Doctor Who DVD | Flambards DVD | Question Time

meets boy, experiences love, hate, cruelty, war and death. But Flambards is remarkably rich and beautifully plotted. The characters are real, the situations are real, you feel as if you are watching a family's life instead of a mere costume drama.

The twists and turns of plot are ingenious without being clever - nothing happens that could not have happened, there are no cheap soap opera plot devices, there is only wonderful, realistic storytelling and vibrant three dimensional characterizations. The performances are uniformly excellent. Christine McKenna, whose obvious charms no doubt had more than a little to do with my early interest in the show, is unforgettable as the strong willed yet gentle Christina while the brothers Russell are portrayed by Alan Parnaby (as William the shy, sweet flyboy) and Steven Grives (as Mark the rough and arrogant rogue). The three, their lives and fates forever entwined, make for one of the strongest triumvirates in telly history - the actors are simply brilliant in roles that seem tailor made for them.

Flambards may sound like a typical "women's" melodrama but I assure you it is far more than that - it is simply great television drama done by the folks who have made a decades long habit of making the very best of the stuff - the British. Through 13 fifty minute episodes there is not a second wasted. Shot, artfully, on film Flambards is as lovely to look at as it is compelling. My highest recommendation.

Unfortunately this Flambards love fest cannot extend to BFS Video's DVD presentation. I haven't seen it since I was a kid, having missed it's more recent PBS and A&E airings, nor have I seen the VHS version but I can't imagine the picture could have been any grainier in the past. Not only is the grain constantly, distractingly apparent but the image frequently appears soft. Even with all the grain and somewhat washed out colors Flambards is still as beautiful and engaging as it was nearly 25 years ago and seeing as there is little chance or another version anytime soon this will simply have to do.

News: Question Time controversy

During the hours and days that followed the recent terrorist attacks the BBC had a higher than usual profile here in the States. BBC America was just one of the networks showing BBC News coverage of the events. I was disturbed to see a larger than expected undercurrent of,

Go To Page: 1 2 3 4 5

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic