Poldark - TV series

Gawan

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I recently watched this TV series, and I think that it is very well done. It has imo some wonderful characters, some good villains ;-) and follows a nice story of fighting for justice, love and learning every day's lessons of living together.

The main plot is about the characters Ross Poldark and Demelza Carne. Ross Poldark himself comes back from the American War of Independence and finds his place and where he grew up more or less ruined. And he starts to build it up again and starting a business.

The series is based on the novels by Winston Graham and there are older films available as well.

Here is an unfortunately not so good official trailer:


And some music from the series (though it is a cover, it comes very close to the original):

 
I watched this series as well - it has been one of my favorites. I loved all the characters. I was sad when the series ended, but discovered the series stops with book 6, but Graham wrote another four or five books. In the next one, their children are older so the stories are about the next generation. One of the things that I loved in the series is that no matter how difficult things have been, it always ends on an up note with everyone gathered together and thankful for whatever good fortune they have.

I watched another series this year on Britbox called The Blandings - one of the characters who is quite silly but hilarious played the role of George in Poldark (an arch villain). I almost did not recognize him in the Blandings. :lol:
 
I just recently finished watching the entire series, often indulging in multiple episodes each sitting. I like well-done historical fiction, especially getting to peek into the clothing, etiquette, language, routine activities, etc. The characters were wonderfully cast and were richly developed with many nuanced cross-currents of emotions included.
 
Loved the series of Poldark - not least for the gorgeous Aidan Turner sans shirt. He was also the dwarf Kili in The Hobbit. The acting was excellent with interesting characterisations and well rounded and nuanced portrayals. I am old enough to remember the first TV series of Poldark back in 1975 with Anthony Robin Ellis as Ross Poldark and the wonderful Angharad Rees as the feisty Demelza. Seemed very watchable at the time but this one is a big improvement and very enjoyable.
 
Thanks for the recommendation. This is exactly the kind of series I was looking for. It has a great ensemble of characters with a lot of interesting relationships going on. I find the story very moving and the setting is also quite beautiful. I just finished the first season.

One of the things that I loved in the series is that no matter how difficult things have been, it always ends on an up note with everyone gathered together and thankful for whatever good fortune they have.
Yes, that describes it well. There is a sense of family and friendship among certain characters and a certain confidence, to make the best of a given situation, not to give up, no matter how dire it may seem. It's a well balanced and grounded attitude that makes you see the silverlining in a clouded sky and there is also an understanding that its all life's lessons and that you grow in the process.

There are very healthy and positive values embodied in one character, while another is plotting and scheming and representing the exact opposit, while still others are somewhere in between. But everyone makes mistakes and has lessons to learn and it's interesting to see their developments, how their entangled lives unfold, for better or worse. It's very well done, something that I often miss in other series.
 
I discovered this series a couple of months ago and binge-watched it over the course of a few weeks. It was stunningly well done. It manages to present a very rich depiction of human life - tragedy, love, violence, laughter, conflict, deception, misunderstanding - it's all there. It's really one of those rare dramas that hits all of those notes so skilfully that almost anyone can find something in it to draw them in.

It's thematically fascinating as well. The core conflict revolves around the competition between Ross Poldark and George Warleggen, who are really mirror images of one another. Ross is from a noble background, but struggles financially (he's really much better at fighting than making money - appropriate for a descendent of warrior aristocrats). He generally despises the foppishness and selfishness of the nobility, and prefers the honest, simple company of commoners. As a result, he's beloved of the villagers and workers, as he acts as their champion, but causes problems for himself amongst his peers due to his flouting of convention.

On the other hand, George comes from humble origins, but has become quite wealthy thanks to savvy investment practices. He's ashamed of his family background, which he projects onto the lower classes, whom he treats atrociously and with open contempt. Instead, he reveres the nobility and desperately wants to join them; he'll do almost anything to climb the ranks of society. As a result, while he's much better at navigating the political and economic intrigues of the upper class, he causes plenty of his own problems due to his alienation of the local villagers, who strike, riot, steal his property, and so on, largely in retaliation for his ill treatment of them.

While George is obviously the antagonist of the story, he's far from evil. His role is really more as Ross' foil: since the two are mirror images, George's strengths and weaknesses, successes and mistakes, illuminate Ross'. Just as George creates most of his own problems due to his treatment of the working class (a bias that emerges from his own shame over his working class origin), Ross creates essentially all of his own problems by pointlessly annoying the upper class.

This fundamental theme of class conflict, class transgression, and class reconciliation is also expressed in the romantic relationships, which play a significant role in the show. Most of the relationships are across class boundaries: Just because class boundaries are being crossed doesn't mean that these relationships are always good or easy, of course. The difficulties created by cross-class marriages and love affairs are a major driver of conflict, and whether or not the relationship ends up working is never certain. The show also avoids anything so simplistic as 'rich people bad, poor people good': there are good and bad people at every level.

I pretty much fell in love with Demelza. At one point in the second season (people who have watched the show will probably suspect which part I mean) I found myself yelling at Ross, "No! You fool! What are you doing!?" I couldn't help myself; I was actually angry. It's pretty rare that a show is so emotionally engaging that I end up caring for more or less all of its characters. Overall I'd say this is one of the best series I've seen in a long time.
 
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