Lark Rise to Candleford.

This is my latest BBC obsession.

Lark Rise to Candleford.

A friend of ours who is into BBC period dramas recommended it to me, and it's amazing. It's even better than a mini-series because there's nothing mini about it. It's like an actual TV show. Between the four seasons, there are somewhere around 40 episodes, and each one lasts an hour. So this series can keep you occupied for a long time!

When I first saw Dorcas Lane (Julia Sawalha), above left, I automatically knew that she was Jessie Brown from another BBC favorite, Cranford. I felt so silly afterwards, but it took me forever to realize that she's also Lydia Bennet from the 1995 P&P!

If you watch the series, be sure to watch the special features. They interview Julia Sawalha a lot, and she is so hilarious. She seems like such a nice person! She laughs and giggles and talks about how she actually liked wearing the corsets while filming and wishes she could wear one all the time. :)

Yes, that's the fellow who played John Bates of Downton Abbey and Nicholas Higgins of North & South (Brendan Coyle). And guess who plays his wife? Charlotte Lucas/Collins in 2005 P&P (Claudie Blakley). I love always seeing familiar faces in BBC dramas. :)

The Pratt sisters are really funny characters who are always wearing super extravagant clothes. They have to, because they run the dress shop.

Everything about this series is gorgeous- the costumes, the scenery, music, characters, story lines, etc. Things don't always work out exactly how I want them to, but they always end in a hopeful way. I can't even begin to explain the plot, because every episode pretty much has its own major plot. It's sort of like Cranford. It revolves around the families living in Lark Rise, the small farming community (I think it's called a hamlet?) and Candleford, the nearby wealthier town.

The series is clever, funny, sweet, and interesting. I really recommend it. It's clean, too. There may be a swear word or a tiny bit of violence here and there. And some people didn't like the "supernatural" feel that the Christmas episode of season 2 had, but it just had an A Christmas Carol vibe, in my opinion. There is a slight feminist feel sometimes (Dorcas Lane runs the post office, which is unusual for a woman). Thomas, who works at the post office, is a devout Christian who sometimes comes across a little strongly and is seen as a comical character a lot (sort of like a much more likable Mr. Collins). I'm just mentioning these things because I know some people might be offended, but I really don't feel like it's a big deal at all. :)

In other words, I love it.

Little disclaimer: I've only seen seasons one and two so far. I'm hoping to get season 3 from the library and watch it this weekend. And then I'll get season 4 through Netflix. Even after watching just the first two seasons, I'm really wanting the complete series on DVD. But that's completely out of my budget right now, even though the price on Amazon just dropped about $30 (it's a little cheaper on eBay).

So...have any of you ever seen Lark Rise to Candleford? What do you think?

P.S. I watched the first half of the 2006 (?) Jane Eyre mini series the other night and really loved it- I'm anxiously awaiting the other disc from Netflix! :) I'll post about it after I've seen it all.

Until next time,