on the novels of Elizabeth Gaskell (who wrote 40-50 years after Jane Austen, but is often compared to her). 19th century town in rural England, encroaching modernity, starring Dame Judi Dench. Need I say more?
3. Flame Trees of Thika Okay, okay. This mini-series is not set in England, strictly speaking. You've got me there. But this series, starring the lovely Hayley Mills and based on the memoirs of Elspeth Huxley, delivers. Take a family in Edwardian England which sets out for East Africa in 1913. They don't know a lot about Africa, but they learn. Delightful from start to finish.
4. Bramwell. Okay, so there's this doctor in late 19th century England. No prob. Only she's a woman, and a brilliant woman at that. Jemma Redgrave stars in this engrossing series, which runs for 4 seasons. Let's just say that her Dad is not thrilled at her choice of profession and leave it at that.
5. Lastly, a new series. Possibly my number two fave. Call the Midwife (season 1), based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth: a midwife at an Anglican convent in 1957 in London's East Side. I got this DVD as a Christmas gift from buddies who know me well. It is awesome. It is epic. Watch it. I am waiting for season 2 to come out in DVD. When? Tell me when, and I will buy it.
yes i love Call the Midwife - it is a really good series
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