This Week’s Poll: Best Period Drama
Our poll for this week is to ask you, our readers, to vote for the Best Period Drama. Last week the BBC announced the cast for its revival of the LWT series Upstairs, Downstairs (which is amongst the candidates in our poll this week) and joining Jean Marsh and Dame Eileen Atkins in the new BBC series will be Keeley Hawes and Anne Reid amongst others. Later this year ITV will launch their highly anticipated series Downton Abbey from writer Julian Fellowes which will star Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton and Hugh Bonneville while Lark Rise to Candleford will return to BBC One for a fourth season. Over the past few years we’ve seen an explosion of period drama’s on our screens from Little Dorrit to Cranford, Lost in Austen to Wuthering Heights. So with two new dramas, from ITV and BBC, heading our way we decide it was time for you to pick which Period Drama you think is the best.
Now before we get into the article itself we should perhaps explain the absence of Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights and Little Doritt (and others) from our selection. Basically each of them have been adapted numerous times for television and film so asking you to vote for them when there’s many different versions of them, is a little hard. To be fair each adaptation could form its own poll for the week – pick your favourite Pride & Prejudice adaptation for example; the one with Colin Firth or the film? So we decided instead to stick too, where possible, original dramas made especially for television. However, we do have the “Other” option which allows you to vote for a drama not on our listing – and perhaps it will be the likes of Jane Eyre or Sense and Sensibility that you are voting for. So with that little explanation out of the way let’s get down to business!
The Cedar Tree: ATV 1976 – 1979
Period drama set in the 1930s during the ‘Great Depression’ which is often referred to as “between the wars’. The series was produced by ATV and was in many ways the company’s answer to the hugely successful LWT series Upstairs, Downstairs which had ended the year before after five years on-air. Indeed several of the behind-the-scenes people on The Cedar Tree had worked on Upstairs, Downstairs such as Alfred Shaghnessy who was script editor and producer for The Cedar Tree. The series was set in Larkfield Manor and followed the lives of a middle-class family.
As the series was a daytime drama it had a relatively small budget making location filming very expensive and infrequent. As such the actual Cedar Tree wasn’t featured in the drama expect for an animated version in the title sequence. According to some viewers one plotline featured the Cedar Tree being struck by lightening but due to the small budget this had to take place off-screen and all that was seen was the actors reactions to the event. The Cedar Tree has not been repeated or released on DVD but despite ATV’s wiping policy of the time surprisingly all the episodes are believed to exist in the archives.
The House of Eliott: BBC One 1991 – 1994
The House of Eliott was created by actress Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins who had also created the original premise for Upstairs, Downstairs. The two shows share a lot of similarities even if their settings are slightly different. The House of Eliott charters two sister’s attempts at establishing, and then keep running, their own fashion house in the sexiest and male dominated world of the 1920s. As the sisters struggle to establish themselves they have to deal with betrayal from within their own family and revelations about their deceased father and his affairs. The drama dealt with the aftermath of the Great War, as season five of Upstairs, Downstairs had touched upon, and the plight of the poor and the lack of education for them – as its predecessor had also touched upon.
The drama starred Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard in the title roles and ran for three years between 1991 and 1994 on BBC One. A fourth series was widely expected to be commissioned but the BBC cancelled the series unexpectedly. All three seasons have since been released on DVD and also repeated on the digital channel Yesterday.
The Duchess of Duke Street: BBC One 1976 to 1977
Period drama set between 1900 and 1925 and created by John Hawkesworth who was producer on LWT’s critically acclaimed period drama Upstairs, Downstairs which was also set during the same time period. The BBC series ran for 31 episodes between 1976 and 1977, Hawkesworth having finished work on Upstairs, Downstairs in 1975. The drama revolved around Louisa Leyton who works her way up from maid to owner of an Upper Class hotel. The series starred Gemma Jones, Roger Hammond, June Brown, Lalla Ward, George Pravda, John Carter and John Welsh.
Upstairs, Downstairs: LWT 1971 to 1975
As previously stated the drama was created by actresses Jean Marsh and Dame Eileen Atkins and devised as a comedy series. However, it was quickly turned into a series drama when taken to LWT and the likes of script writer Alfred Shaghnessy and producer John Hawkesworth joined the project. Eileen Atkins was to have played the character of maid Sarah in the drama but was unavailable and the role went to Pauline Collins instead. Upstairs, Downstairs was set in 165 Eaton Place, in London, and revolved around the Bellamy Family headed by Lady Marjorie (Rachel Gurney) and Lord Richard Bellamy (David Langton) while Downstairs was ruled by head butler Hudson (Gordon Jackson) and cook Miss Bridges (Angela Baddeley).
The first series of Upstairs, Downstairs was set in the early Edwardian period but quickly moved through the years presenting the producers with a problem – time was running out for the kind of situation that the drama was set in. The second season therefore was rolled back a few years in setting and introduced new characters such as the troublesome Thomas (John Alderton). The third season was set between 1912 and 1914 and dealt with the sinking of the Titanic (which Lady Marjorie was onboard and died) and the build up to the First World War while the fourth dealt with the war itself and the fifth dealt with the aftermath and the Great Depression of 1929/1930. Jean Marsh played Rose throughout all five seasons of the series while other important characters included servants Ruby (Jenny Tomasin), Edward (Christopher Benny) and Daisy (Jacqueline Tong) while important upstairs characters included James Bellamy (Simon Williams), Elizabeth (Nicola Pagett), Virginia (Hannah Gordon), Hazel (Meg Wynn Owen) and Georgina (Lesley Anne Down).
Lark Rise to Candleford: BBC One 2008 – Present
The Sunday evening drama based on the novels by Emma Thompson about the small hamlet of Lark Rise and its wealthier neighbour Candleford. The gentle drama is set in the late 19th century and chronicles the daily lives of farm workers, craftsmen, gentry and the post officer workers of Candleford – the story is told from the point of view of 17 year old Laura (Olivia Hallinan) who lives the sleepy hamlet of Lark Rise behind to work in Cadleford. Some of the drama comes from the rivary between the small hamlet and the wealthier Candelford and also the feeling amongst Laura’s family that being away from her family is changing her.
However, the drama is essential a gentle Sunday evening series in the spirit of Heartbeat and Born & Bred and as such an problems/crisis facing the villagers are usually overcomed by the episodes end. The drama has so far run for three seasons and the BBC has confirmed that a fourth season has been ordered. Current cast members include Olivia Hallinan, Julia Sawalha, Brendan Coyle, Linda Bassett, Mark Heap and Matilda Zeiger while past cast members include Jason Merrells, Ben Miles, Dawn French and Liz Smith. The drama is narrated by Sarah Lancaster and was spoofed by Victoria Wood in her Midlife Crisis Christmas Special.
The Waltons: CBS 1972 to 1981
The Waltons was set in America during the Great Depression and the Second World War and revolved around the titular family – the series was created by Earl Hammer Jr based on his book Spencer’s Mountain. In 1963 a film was produced starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O’Hara and the television series was launched in 1971 as a television movie pilot. The series was produced by Lorimar Productions who would go on to produce Dallas and its spin-off Knots Landing – two drama’s about big business, power and betrayal. It hardly seems likely that The Waltons were produced by the same company seeing as it was a gentler series.
The drama’s main protagonist is John-Boy Walton who works at a lumber mill with his father but has dreams of being a journalist and novelist – John Boy is the narrator of the series. The drama deals with the families attempts to survive during the Great Depression of 1930s America which saw millions loose their jobs, homes and end up homeless. The economic depression greatly affected the working classes of America who found themselves without any support, or at least little support, from a Government who struggled to understand the problems the economy was facing. The drama charted the days of the Great Depression to the count-down to war during the late 1930s and early 1940s; it’s important to remember that World War Two started in 1939 but America didn’t enter it until 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbour. Amongst the actors to feature in The Waltons were Michael Learned, Will Geer, Ellen Corby, Richard Thomas, Robert Wrightman, Jon Walmsey and Judy Norton Taylor.
Lost in Austen: ITV1 2008
What happens when a 21st century woman somehow manages to swap places with Elizabeth Bennett (Gemma Arterton) and take her place in her favourite Jane Austen novel, Pride and Prejudice? Well this ITV drama from 2008 explores that as Amanda Price (Jemima Rooper) swaps places with Elizabeth and can’t believe her luck to find herself inside the world of Austen. Unfortunately as Amanda knows the entire novel inside out, and all the plots, she can’t help but give the action a little nudge often with disastrous consequences!
As Amanda tries to help the plot along things start to fall apart and the characters start to go off in their own direction. The more Amanda tries to put things right the more things go wrong and before long the plot has been lost entirely and the characters are slowly turning on poor Amanda. The excellent drama had an all-star cast with the likes of Hugh Bonneville, Alex Kingston, Guy Henry, Lindsay Duncan and Christina Cole featuring within the series. Although not a ratings hit Lost in Austen did well with the critics and was gem as a real gem of 2008. A film version is under development and lets hope it doesn’t run into rights issue like the DVD did – a scene had to be edited to remove a song because ITV was too cheap to pay royalties.
Poldark: BBC One 1975 to 1977
Based on the series of novels by Winston Graham written between 1940 and the 1970s – although there was a hiatus before Graham decided to revive the novels. The novels, and the series, are set just after the American War of Independence and see’s Ross Poldark, a British solider, return from America to his home in Cornwall to find his ficanee, Elizabeth, about to marry someone else believing him to be dead. The first series of Poldark, filmed in 1975, are based in the first four novels by Graham while the second series, in 1977, are based on the following novels up to book 8. The series was particularly popular in America where it started off with 5 million viewers but quickly rose to 15 million viewers.
The BBC series starred Robin Ellis as Poldark, Anghaard Rees as Demelza and Jill Townsend as Elizabeth. Other key actors in the series included Ralph Bates, Clive Francis, Michael Cadman and Judy Geeson. In all 29 episodes of Poldark were produced and the series is still popular in America today. In 1996 the Welsh ITV broadcaster HTV tried to revive the series in the form of pilot The Stranger from the Sea in the hope of a possible weekly series. Fans of the original series picketed the headquarters of HTV in protest and ultimately the pilot was not a ratings success and HTV did not order further episodes. In 2008 the series was the subject of the BBC Four documentary strand “The Cult of…” which featured interviews with Jane Wymark, Jill Townsend and Robin Ellis. The documentary strand also looked at Howard’s Way, Survivors and Blakes 7.
The Onedin Line: BBC One 1971 to 1980
Popular drama series set in Liverpool during the mid-19th century and chronicling the rises of a shipping line – the Onedin Line – named after its owner, James. The central drama revolves around the Onedin family at home and at sea and features lower class and middle class characters – the old class system is often a feature of period drams as it was the basic structure of life in England up until the mid 20th century. What class you came from affected your life choices and the paths open to you – so the fact its so integral to period drama’s is hardly surprising. The rise of technology was also featured in the series as shipping moved away from wooden boats towards the use of steam boats, the importance ships/navy played in International Politics and also slavery. The series was created by Cyril Abraham.
The series starred Peter Gilmore, a bit player in Carry On films, as the central character of James Onedin. Other actors to feature in the series included Howard Lang, Anne Stallybrass, Jill Gascoine, Katie Nelligan, Warren Clarke, Jane Seymour, Jessica Benton and Phillip Bond. In all 91 episodes across 8 seasons were produced between 1971 and 1980 and several tie-in novels were also released.
Our other candidates on the poll are The Forsyte Saga – both the BBC version from the 1960s and the ITV remake from the early 2000s – the Granada produced and critically acclaimed Brideshead Revisited adaptation of the 1980s and the wartime drama A Family At War also produced by Granada Television.
