So, in honour of my unending love and dedication to period dramas, I want to share five of my absolute favourites. I am limiting it specifically to television shows, however. So that means that movies are out, as are mini-series. So anything on this list either has lasted more than one season, or was created with the intention to last more than one season. That means that adaptations like Pride and Prejudice or North & South are out, no matter how much I adore them.
So, here are five favourites and why you should give them a go:
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| tvovermind.com |
1) Poldark
I put off watching Poldark for a bit because, well, I knew I was going to be obsessed with it. I didn't have the time to devote to it, and then when I did try to pick it up was when I couldn't seem to get my hands on it from the library because everyone else wanted it too. Poldark is not only a stunning way to fall in love with Cornwall (or in my case, further in love than I already was), but it's got a little bit of everything. War, love, lust, jealousy, revenge, justice, questionable morality...it is just so, so good.
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| tv.bt.com |
2) Victoria
I love anything to do with British royalty (not really...but kind of really), and Victoria is no exception. If you want an intense story right at the peak of a period of great change and progress for England, then this is a great one. Victoria is not without her faults, and you get to see them, but she still remains very likeable and utterly respected. Costumes and sets are gorgeous, you get to really watch Victoria grow and change in her role, and the cast is brilliant. It's still going strong in season 3.
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3) Frontier
Frontier absolutely has to be the biggest outlier on this list. First off, it isn't British (I know, right?) and is instead quite logically Canadian. It is set in the fur trade, contains everyone's favourite child-stuck-in-an-adult-body, Jason Momoa. Momoa is perfect in this role, as is Zoe Boyle, who you might recognize from Downton Abbey. Frontier is bloody, and the historical equivalent to Game of Thrones, but tamer (and minus the tons of sex).
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4) Banished
Ah, Banished, how I miss thee. This show was cancelled because of budget cuts, but since that was never expected, we didn't get a conclusion to anything and instead only an end of season cliffhanger. This follows a group of convicts set to the penal colony of Australia, and their relationships with each other, the military assigned to keep them in line, and the island. Okay, maybe this is the biggest outlier?
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| belfasttelegraph.co.uk |
5) My Mother and Other Strangers
I can't even explain how obsessed I became with this show, and how devastated I am that season two isn't happening. I won't lie to you and say that it doesn't follow a rather slow pace, but it is amazing if you love character development and small towns. I had watched the first episode when it aired on television, but unfortunately was prevented from continuing to watch it, which was so awful. Glad I finally got the chance to experience the entire thing.
Honourable Mentions:
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| wttw.com |
Downton Abbey
As much as I adore Downton Abbey, it really should have stopped earlier than it did. Without spoiling anything if you haven't given it a go yet, some of my favourite characters leave the show in ways that I've never really gotten over. Other characters go through such drastic personality changes that they seem like entirely different people. I still to this day haven't gotten through the entirety of the final season. Seasons 1-3 are pure gold, season 4 is decent, and season 5 was just something I got through in order to try and complete the series.
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| scotlandnow.dailyrecord.co.uk |
Outlander
You might be surprised to see Outlander here - and why two of the most popular series are only honourable mentions. Well, I think season 1 of Outlander was absolutely brilliant - that season is one of my favourite seasons of a television show ever...but that's where it ends. Not fully book accurate, and with extremely odd pacing, the other seasons just haven't captured the magic of the first one - and neither have the books. I would absolutely give it a try, because the story is great, the costumes are beautiful, and it features a fantastic couple, but I haven't been as impressed the further we go. I'm still watching it though, so that says something.
Have you ever watched Call the Midwife?
ReplyDeleteI've heard some good things about the period dramas on your list, but I haven't had a chance to check them out yet. :)
I haven't, but I've heard good things about it - would you recommend it? A friend of mine likes it, but sometimes her tastes are a bit mild for me and other times we are perfectly in sync.
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