My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5 (or 9 - .5 less than I gave Cranford)
Genre: Life
Series or set: Sequel to Cranford – incidentally, in the UK this part is known as the Christmas Special
Primary actors: Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton, Deborah Findlay
Length: About three hours, with two 1 ½ hour episodes.
Based on: Cranford, The Moorland Cottage, The Cage at Cranford all by Elizabeth Gaskell
Time period: 1800sYear it came out: 2010
My overall opinion: Fun, though (like most people say) not as good as the original Cranford. It was so delightful to see all my old character friends again, and of course, to hear the soundtrack again as well! It continues the adventures of the characters you know, and adds in some new characters (and adventures), making for an altogether charming show. Some of it was a little melo-dramatic, but not in a bad way – and everything was okay in the end. Good overall, though Cranford itself is better.
7 comments:
Ooh, I'm starting Return to Cranford with my sister. It's awfully lovely. Actually, we haven't watched Cranford itself, which sounds weird. Talk about watching things backwards. The book bored me out, although the film series seems better from what I've heard. But I just had to watch Return to Cranford first because it has the infamous, and mon favourite, Tom Hiddleston.
I love both Cranford and this one. But you're right, this one isn't quite up to par with the first. But it's so lovely to meet up with the Amazons again and see what everyone is doing now. And I confess that Tom Hiddleston is certainly some nice eye candy. One of my favorite period dramas! :)
It seems everyone is thinking exactly what I am:
TOM HIDDLESTON.
:D
This entire series is SO good. Love the endearing characters and great stories. :)
Jemimah, oh, I think you should watch Cranford first...they kinda really go together. ;) But hey, it's up to you. :) And yes...I see everyone is mentioning Tom! :D
Kara, I did like the first one better. It is so fun to see them all again though!
Essie, LOL!
Rissi, yup. They are highly endearing characters, and all so funny! Love the actresses, they do a great job.
I actually, sort of, love Return to Cranford more than the 'original' Cranford, because it has my favourite of the many stories in it: the romance of Peggy and William. Such a sweet story and not just for the presence of a certain actor whose name I shall not say ;-)
I don't really understand why the first Cranford seems to be liked better. "Return" trimmed the fat for me. Am I alone in my dislike for Deborah's character in the first one? I found her domineering and callous. Judi Dench's Miss Mattie was finally able to stretch her wings in "Return" which I liked much better. The first Cranford seems to suffer from Gaskell's habit of killing off a bunch of characters. "Return" held all that was great about the first (mainly those ladies - seriously, they should have a regular series!) and was more of a cohesive story while the first seemed to be made up of vignettes. And of course, the elephant in the room, Tom Hiddleston and his character are far more engaging than Simon Wood's. There's just so much more life in William than Dr. Harrison! And I'll take Peggy Bell over Sophy Hutton any day!
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