Period Dramas

thegoodgirl

Been looking all day for a thread on this but can't find anything,

Is anyone else addicted to period dramas. I really love them especially the ones that are book adaptations like Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice and North and South. Downton Abbey is back in September can't wait for that.

Can anyone recommend any others to fuel my addiction??

Miguel_Sanchez

Brideshead Revisited.

JP Liz V1

Lark Rise to Candleford

The Tudors

And for US period drama I'd recommend

Deadwood

Boardwalk Empire

Mindkiller

The Borgias perhaps? It's only watchable at best. Deadwood is superb though.
It's full of extremely crude language and sex and stuff so be aware of that.

maudgonner

I'd recommend anything adapted by Andrew Davies. He does many of the big BBC costume dramas, like the Colin Firth P&P, and his stuff normally strikes a good balance between staying true to the book but still being entertaining telly. He had one on at the start of the year - South Riding, that was good (if a little oddly paced at times). Bleak House is meant to be excellent, but I haven't seen it yet.


Cranford was excellent. The Forsyte Saga was great. Middlemarch.

You might like Stephen Poliakoff's The Lost Prince too.

The Jewel in the Crown is another one that's on my to-see list, everyone says it's great.


I'm not sure about The Borgias, have watched a couple of eps and not gotten hooked, but if you like that kind of thing I'd definitely recommend Rome - more blood, guts and naked romping than you can shake a stick at!

emeraldstar

BBC's Bleak House. One of the best - watch it!

FloatingVoter

Downton Abbey. Season one should be easily available. S2 is starting late September, I think.

cjmcork

every 3 or 4 months, I have P&P day............great if you're on a diet and want to curb the rubbish eating - put on Colin Firth for 6 hours............oh Mr. darcy!:o

Hermione*

North and South - it's like a cross between Pride & Prejudice and Dickens. I love it.

Dman001

Mildred Pierce was said to be very good.

irishcsifan

thegoodgirl wrote: »

Been looking all day for a thread on this but can't find anything,

Is anyone else addicted to period dramas. I really love them especially the ones that are book adaptations like Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice and North and South. Downton Abbey is back in September can't wait for that.

Can anyone recommend any others to fuel my addiction??

I love the 1995 verison of pride and prejudice and the 2006 verison of Jane Eyre.

irishcsifan

cjmcork wrote: »

every 3 or 4 months, I have P&P day............great if you're on a diet and want to curb the rubbish eating - put on Colin Firth for 6 hours............oh Mr. darcy!:o

I do the same thing.

mikemac

Catherine Cookson has several of her books adapted to film

The Cinder Path is probably the best known, Catherine Zeta Jones in it
The next best is The Girl, you'll find a lot of Irish actors in it

The Girl is up on youtube

I haven't watched A Dinner of Herbs but the book was great so I expect the adaption to be good too

emeraldstar wrote: »

BBC's Bleak House. One of the best - watch it!

Superb

Elmo

Strumpet City from 1980.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGGlBCnMVa0

emeraldstar

cjmcork wrote: »

every 3 or 4 months, I have P&P day............great if you're on a diet and want to curb the rubbish eating - put on Colin Firth for 6 hours............oh Mr. darcy!:o

See that just doesn't work, because 5 hours of P&P is a definite occasion for treats

iguana

The original series of Upstairs Downstairs is fantastic. You have to get used to the stage-y way it's produced but once you get into it, it's absolutely brilliant. It goes from 1903-1930 and takes in many of the events of the period, the fashions, changing technology and social mores of the periods are also well researched.

The time period is a fascinating one as the changes to society between the Edwardian period and to just beyond the Wall St Crash were immense for such a short few decades. Series 1 and 2 are slow at times as they stay within the Edwardian age. Series 3 is excellent, it's all change, starting in April 1912 and ending as WW1 begins. (Actually the exact same period as the first series of Downton give or take a day or two, but story wise UD is better). Series 4, 1914-1918 is the best, imo. The last series rockets along from 1919-1930 and is great but even with 7 extra episodes it goes a little too fast.

The BBC (mini) series which they made last year, set in the late 30s, isn't a patch on the original and was considered very disappointing. But they did get the go ahead for another this year, so hopefully they'll have learned from their mistakes and actually make it good this time.

genie

Can recommend a BBC period drama called Lillies from a few years ago. It's set c1920 in Liverpool and is about three sisters, their brother, and their widower father. I'm not selling it very well, but it is very good. Sadly, it only ran for one series.

Also Charles II The Power and the Passion, mainly because Rufus Sewell is in it!

And The Devil's Whore, set during the English Civil War, originally on Channel 4. Dominic West plays a far, far, too sexy Oliver Cromwell in it!

Elmo

If the 1950s is period then Amongst Women and Falling for a Dancer should be recommended. Circle of Friends.

I know it is twee but I always thought The Irish RM was a bit of a laugh.

Also there have been some good BBC 4 Period Drama, biopics about different famous people like Enid Blyton and Margret Thatcher. Also Agatha about Agatha Christie.

doomed

Little Dorrit the TV series was excellent

Brideshead Revisited - the opening episodes in Cambridge are brilliant

For a movie Gosford Park is very much in the style of Downton Abbey.

Dont remember the original forsythe sage but the Damien Lewis version was very good anyway.

Elmo

There was an Australian series about people on a river may have had something to do with gold mining.

1950 + 1960s set series I'll Fly Away from the US.

thegoodgirl

That's great thanks everyone them suggestions should def keep me going.

A friend of mine actually told me about North and South and Wives and Daughters so I spent the last few nights watching those. North and South was brillaint. I really enjoyed it. Would def recommend it to anyone who likes these adaptations.

Can't wait for Downton Abbey to come back I got really into that. Might start on Cranford tonight or the original Upstairs Downstairs, I watched the newer version of that at christmas last year so I must watch the original now if it is so much better.

Glad to see I am not alone in liking these programmes

mikemac

Elmo wrote: »

There was an Australian series about people on a river may have had something to do with gold mining.

Snowy River: The McGregor Saga

Which reminds me of my childhood crush
Jane Seymour in Dr. Quinn Medicine Women

iguana

thegoodgirl wrote: »

Might start on Cranford tonight or the original Upstairs Downstairs, I watched the newer version of that at christmas last year so I must watch the original now if it is so much better.

The original series is very different to the newer one. Jean Marsh's Rose is the only original character, though Eileen Atkins, who played Maud Holland in the new show, was the co-creator with Jean Marsh and had been supposed to play Sarah who was played by Pauline Collins.

The biggest thing to get used to is how it was filmed, most episodes were done in one very long take so it can have the feel of watching a televised play. Also the original pilot was shot on colour camera but by the time they got the order for the full series the colour-camera men were on strike so episodes 2-7 are in black and white. And there is an episode toward the end of the first series called The Swedish Tiger that is incredibly weird, (in fact it's famous for being so weird) so don't judge it on that one.

If you enjoyed Madeline in North and South, you'll probably like seeing an even younger Lesley Anne Down as Georgina Worsley in series 3-5.

Hermione*

Elmo wrote: »

If the 1950s is period then Amongst Women and Falling for a Dancer should be recommended. Circle of Friends.

I know it is twee but I always thought The Irish RM was a bit of a laugh.

Also there have been some good BBC 4 Period Drama, biopics about different famous people like Enid Blyton and Margret Thatcher. Also Agatha about Agatha Christie.

I really like Falling for a Dancer. It's very well done.

I love ITV's Jeeves and Wooster. I had it on video back in the day, before there was a boxset. Fry and Laurie are perfectly cast.

Elmo

Hermione* wrote: »

Elmo wrote: »

If the 1950s is period then Amongst Women and Falling for a Dancer should be recommended. Circle of Friends.

I know it is twee but I always thought The Irish RM was a bit of a laugh.

Also there have been some good BBC 4 Period Drama, biopics about different famous people like Enid Blyton and Margret Thatcher. Also Agatha about Agatha Christie.

I really like Falling for a Dancer. It's very well done.

I love ITV's Jeeves and Wooster. I had it on video back in the day, before there was a boxset. Fry and Laurie are perfectly cast.

Jeeves & wooster is brilliant. You know that most local liabrary have many of these types of show to borrow.

pinkypinky

There's 2 different North & South dramas - one is the Richard Armitage Northern England drama (awesome) and then there's the epic (traditional sense of the word) Southern US civil war drama from the 1980s - so many famous people in the latter: you will need IMDB open to help you remember where you know them from!

Hermione*

Elmo wrote: »

Jeeves & wooster is brilliant. You know that most local liabrary have many of these types of show to borrow.

Oh, I have it on dvd also. And I have the soundtrack!

emeraldstar

Love Jeeves & Wooster! Still not a patch on the books though

Elmo

mikemac wrote: »

Snowy River: The McGregor Saga

Which reminds me of my childhood crush
Jane Seymour in Dr. Quinn Medicine Women

No not Snowy River it came before that series.

Jane Seymour as Solitaire ????

Since we are there Little House on the Prairie. Never liked the Waltons.

_Whimsical_

The BBCs version of Sense and Sensibility was brilliant. It was aired 3 or 4 years ago. It was a million times better than the film or any other version I've seen. Couldn't recommend it highly enough.

The BBC made a version of Pride and Prejudice in the 80s too and it is fantastic. It sticks much closer to the original text than the version made in the 90s and it is much richer for it. Well worth buying if you like P&P and have seen the 90s version a million times.

Elmo

There is a black and white Pride and Prejudice from the US which is very funny.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice_(1940_film)

iguana

has anyone ever watched The Grand? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118327/plotsummary I was thinking of giving it a go.

emeraldstar

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

The BBCs version of Sense and Sensibility was brilliant. It was aired 3 or 4 years ago. It was a million times better than the film or any other version I've seen. Couldn't recommend it highly enough.

Nah! I mostly enjoyed the Hattie Morahan/Charity Wakefield version (but Dominic Cooper - ick!), but the Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet one will always be the best. Come on, it's also got Alan Rickman and Hugh Grant!

Although, Dan Stevens is quite a cutie as Edward Ferrars in the newer one. He's still no Hugh though

cailinoBAC

What about Middlemarch?

mikemac

Not sure would you call these period dramas

Hornblower for navy action
Sharpe for army action

Both are book adaptations and both are excellent

Ultimate Warrior

I am looking for a book to show the costumes in period dramas.
I have looked online and I see a lot of books with drawings.
What I am after is a book with pictures from the period drama shows, that show in full the costumes (especially the ladies dresses) as I want this as a Special Christmas Gift.

I cannot seem to find anything.
Does anyone know of anything out there????

markomuscle

very old thread but you should watch ITV's Wuthering Heights and the 1997 version of Jane Eyre, the best period drama i've watched is The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, I've watched it about 3 times, it's a 3 part series from 1996 starring Tara Fitzgerald.