The Scarlet Pimpernel season 2 (2000)

Richard E Grant as the Pimpernel in disguise

Sorry for being a bit slow in getting round to writing something about the second season of The Scarlet Pimpernel starring Richard E Grant.

I won’t write about this in as much detail as I did about the first season, which I think is better – but did want to say that I think it is worth watching, and the first episode of the second season, in particular, is probably my favourite out of the whole series.

The first series largely centres on the love triangle between Sir Percy Blakeney (Grant), his wife Marguerite (Elizabeth McGovern) and her ex-lover, now a spy for Robespierre, Chauvelin (Martin Shaw), who is Blakeney’s arch-enemy. However, in the second series both Shaw and McGovern are out of the cast – I don’t know what the reasons for this were but would guess that Shaw, at least, had other commitments – and Grant pretty well has to carry the series on his own. Ronan Vibert’s role as Robespierre is stepped up so that he becomes the main villain of the piece, and John McEnery is brought in as Sir William Wetherby, a new older sidekick for Percy. Both of these are fine actors and Vibert in particular is downright chilling as Robespierre – but  I must say that I missed both Marguerite and Chauvelin, and felt losing both these central characters together was a real shame, taking away from the romance and tension.

The Scarlet Pimpernel season 1 (1999)

I’ve now finished watching the BBC adaptation of The Scarlet Pimpernel, which was shown as two three-part seasons during 1999 and 2000, and has just been repeated here on BBC4. I started off intending to write just one posting about both seasons, but it is getting rather long, as I keep thinking of more to say, so I’ll make this one just about series one, and come back for part two in the next few days.

I gather this adaptation is controversial among diehard fans of the original books by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, for being “untrue” to the novels. However, I think it is a brilliant piece of television in its own right. Richard E Grant gives a dazzling performance as Sir Percy Blakeney/the Pimpernel, while Elizabeth McGovern and Martin Shaw are great too as Marguerite and  Chauvelin. I do also like the 1982 film starring Anthony Andrews, but this version  may just be my favourite. Although I enjoyed the books as a teenager, I haven’t reread them in many years – but the atmosphere of dashing romance, glamour and danger remains with me. I think that swashbuckling spirit is re-created in this series, however much the plot details are changed, together with a sense of the darkness underlying it all.

The Scarlet Tunic (1998)

As a long-time reader of Thomas Hardy, I’ve been hoping to see the acclaimed early 1970s TV mini-series Wessex Tales, which is said to be coming out on DVD, though it doesn’t seem to have been issued yet.

In the meantime, I was interested to get hold of a DVD of The Scarlet Tunic, a feature film loosely based on another of of Hardy’s great short stories, The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion – here’s a link to an etext at the Gaslight site just in case anyone wants to read the story. Emma Fielding, who was so good in Cranford over Christmas, is good here too as the heroine, Frances Groves (she’s Phyllis Groves in the story, giving her more of a traditional shepherdess-type name). Jean-Marc Barr gives a passionate performance as  the German officer who falls in love with her, Matthaus Singer (his surname is Tina in the original story). To be honest, I don’t think it is a completely successful film, because at times it tips too far over into farce or melodrama – but I still found it well worth seeing.

Happy Christmas

This is to wish everyone who visits my blog a happy and restful holiday period. I’m planning to review the Cranford sequel soon – I loved the first half, which was shown in the UK last weekend – so here is a still from it for now. I hope you all enjoy the Christmas break.

Land Girls (2009)

I’ve finally caught up with the five-part series Land Girls, which was shown earlier this year on BBC1 in a teatime slot to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of the Second World War. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed. I did enjoy parts of it, and loved some of the actors’  performances, but had hoped for more.

Sophie Ward, Summer Strallen and Nathaniel Parker

On the plus side, it all looks gorgeous, costumes, sets and landscapes alike – the series was made in and around Toddington Station on the Gloucester and Warwickshire Railway, a preserved steam line – and the music by Debbie Wiseman is beautiful and haunting. There is a fine cast, with the best-known names probably being Nathaniel Parker and Sophie Ward as Lawrence and Ellen Hoxley, lord and lady of the manor where the girls are based. They both give good performances, as do the actresses playing the various land girls – I think Summer Strallen is especially good as Nancy, a well-spoken office worker who struggles to get used to living on the land, and who gets involved in an affair with Lawrence.

Garrow’s Law (2009)

I’ve now seen the whole series of BBC1’s new costume drama series, Garrow’s Law: Tales from the Old Bailey,  written by Tony Marchant, who has previously adapted Great Expectations, and directed by Peter Lydon. I enjoyed it a lot but can’t think of much to add to what I wrote here after the first episode, so I’m updating/expanding this posting instead of writing a whole new one. I do hope there will be a second series as the ratings were pretty good, around four million, and the drama seemed just to be getting into its stride when it was all over.

Aidan McArdle, Andrew Buchan and Alun Armstrong in a courtroom scene

I think Andrew Buchan in particular is excellent in the title role as pioneering 18th-century barrister William Garrow, who fought to make sure defendants were properly represented and not assumed to be guilty without a fair trial. I’d only seen him in one or two smaller parts before this, but in this drama he has an intense presence, and he makes a good combination with Alun Armstrong as his instructing attorney, Southouse.

Emma (1996) (TV)

After watching the Sandy Welch BBC adaptation of Emma, I’ve been meaning to re-watch the older versions I own to see how they compare – and have now got round to seeing the short TV movie scripted by Andrew Davies and directed by Diarmuid Lawrence, which stars Kate Beckinsale as Emma and Mark Strong as Mr Knightley. Here are just a few slightly rambling comments before I get on to the other versions!

After the more leisurely pace of a four-episode version (though even that was much faster than the older adaptations), this dramatisation does feel very short at just 107 minutes. It almost seems as if Harriet is introduced one minute and turning down Robert Martin the next, with Mr Knightley bitterly upbraiding Emma a minute after that. However, despite this fast pace, I felt as if Davies manages to pack in all the key scenes from the novel – it would be fascinating to see how he would have treated the story if he had adapted it at greater length.

Some news on new ‘Jane Eyre’ feature film

Sorry not to have been around, but life and work are getting in the way of blogging, as ever. I was interested to hear today that things seem to be developing a bit with the projected feature film of Jane Eyre . Originally, Juno star Ellen Page was supposed to be playing the title role, but she dropped out a while ago and now it is said that the heroine will be played by Mia Wasikowska, who is also playing Alice in the new Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland, with Michael Fassbender as Mr Rochester.  Here’s a link to the full information at Variety.  

Looking forward to Garrow’s Law

If you were wondering what to do on Sunday nights now that Emma has finished its run, the good news for UK viewers is that BBC1 is immediately following it with another historical drama. (Not sure when you will get this series in other countries.) Starting this weekend is Garrow’s Law, a four-part series based on the life and work of William Garrow, a pioneering 18th-century barrister at the Old Bailey who, from what I’ve read about this series, introduced the concept of cross-examination and was the first lawyer really to fight cases for the defence.

Andrew Buchan and Alun Armstrong

Andrew Buchan, who played Jem Hearne in Cranford and St John Rivers in the most recent Jane Eyre, takes the title role as William Garrow, with Alun Armstrong and Rupert Graves also starring. The writer is Tony Marchant, who has mainly scripted contemporary dramas but has done adaptations of Dickens’ Great Expectations and Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment in the past.

I thought I’d pass on links to a few sites for people interested in knowing more. The BBC has a site with a lot of information, and there is also an independent fansite, similar to those set up for some other recent costume dramas. The legal and historical consultant on the show, Mark Pallis, has set up a blog at WordPress giving background on the cases featured in the show, and Clive Anderson wrote an article in the Daily Telegraph about Garrow’s place in legal history.

I’m going to watch the show, but am hoping I find it easier to follow than Channel 4’s 18th-century legal drama City of Vice, where I found myself getting hopelessly lost every week…

Emma (2009) episode 4

I’ll admit that at first I wasn’t sure what I felt about this BBC mini-series, scripted by Sandy Welch. But now, after seeing all four episodes, I am well and truly won over – and looking forward to watching the whole thing again. I’d just like to know whether the region 2 DVD will have any special features, such as a commentary, behind-the-scenes film etc – Amazon doesn’t give any information on this, but does say it is all on one DVD, which makes me fear that perhaps there won’t be room for any extras.

Something I have enjoyed as the series developed is seeing the contrast in acting styles between Romola Garai as Emma and Jonny Lee Miller as Mr Knightley. Garai’s face and voice are always very expressive, vividly putting across what she is feeling or thinking at any given moment. By contrast, through most of the series there has been something deliberately understated and buttoned up about Miller – his body language and expressions are much quieter than Garai’s, and you often have to watch closely to see a fleeting glimpse of emotion before it is hidden again.

Tamsin Greig and Jonny Lee Miller as Miss Bates and Mr Knightley at Box Hill