I have to disagree with the reviewer who says this was 'dreadful'. Film and television adaptations of ANY novel inevitably have to be stylised. I found the performances excellent, and have to pick our Julia Sawhala, unrecognisable from here Saffy days, and her presentation of the dialogue was a wonderful balance of sincerity, wit, warmth and pathos.
I might agree that Dawn French was 'larger than life' but along with Liz Smith the presence of these 2 actors in the cast gave it instant familiarity.
Now, 'dire dialogue'? I don't think so, we were ROARING at the sisters Pearl and Ruby, teary-eyed at the scenes of 'Twister', and watched EVERY moment of the 10 episodes.
Visually, INCREDIBLE, beautiful sets shot carefully and I felt it WAS 1850! I REALLY hope the BBC are planning a second third, fourth and FIFTH series ! THAT is how GOOD it is.
As the BBC replied to the critic 'What Lark Rise to Candleford does do very well is to draw in an audience who normally wouldn't watch this sort of programme.' It certainly drew me in ~ I will now read the books, so YES it's helping bring literature to a TV audience! My vote? 9 out of 10.
I might agree that Dawn French was 'larger than life' but along with Liz Smith the presence of these 2 actors in the cast gave it instant familiarity.
Now, 'dire dialogue'? I don't think so, we were ROARING at the sisters Pearl and Ruby, teary-eyed at the scenes of 'Twister', and watched EVERY moment of the 10 episodes.
Visually, INCREDIBLE, beautiful sets shot carefully and I felt it WAS 1850! I REALLY hope the BBC are planning a second third, fourth and FIFTH series ! THAT is how GOOD it is.
As the BBC replied to the critic 'What Lark Rise to Candleford does do very well is to draw in an audience who normally wouldn't watch this sort of programme.' It certainly drew me in ~ I will now read the books, so YES it's helping bring literature to a TV audience! My vote? 9 out of 10.