The Village; Episode VI

[poliphilo]

Grim? Yes, of course it was. What do you expect of a drama about the Great War?

But not depressing. Depressing is when goodness has its face ground into the mud again and again and again. That didn't happen here.  Foul stuff happened, the characters were tested and some- like poor Joe Middleton- were swept away, some- like John Middleton- paddled furiously and just about managed to keep their heads above water and others- like Grace Middleton and Lady Allingham- came out the far end as stronger, better people.  We ended on a note of emotional closure and reconciliation- all the more satisfying for being so hard-won. Bert Middleton, who is telling us the story, went from being a cheeky monkey to a sensitive, generous, morally aware young man.

I'm glad the BBC are going to be sticking with the project. It's one the most ambitious British drama series ever. Also one of the best.

Here's looking forward to the 1920s.

Comments

Re: Death of Thatcher

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Another anachronism was the playing of Parry's Jerusalem a couple of years before he composed it.

I reckon this sort of thing is unavoidable. If it's not one thing it'll be another. You'd need to employ an army of experts to cover every eventuality. Has there ever been an historical drama- or novel- that has got everything right?

Re: Death of Thatcher

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've been wondering about the ecclesiastical side of things too. There's an Anglican Church in the village (we've seen it) but no-one seems to be going to it. IRL I submit that the Anglican priest- who we've never seen- would have been a power in the village- and would almost certainly have presided at the consecration of the war memorial. For the purpose of simplifying things (and keeping the cast down to a manageable size) he has been subsumed into the Methodist Minister- who wields rather more authority (for instance the power to appoint teachers to the village school) than any nonconformist ever actually did.

Re: Death of Thatcher

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Very unlikely.