In 1967 the BBC produced "The Forsyte Saga", a 26-episode adaptation of John Galsworthy's novels. It was a sensation and gripped the whole country. The BBC's only mistake was making the series in black-and-white. In the early 1970's, with colour television becoming the standard, they looked for another 'saga' they could treat the same way but as a colour production and came up with "The Pallisers". Once again they got it right, magnificently right, but the series didn't seem to grab the public as the Forsytes did (a strike half way through the first transmission didn't help). This is a great shame because this is one of finest costume dramas ever made for TV.
It's hard to know where to start praising this series. Simon Raven does an excellent job of weeding out Trollope's inessential sub-plots and leaving the meaty stories revolving around major characters. His dialogue is rich and intelligent and full of character.
The production values are superb. The use of videotape for exterior scenes avoids the jarring jump from studio work to grainy film that was a feature of TV production at the time (although some remote locations, such as Scotland, still rely on film). The interiors are rather set/studio-bound, but there's nothing cheap about them and they are convincing. The costumes look as though they cost a fortune in themselves (I don't think Susan Hampshire wears the same dress twice).
So what of the drama? Nothing less than 26 episodes packed with incident and fascinating characters: George Vavasor, Ferdinand Lopez, Mr. Bonteen, Robert Kennedy, Mr. Chaffenbrass, Lizzie Eustace, Lord Fawn, Sextus Parker, the list is huge and the cast is a roll-call of the best British actors around doing some of their best work to bring their characters to life. It's a team effort and impossible to select one outstanding member, they are all memorable.
At the centre lie the two fixed characters of Plantagenet and Glencora. All I can say here is that Susan Hampshire is so charming and lovable as Glencora she steals your heart as much as she does Planty Pal's. In some ways Philip Latham has a thankless job as Plantagenet. He is the embodiment of a high-minded public servant: humourless, devoted to his work, and an apparently aloof, unaffectionate husband and typical Victorian father. Again, though, the script fills out the character and some of the most memorable moments in the whole series come when Philip Latham shows the human qualities that lie behind this forbidding shell (particularly his fair-mindedness when faced with an argument). The scene where he tells Glencora never to think he doesn't love her is very moving and as a fine a piece of acting as you will find.
Above all, the story of Glencora and Plantagenet shown in the series is the *true* story of a marriage. With all its ups and downs, misunderstandings, disagreements and differing points of view, there comes to be a deep affection between them that stands the test of time.
It is this that makes "The Pallisers" one my very favourite TV series (along with "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" which is a horse of a very different colour): it is huge in scale but never loses sight of the human element. Anthony Trollope said he was fascinated by "the interestingness of existence". This adaptation, full of love, betrayal, greed, jealousy, ambition, *and* comedy, captures this in a truly unforgettable way.
It's hard to know where to start praising this series. Simon Raven does an excellent job of weeding out Trollope's inessential sub-plots and leaving the meaty stories revolving around major characters. His dialogue is rich and intelligent and full of character.
The production values are superb. The use of videotape for exterior scenes avoids the jarring jump from studio work to grainy film that was a feature of TV production at the time (although some remote locations, such as Scotland, still rely on film). The interiors are rather set/studio-bound, but there's nothing cheap about them and they are convincing. The costumes look as though they cost a fortune in themselves (I don't think Susan Hampshire wears the same dress twice).
So what of the drama? Nothing less than 26 episodes packed with incident and fascinating characters: George Vavasor, Ferdinand Lopez, Mr. Bonteen, Robert Kennedy, Mr. Chaffenbrass, Lizzie Eustace, Lord Fawn, Sextus Parker, the list is huge and the cast is a roll-call of the best British actors around doing some of their best work to bring their characters to life. It's a team effort and impossible to select one outstanding member, they are all memorable.
At the centre lie the two fixed characters of Plantagenet and Glencora. All I can say here is that Susan Hampshire is so charming and lovable as Glencora she steals your heart as much as she does Planty Pal's. In some ways Philip Latham has a thankless job as Plantagenet. He is the embodiment of a high-minded public servant: humourless, devoted to his work, and an apparently aloof, unaffectionate husband and typical Victorian father. Again, though, the script fills out the character and some of the most memorable moments in the whole series come when Philip Latham shows the human qualities that lie behind this forbidding shell (particularly his fair-mindedness when faced with an argument). The scene where he tells Glencora never to think he doesn't love her is very moving and as a fine a piece of acting as you will find.
Above all, the story of Glencora and Plantagenet shown in the series is the *true* story of a marriage. With all its ups and downs, misunderstandings, disagreements and differing points of view, there comes to be a deep affection between them that stands the test of time.
It is this that makes "The Pallisers" one my very favourite TV series (along with "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" which is a horse of a very different colour): it is huge in scale but never loses sight of the human element. Anthony Trollope said he was fascinated by "the interestingness of existence". This adaptation, full of love, betrayal, greed, jealousy, ambition, *and* comedy, captures this in a truly unforgettable way.