Review: Lark Rise to Candleford - Series 4

Since I first saw Lark Rise to Candleford, I fell in love with it! It was good, fairly clean family fun. Though Series 1 is still my favorite season, I continued to enjoy Lark Rise to Candleford and was glad that a fourth season was coming. However, I was sadden by the fact that Season 4 was going to be the last season and that it was only going to be six episodes (Nooooo!). Although I thought the third season wasn't the best, I still want Lark Rise to Candleford to go on...

Note: There are going to be spoilers from previous seasons in this review. If you haven't seen Lark Rise to Candleford, you might want to take a look at the previous seasons. First -- Second -- Third

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Synopsis

When Gabriel Cochrane (Richard Harrington) loses his wife, home, and factory in the same year, he goes to Candleford to find justice for the wrong that he claims the bank did against him. When postmistress Dorcas Lane (Julia Sawalha) gives him a job at the forge, the two form a friendship.

Characters

The only major cast change from Series 3 to Series 4 is Robert Timmins (Brenden Coyle) -- he did not appear in Series 4, though he is mentioned often. In the show, we find out that he is working in Oxford and sending money home to his family while Emma takes care of the house and children; in real life, Brenden Coyle started acting in new series Downton Abbey and left Lark Rise to Candleford. But back to the show. As much as Robert was getting annoying (he always seemed to be arguing with someone at any opportunity), his presence was missed in Series 4.

Ruby Pratt briefly left Candleford in Series 3... and she came back in the first episode of Series 4. During the first couple of episodes, it seemed that any character development that they made for her vanished. She became very bitter since her romance from Series 3 broke apart. She does revert back to her more developed character in Episode 3, but for the first two episodes, it seemed like she hadn't changed from Series 1 (or even went backwards from Series 1).

Laura continued to get on my nerves. She just seemes to act more and more like a know-it-all. Back in Series 1, she seemed to be more innocent and naive which worked for her, but during the middle of Series 2, she wasn't naive anymore, but instead was a know-it-all.

In the last episode, Alf's mother, Caroline (Dawn French), comes back. I guess since she was gone for so long, I didn't really miss her too much. We all got used to the idea that she was in prison a lot, so when she came back, it was like "Okay, she's back. Whatever."

Gabriel Cochrane (Richard Harrington)

The addition of Gabriel Cochrane wasn't too bad. There's a lot of conflict between him and Dorcas, some of which would be something a married couple might fight over, Spoiler so it was kind of obvious that they would end up together. End of Spoiler Dorcas seemed to be trying to impress him in later episodes (like trying to buy more feminine clothing), which didn't really seem to match Dorcas's character from previous seasons.

Scenery
The scenery continues to be excellent! You do get to see a little more of the fields than you did in previous seasons, but overall the scenery didn't change very much.

Costumes


Minnie and Dorcas at a Church festival

Still lovely! Pretty much the same type of clothing as in previous seasons: late Victorian. Everyone's style still remained the same: Dorcas was professional looking, Ruby and Pearl wore the same thing as each other and had current fashions, Laura still dressed fairly young. Minnie is seen in other dresses other than her maid's outfit, but we started to see her in other dresses last season.

Overall: 4/5

Most of the episodes were good: the exception was the third episode (it wasn't good at all). The rest were okay. I'm still sad that it ended, but at the same time, any other seasons aren't going to be like what the first (or even second) season was. Overall, I really liked the series, and I would still recommend it to anyone.

Queenie and Alf

Spoiler The last episode made a really good attempt at tying everything up at the end. Margaret is finally going to have a baby, Dorcas and Gabriel fall in love with each other and (we can assume) might be engaged or very soon will be, Caroline Arless is determined to change her ways, Queenie forsees change in the future, and Minnie and Alf are engaged. My only question is what happens between Laura and Daniel: there was a little bit of a cliffhanger there. Last we see of them, Daniel tells Laura that he cannot publish her article because it's not her and that she needs to write about her surroundings like she always does. I was kind of hoping that they would get engaged or something. Oh well! End of Spoiler

Lark Rise to Candleford - Series 4 is available on DVD. It has six, one hour long episodes.

Review: House of Eliott - Series 1

One of my hobbies is sewing, and I am also interested in the business world; House of Eliott combines both of those aspects. I had never heard about this series before until my mom mentioned it to me and bought it. We would sit down in the evenings to watch a couple of episodes. It was really interesting. I'm not too big of a fan of 1920's fashion, but this series did do 20's fashion justice.

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Synopsis
When their father dies, Beatrice (Bea) and Evangeline (Evie) Eliott (Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard) have to find a way to support themselves. Bea is able to get a job working for photographer, Jack Maddox, who becomes a friend of the two sisters. Both Eliott sisters are able to sew and design their own clothes: eventually, they start up their own couture fashion house called the House of Eliott.

Characters
There aren't too many faces that you may easily recognize in House of Eliott. Stella Gonet was in the most recent adaptation of Persuasion as Mrs. Musgrove, and Louise Lombard was on popular show NCIS. Those are the only two that I can think of. The creators of the series are well known, though. This series was created by Eileen Atkins (Deborah Jenkyns in Cranford) and Jean Marsh (Mrs. Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility); these two women were also the same women who created popular 70's series Upstairs Downstairs.


Of the two sisters, I prefered Bea to Evie. Bea was more sensible than emotional and naive Evie. Since Evie had no mother, Bea had to act as a mother to her (and because of the fact that Bea was much older than Evie). I didn't dislike Evie, but I thought that she was a little too naive at times. It seemed that she was more driven by emotion, while Bea was more driven by what was sensible.



The one character that I really disliked was Penelope Maddox, Jack Maddox's sister. I don't really think she added much to the story other than she was controversial. It seemed like that was her only purpose: to be controversial. She got irritating quickly. If she wasn't in the series, the storyline would have gone on smoothly without her. She seemed to be an unnecessary addition to the show.

Scenery

The scenery is very nice. You can tell that the episodes were not filmed on sound sets. Outdoor scenes take place both in nice London neighborhoods and in poorer neighborhoods. Since House of Eliott takes place in London, there aren't many opportunities to see country scenery. You do occasionally see country scenery, but there are very few scenes of them. The interiors of some of the buildings are also very nice to look at.

Costumes

Evie in her party dress

One of the main aspects of House of Eliott is the costuming, since the show is about fashion. I never was much of a fan of 1920's fashion, but Wow! is it awesome in here! Towards the beginning of the series, Bea and Evie's outfits aren't all that great (since they were poorer), but as the series goes on and they develop their fashion house, the costuming gets better. The costuming is not limited to what the main characters are wearing: there are also fashion shows that show off the collections that the House of Eliott had been working on. It's very interesting to see.

Music
I love the theme song and credits song! They are very upbeat pieces and, just a warning, they may get stuck in you head! There are a couple of dance scenes with some nice 20's music. A very good soundtrack, overall.

Bea at a party with her date.

Overall: 4/5
A very good start to the series. There is one episode where there is a mature scene at the end of it, but it was only in that one episode (Episode 2, specifically). There are some mature topics discussed, but they don't get really graphic, but there are things implied. The costuming is very lovely and the plot lines are very interesting. Each episode continues to the next, similar to a miniseries, but this was a regular TV series. I would recommend this show.

House of Eliott - Series 1 can be purchased on it's own or along with the show's two other seasons in a complete collection. There are twelve, 50 minute episodes on four DVD's.

Review: Downton Abbey - Series 1

I had heard about Downton Abbey before it came out on Masterpiece Theater, but I didn't think too much about it. When my mom and I were at Barnes & Noble, we picked it up and bought it along with North and South (which I will review soon). I knew there were a lot of actors and actresses from other period dramas, so I was a little curious about seeing them in Downton Abbey.

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Synopsis
When the Titanic sinks, the heir of Downton Abbey it is discovered was on there and presumed dead, leaving the future of Downton in question. Robert Crawley/Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville), Earl of Grantham and lord of Downton, feels that his daughter, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), should inherit Downton, but the entail will not allow her to. Downton instead will have to go to Matthew Crawley, Lord Grantham's third cousin and a lawyer.

The episode plots include plot lines that involve both the Crawley family upstairs and their servants downstairs. For example, in addition to the whole entail business, there is the sibling rivalry between Lady Mary and Lady Edith, the maid, Gwen, looking for a secretary job, Matthew and Isobel Crawley adjusting to life near Downton, etc. The episodes continue one after the other, so one episode will end with a cliffhanger that will lead into the next episode. In that respect, it kind of acts like a miniseries, but it is actually a new TV series (in fact, Series 2 is already in production, so I hear!).


Characters
There are a lot of actors and actresses from different period dramas... A lot. At the end of this review, I'll list the ones that you may recognize. I set it up in a table (kind of) that includes the actor or actresses name, their character in Downton Abbey, and another period drama they were in.

A small group of the servants that run Downton Abbey.

In addition to the lives of the Crawley family, it was also interesting to see the lives of the servants. In a lot of period dramas, you don't usually see what needs to happen to get food on the table for a grand party at a big estate: it's just there. Usually, you don't get the back stories of the servants, unless they happen to be a main character in the story, but even then, it might be only one or two servants. In Downton Abbey, you really get to know most of the staff that runs the estate and a little bit of their back story. Not only do the Crawleys have their family secrets, but so do the servants. Past lives of the servants come into the episode plots as one of the main focuses. Sometimes, the plots of the servants intertwines with the Crawley's plots, and vice versa. Somehow, most of the plot lines are intertwined by the end of the episodes.

Maggie Smith was hilarious in Downton Abbey! She plays the part of Lord Grantham's mother, Lady Violet. She constantly goes to Downton and voices her opinions. She has had a couple of funny remarks during her visits or when she comes for dinner. One of the plots that goes on is the "rivalry" between her and Isobel Crawley, Matthew Crawley's former nurse mother.

Lord and Lady Grantham (Hugh Bonneville
and Elizabeth McGovern)



Lady Grantham (or Cora, her name) was supposed to be American, but I didn't think that her accent sounded American. The actress was actually born in America, but I didn't think she sounded American, unless I am mistaken with her accent and it's just an accent that I am not familar with. She was a likable character, although you had to feel sorry for her because she places a lot of trust in O'brien, her maid, except O'brien is out for her own interests.

Brenden Coyle left Lark Rise to Candleford to be in this new series. Let me say... His character here (John Bates) is so much more likable! In Lark Rise to Candleford, his character, Robert Timmins, was getting more and more disagreeable to me, but here he's a lot more likable here. Here he is Lord Gratham's old friend who becomes his valet. At first, a lot of the other servants do not think that he should be working there since he has to use a cane to get around, but they do accept him and befriend him eventually. He really is a sympathetic character.





Scenery
As usual, BBC succeeds in bringing an interesting period drama with lovely scenery! The colors are absolutely stunning. Scenes take place inside of Downton Abbey, both upstairs where the Crawleys live and downstairs where the servants work and live. Scenes do take place outside on Downton's grounds and inside a hospital and a cottage.




Lady Mary dressed for dinner.



Costumes

There must have been some of the best costuming that I have seen in Downton Abbey. A lot of the evening dresses are very ornate and very pretty to look at. Some of the dresses had transparent sleeves, which I usually do not see in period dramas (at least the ones that I have seen). Some of the day dresses are also very nice to look at.

Some characters seem to favor a particular outfit. Lady Violet is seen often in her purple hat and outfit during the daytime making calls at Downton. Lady Grantham, when on an outing, has a white jacket with black frogs (not the animal, of course) around it.

The hats are very striking. I was never a fan of the big hats of the early 1900s, but I did like some of these. They were trimmed very nicely with bows, ribbons, and flowers.

Music
The music is much more serious in Downton Abbey than most other period dramas. In Episode 1, I thought I detected a soundtrack piece from Little Dorrit (2008). If you have seen Little Dorrit, you remember the music that plays whenever Fanny Dorrit and Mrs. Merdle meet? I think that song (or an incredibly similar one) played during the first episode. If that is the case that it is the same song, that song keeps with the serious nature of the show.


Overall: 4.5 / 5
Why, oh why did it have to end with so many cliffhangers? I really wanted to know what happens next! Well, I guess I'll have to wait for next year to see Series 2... Anyway, this was a really gripping series: at the end of each episode, I really wanted to know what happened next! There was a chance to get to know each of the characters, upstairs and downstairs. Just a warning: there were some mature themes and accompanying scenes, although I would say that the scenes were mostly in the first couple of episodes (the 1st and the 3rd, specifically). In the rest of the episodes, there is a scandal that is talked a lot about, but that was about it. I would still watch this at your own discretion. But overall, this was a very good series: great costumes, great acting, and lovely scenery! I can't wait for Series 2 to come out!

Downton Abbey - Series 1 is available on DVD and Blu-Ray. There are seven episodes in it, the first and the last being one hour long while the others were about 45 minutes long.

Recognizable Actors/Actresses

Actor -- Role in Downton Abbey -- Other Period Dramas

 

  Hugh Bonneville -- Robert Crawley -- Mr. Grandcourt from Daniel Deronda

Michelle Dockery -- Lady Mary -- Ermina Whyte from Return to Cranford

Maggie Smith -- Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham -- Lady Gresham from Becoming Jane and Betsey Trotwood from David Copperfield (1999)*
Jim Carter -- Mr. Carson -- Captain Brown from Cranford

Brendan Coyle -- John Bates -- Robert Timmins from Lark Rise to Candleford and Nicholas Higgins from North and South*
Dan Stevens -- Matthew Crawley -- Edward Ferrars from Sense and Sensibility (2008)* 

Penelope Wilton -- Isobel Crawley -- Mrs. Hamley from Wives and Daughters

Samantha Bond -- Lady Rosamund Painswick -- Mrs. Weston in Emma (1996)

* Information from Melody from Regency Delight ~Jane Austen etc.~. Thank you, Melody!

Review: Lark Rise to Candleford - Series 3

I love Lark Rise to Candleford! When I finished Series 2, I could not wait for the third series to come out. I was anxious to see what would happen since Series 2, since a lot of changes took place in the storyline.

Warning: this review contains spoilers! If you don't want to know what happens in this season until you've seen the others, you might want to skip over some parts of the review. If you are interested in Lark Rise to Candleford, you can find the review for Series 1 here. I also reviewed Series 2 here. I highly recommend this series!

Synopsis
Daniel Parish, a journalist, arrives in Candleford to inform Emma Timmins (Claudie Blakley) that she inherited a fortune from some relatives; meanwhile, Laura (Olivia Hallinan) takes a liking to Daniel since they share a love of writing. Thomas Brown and Margaret Ellison were married at the end of Series 2, and now they begin married life together. Dorcas (Julia Sawalha) adopts Sydney and strives to make him comfortable. At the stores, Ruby (Victoria Hamilton) and Pearl Pratt are keeping secrets from each other: Pearl hasn't told Ruby that their business is not doing well, and Ruby hasn't told Pearl that she has been writing letters to a man in Pontefract that she found in the personals section of the newspaper
Characters
Laura continues to get on my nerves a little more. It seemed kind of fake how in the first episode, she says that she wants to hate Daniel, but she can't, even though she would naturally be quite angry with him with what he did. I think that ever since Fisher came in Series 2, Laura has been getting increasingly annoying, which is sad because I really liked her character in Series 1. Oh well...

Laura Timmins (Olivia Hallinan) and Daniel Parish (Ben Aldridge).

Most of this season, I really disliked Daniel! I think it was around episode 8, 9, or 10 that I actually started to think he was tolerable. I guess I still thought that what he did in the first episode was really bad and it took me a while to, like I said, find him only tolerable. Spoiler However, when Fisher returns to Candleford to try to win Laura back, I thought that Laura should stay with Daniel (since I disliked Fisher from the start and never grew to like him). End of Spoiler

Sydney is a pleasant addition to the show... when he appears on screen. There are some episodes in which you wouldn't even know he was in the show, but he makes an addition to the episodes in which he does appear. Dorcas becomes his adoptive mother and their mother-son relationship develops throughout the season.

The relationship between Minnie and Alf begins to develop in Series 3, although a question remains: what happened to Nan from Series 2? Not that I liked Nan all that much, but it seemed that her and Alf could almost have been married, and then all of a sudden she is gone? She just disappeared in the third series. They should have written her out somehow. And Alf also got over her pretty quickly. Still, the Minnie/Alf relationship is a good plot line to have in the show.

In the middle of the series, Ruby leaves (NOOO!), so there is more time to develop Pearl's character. She becomes much softer towards the end of the series than she was at the beginning of the show. She even shows signs that she even cares for Laura towards the end.


Episode Plots
As the season goes on, the episodes do get better. The first couple of episodes I did not like, specifically episodes 1, 2, and 4. Episodes 5 and 6 weren't too bad. The rest from then on were good.

Episode 2 had a lot of superstitions in it, which is why I didn't like it too much. It seemed to revolve too much around the superstition. It seemed to be more fantasy than realistic in my view, and Lark Rise to Candleford is supposed to be about daily life in Victorian England.

A character from Series 1 comes back in Episode 7! Lady Adelaide, wife of Sir Timothy the squire, returns for one episode. I'm only sorry to say that Sir Timothy did not return; I would have liked to see how he behaved towards Dorcas since he left at the end of Series 1.

There are some episodes with scandals in them. While Episode 10 included a more serious scandal, other episodes such as episodes 6 and 8 had less serious scandals.

Scenery
Lark Rise to Candleford continues to have lovely scenery! Scenes still take place in Lark Rise (inside the hamlet houses and outside): in this season, we get to see more of the fields that many of the Lark Rise men work on. In Candleford, scenes still take place in the usual spots with an addition of the Brown's home, since they were married.


Pearl and Ruby hide secrets from each other in Series 3.

 Costuming

The costuming continues to be lovely! Everyone pretty much has their usual style of clothing. The exception would probably be Minnie. Before, we would only see her in her maid's uniform, but in this season, she begins to wear more of a variety of clothes, which are nice and very pretty.

Overall: 3.5/5
I still love Lark Rise to Candleford, but this season wasn't as good as the earlier ones (the first was the best). The first couple of episodes I didn't really like, but the rest of the episodes were good. There are some more double entendres than there were in previous seasons, but Lark Rise to Candleford still remains PG.

Lark Rise to Candleford: Series 3 is available on DVD. There are twelve episodes that are one hour long in this season.

Review: Lark Rise to Candleford - Series 2

After seeing Lark Rise to Candleford - Series 1, I fell in love with the series! It became a weekly treat when I would sit down with my mom and sister and watch an episode. When Series 1 concluded, was I ever so glad that there was another series! Though Series 1 is still my favorite, I did really like Series 2. There are spoilers below, so I recommend watching all of Series 1 if you don't want to be spoiled. If you would like to read about Series 1, I did a review a while back about it: here's the link.

Synopsis

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Series 2 begins with the Christmas Special after the events in Episode 10 of Series 1 take place. The second episode takes place in the following year of Series 1. A new hotel called The Golden Lion opens up across the street from the post office and stirs up talk around Candleford. Everyone is curious as to the new owner, and all they can find out is that it's owned by a Mr. JD. It turns out that Mr. JD is a man named James Dowland, who grew up in Lark Rise, has made a fortune, and has returned to Candleford to open up a new hotel to his chain of hotels. At first, sparks fly between Mr. Dowland and Dorcas (Julia Sawalha), but it soon evolves into friendship and something more.

Characters
A couple of characters have left the series since Series 1: Zillah died at the end of Series 1; Sir Timothy and Lady Adelaide left for London; and Caroline Arless leaves at the end of the Christmas episode. This, of course, leaves characters to be replaced.

Dorcas hires a new maid to replace Zillah named Minnie. Minnie came to the post office after running away from her abusive stepfather and now works for Dorcas. Of course, Minnie has no experience with being a maid, and is quite incompetent at first, but she does improve (while still making mistakes occasionally). At the beginning of Series 2, she can be a little annoying, but from the middle to the end of Series 2, she does become endearing. I still miss Zillah, but Minnie is okay.

Sir Timothy and Lady Adelaide leave for London at the end of Series 1. When they leave, James Dowland comes into Candleford. At first, Mr. Dowland is arrogant, but eventually he becomes more tolerable, and you might even have hope for him and Dorcas. However, his past does come back to haunt him, leading to a very interesting episode.

Emma Timmins (Claudie Blakely), Dorcas Lane (Julia Sawalha),
and Queenie Turrill (Linda Bassett) at The Golden Lion.

Other characters that left were Matthew of the forge (where he went, I don't know), Phillip (since Laura broke up with him), and Mr. Paxton (who owns the Wagon and Horses, the Lark Rise pub). In the middle of the series, Fisher Bloom enters into town to work on a clock tower, and Laura begins to date him. I personally do not like Fisher: he seemed too full of himself and he wanted to change Laura.

I have noticed that since the Christmas episode, Ruby Pratt's character has developed more. In the first series, she was almost exactly like Pearl: snobbish,  rude to Lark Rise folks, cold, etc. But in Series 2, she starts to differ from her sister. She might still be a little snobbish, but it's to a much lesser extent. Her and Minnie actually develop a friendship later in the series. Pearl still remains a little cold, but there is even an episode where she develops a little more. However, both women, just like they did for Lady Adelaide, try to flatter Mr. Dowland because he is a single, wealthy businessman. Of course, they still hold his Lark Rise origins against him.

Episode Plots

Laura (Olivia Hallinan) on her Christmas delivery route.

The episode plots are still very interesting, same as it was in Series 1. The Christmas episode that started off Series 2 was quite interesting. There was an atmosphere of Christmas, but there was also a ghost story. It was suspenseful, but it did not get too creepy or scary, in case you were wondering (I personally do not like ghost, but this did not bother me). There was more of a theme in the Christmas episode about coming together whether as family or neighbors.

The episode plots start to bring in other storyline. Laura is still the main character, but you start to notice that there are more episodes that don't always focus on Laura. For example, one focuses on Dorcas challenging Mr. Dowland for a church council position; another focuses on Mr. Dowland's past. So, there is more going on in the story line than whatever Laura is doing: because of that, you only hear adult Laura narrate at the beginning and end of each episode.

A small downside to this new series: there seems to be a small increase in double entrendres throughout the episodes. They are not blatant, but they are there. They are something that are not really that essential to the main plot line. There are only a few, but there are more in Series 2 than in Series 1.

Some of the episodes tend to contain more scandal than in Series 1: for example, Mr. Dowland's past. They are not graphic, but they are either mentioned or implied. Not too big of a deal, but just a heads up.

Scenery
As it was before,  the scenery is still beautiful and remains pretty much the same as Series 1. There are no more scenes in or around the manor house (since Sir Timothy and Lady Adelaide left), but there are plenty of scenes inside of The Golden Lion. The Golden Lion is a very nice hotel that is owned by Mr. Dowland. It is very nicely decorated and spacious. It's even nice enough for Ruby and Pearl Pratt to eat lunch there.

The post office exterior gets a make over (thanks to Mr. Dowland's remarks to Dorcas). It does look nice. They painted the walls and fixed up the sign and facade. The inside pretty much remains the same.

Costuming

Dorcas (Julia Sawalha), Ruby and Pearl Pratt
examining The Golden Lion.

Slight changes were made to the costuming. Ruby and Pearl Pratt are suddenly wearing more colors. It could have something to do with their characters developing into better people than the snobs they were before. They still dress alike for most of the episodes, but there is more variation to the color of their clothes. In Series 1, they tended to wear black with an accent color, but in Series 2, they wear more colors that while still tame are more varying than black.

Laura's dresses (and hairstyle) also changed. In Series 1, her dresses were "turtle" necked (not sure if historically they were called that), and her hair pulled neatly back into a bun. Now, due to Fisher's comments, she occasionally dons a lower neckline (not too low, but lower than her usual), and her hair is loose. It seems a little odd for Laura to be so easily swayed by a boy to change her appearance compared with Series 1.

The rest of the cast pretty much has the same type of clothing: Dorcas still looks professional, but with a couple of new outfits; Lark Rise women still wear their poorer clothes; and Miss Ellison, being the daughter of the parson, still wears very modest clothing.

Overall: 4/5
Lark Rise to Candleford is probably my new favorite TV show. Series 1, I think, will always be my favorite series in Lark Rise to Candleford, but I still like Series 2. The episodes are still very interesting and entertaining, and the acting is very well done. It ends with a great transition into Series 3 (which I might review at a later time; I'm in the middle of watching it). It's really great to watch on a relaxing evening.

Lark Rise to Candleford - Series 2 has twelve episodes on four disks. The Christmas episode is 75 minutes long, while the other episodes are about an hour long. It is currently available on DVD.

Review: Lark Rise to Candleford - Series 1

A while ago, my mother was on Amazon, and soon after said that she bought some DVDs. The DVD's were to a BBC television show called Lark Rise to Candleford. When they arrived, it became something to look forward to watch on the weekends. In the evening, my mother, my sister, and I would sit down and watch this series. Now, on with the review.

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Synopsis: Lark Rise to Candleford follows the story of Laura Timmins, a girl from the poor hamlet of Lark Rise in the 1890s. When Laura's sister Annie is born, her mother Emma sends Laura to work with Dorcas Lane, a relative who runs the post office and forge in Candleford, a prosperous town.

 

Characters

Between Lark Rise and Candleford, you get a wide variety of entertaining characters. Julia Sawalha, instantly recognized by any fan of Pride and Prejudice (1995 miniseries), plays the michevious Dorcas Lane who has the propensity of meddleing in everyone's affairs. There are many comical characters. Zillah (Liz Smith) is the gossipy maid of the post office and has a lot of character. Twister Turrill (Karl Johnson) plays the part of a carefree, work-dodging old man well!

Among the comical characters, there are more serious ones. Lady Adelaide (Olivia Grant) is the wife of Sir Timothy Midwinter (Ben Miles) who is having a hard time fitting into her life in Candleford; and in addition to this, Sir Timothy spends quite a lot of time with his childhood friend, Dorcas Lance, and because of this Lady Adelaide feels neglected by him.

 

Episode Plots

Sir Timothy and Lady Adelaide outside the manor house.
Picture found at BBC

Relaxing, yet entertaining. You can be assured of sitting down to Lark Rise to Candleford and not have to worry about getting into something too heavy. Plotline range from something as simple as disputes between Lark Rise and Candleford to crime. From hidden secrets to past romances from long ago (and current). Of course, there are subplots that go along with one or a group of episodes (for example, Caroline Arless (Dawn French) being in debt and hiding from the collectors while her son takes care of her other children). Each episode is about an hour long and you may have to stop yourself from viewing the entire season in one sitting.

Scenery

Breathtaking... Absolutely breathtaking. BBC period dramas are well known for their beautiful settings, and Lark Rise to Candleford is no different. The road between Lark Rise and Candleford features a lush countryside. The manor house grounds are green and bright and the forest path is quite lovely. The manor itself is grand. Lark Rise is appropriately poor, however some of the houses did not seem to be too terrible; you could tell that they were poor, but their houses did not seem like they were falling apart, but rather that it needs to be cleaned more and maybe get some new furniture. But overall, the scenery is very beautiful. In fact, in an interview, Julia Sawalha said that many people think Lark Rise to Candleford is on a big budget with the beautiful cinematography, but that it's the crew that does a good job, and it shows! 

Julia Sawalha as Dorcas Lane
Picture Source

 

Costuming:

The costuming reflects on the characters' personalities well and is very beautiful. Dorcas, a business woman with exquisite tastes, is dressed very nicely in dresses of fine fabric. The Pratt sisters (Matilda Ziegler and Victoria Hamilton), the snobbish owners of The Stores, are appropirately dress in outlandish dresses (and trim) and accessories to match. Lady Adelaide is richly dressed as the wife of Sir Timothy from London. The people of Lark Rise are dressed like hard working people.

Overall Score: 5/5
This is the best new TV show that I've seen in years. It holds your attention with an interesting plot while being something nice to watch. The acting is well done and the characters are likable and hilarious. After watching a few episodes, you really get to know the characters, and after one episode, you will definately be hooked!

Lark Rise to Candleford: Series 1 is available on DVD and has ten episodes on four disks. You can purchase it from Amazon or from BBC America's website. Some selected PBS stations have started to air Lark Rise to Candleford; check your local PBS station to see if they are one of them!