k.m.bunting Reviews

Belgravia (2020)

Intriguing drama

[8/10 · 22 April 2020]

I enjoyed this and found the idea of the plot quite intriguing - but why on earth would Lord Bellasis not leave his wife some documentary proof of the legality of their marriage? I don't know whether this is explained better in the book.

Sanditon (2019–2023)

Overlong and unconvincing

[1/10 · 13 October 2019]

Unlike the recent 'Gentleman Jack', whose portrayal of the 1830s I found totally convincing, the dialogue and social relationships here are jarringly false despite lovely costumes and settings. Andrew Davies is old enough to remember that even in the mid-20th century young people addressed their elders formally; a young lady of 1817 staying with an older couple would NOT casually refer to her host and his brothers by their Christian names. Also, when modern dramatisations of real classic novels are often disappointingly short, why does this have to be dragged out into 8 episodes?

The Ginger Tree (1989– )

Now available in UK - excellent

[9/10 · 18 December 2016]

This series is now available in the UK. When it was originally transmitted I had no means of recording and only managed to see the last two episodes, but I was very impressed and had always wanted to watch the whole thing.

The background detail of life in early twentieth-century Japan is most interesting and the drama extremely moving. Mary's family circumstances and her reasons for marrying on such a brief acquaintance are very much left to the imagination. Presumably she was afraid of being left 'on the shelf' with no career to occupy her mind.

When Armand tells her about the ginkgo tree I wondered if a misunderstanding of this was the reason for the title, but no, it is all explained in the last episode.

Drovers' Gold (1997– )

British Western

[28 December 2015]

The "Radio Times" claimed that an upcoming TV series (Jericho) has been described as "Britain's first Western". Everyone seems to have forgotten this series, which portrayed the adventures of a group of Welsh cattle drovers in the early 19th century. Before cattle began to be transported by rail, they had to be driven across country from the farmlands to livestock markets such as London's Smithfield.

The series was shown during the summer, but I'm surprised that it has attracted so little attention on this site. I don't remember many details of the plot but I know it was a dramatic and exciting story. The experienced Welsh actor Robert Pugh was one of the leads.

BBC2 Playhouse: My Dear Palestrina (1980) Season 7, Episode 6

Memorable drama

[10/10 · 13 October 2015]

This play has stayed in my memory as a most touching drama. I believe it was based on a short story.

A young boy in 1950s Northern Ireland inherits his grandfather's piano. His family know nothing of serious music but send him to the local piano teacher thinking it might lead to a career as a dance band musician. The teacher, a beautiful Eastern European Jewish lady, finds that he has a real talent and teaches him to appreciate classical music as well as to play. He forms a close bond with her, but a trip to Belfast for him to sit an exam has unforeseen consequences...

Eleanor Bron was luminous as the teacher Miss Schwartz.

Nanny (1981–1983)

Prewar episodes very entertaining

[8/10 · 27 January 2015]

Personally I preferred the first series, in which Barbara had a number of temporary posts looking after the children of different families in the 1930s. Because she had trained as a nanny in later life, she had modern ideas but a more mature outlook than her young fellow-students. There were some entertaining vignettes of middle-class life at the time.

I remember one episode where, because the family could not afford an elaborate birthday party for their child, Nanny took a group for an outing on the bus. The children from wealthy families, who had never travelled by bus before, thought this was great fun.

The later episodes, where she had a permanent post with a ducal family during World War 2, were also good but rather more earnest.

Grantchester (2014–2025)

Not so unrealistic

[9/10 · 23 November 2014]

Maybe Patzak1974 is unaware that this series is based on stories by James Runcie, son of a former Archbishop of Canterbury who had himself served as a tank commander in WW2 before being ordained. Though James wasn't born until 1959, I think we can assume that he based the character of Sidney on conversations he had had with his father about his wartime experiences and how they affected his faith.

Personally, I find the character much more believable than many portrayals of clergy I've seen in TV dramas. At least he is correctly addressed as "Mr Chambers", since the American habit of addressing priests as "Reverend" had not then reached these shores!

Kavanagh QC (1995–2001)

Excellent drama series

[10/10 · 27 June 2014]

Bertie Wooster wrote: "How about some nice codas where the star sees a newspaper headline about the guy he freed killing someone?"

In fact, the very first episode has almost exactly that, only regarding rape not murder.

I watched this series when it was first shown on TV and thought it excellent, with some episodes truly memorable (including the aforesaid first one). There are also some deft comic touches, especially from Nicholas Jones's portrayal of the endearingly awful Jeremy Aldermarten. I recently bought the box set and am thoroughly enjoying watching the series again.

All the Small Things (2009)

Why don't writers do their homework?

[4/10 · 17 February 2014]

As a long-term member of a choral society, when I read about this series I thought "Great, a drama about a choir," but I was disappointed.

I quite liked some of the characters and situations, but some aspects were absurd. I know not all Anglican churches have traditional robed choirs, but this purported "church choir" was NEVER seen to prepare any music for a service! Other aspects of English parish church life were also totally unrealistic, such as a "committee" (should be "Parochial Church Council") that met without the Vicar being present. Why don't writers research their backgrounds properly?

Enchanted April (1935)

Disappointing

[3/10 · 1 February 2014]

"Elizabeth" was the author's pen name (the original novel was published as "by the author of Elizabeth and her German Garden"), so it wasn't the film company who suppressed her German surname.

I caught the last part of this on early morning TV today, and thought it would be interesting to compare it with the delightful 1991 version.

I was puzzled that the two couples seemed to have inexplicably swapped names; it should be Mr. Wilkins who has the accident with the water heater and Mr. Arbuthnot who fancies Lady Caroline. The bathroom incident was funny but after that the film seemed to end rather quickly. I thought it very disappointing in comparison with the remake.

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Humorous anachronisms

[18 December 2000]

I'm sure most of the errors and anachronisms commented on by others were included deliberately as jokes, e.g. the modern souvenir mug in Will's lodgings, the "psychiatrist's couch", the boatmen echoing the kind of thing that taxi-drivers reportedly say to actors... It all adds to the delightful humour of the film, which sets off the genuinely touching love story; and there's enough authentic period detail and dialogue to make it more than just a spoof. I loved it.