192 replies to this topic

[not Bridget]

Last year, this Sherlock fan read about an upcoming project for Benedict Cumberbatch--lead role in Parade's End, a five hour long miniseries based on a tetralogy written in the 1920's by Ford Madox Ford, a neglected literary lion. With a script by Sir Tom Stoppard, illustrious playwright & screenwriter. Thinking that reading a substantial work would be "good for me"--I picked up a one-volume edition. The Modernist/Impressionist style took a bit of effort, but I was amazed that I enjoyed it so much. Parade's End is considered a great war novel but is much more. It's an unusual love story and a portrait of British society before, during & after The Great War--with a surprising amount of wit. Since then, I've read the new critical edition of all four volumes--mentioned at this informative link. And have read other works by & about Ford.

Publicity was sparse & unsatisfying until August 1st, when the BBC released a media pack featuring detailed interviews with Sir Tom, Benedict Cumberbatch (Christopher Tietjens), Rebecca Hall (Sylvia Tietjens) and Adelaide Clemens (Valentine Wannop). Still photos of the large & stellar cast have begun popping up here & there.

When can we see Parade's End? There's no hard date at this moment but sources expect it to premiere on the BBC later this month. HBO Watch mentioned a premiere in 2013....

Is anybody else interested?

[ImNotLeesa]

Thanks for starting this thread, not Bridget.

I'm looking forward to this series. I hadn't read the books it's based on, but this project has inspired me to check them out (my copies are scheduled to arrive next week) It seems like an interesting combination of characters, and a cerebral yet passionate take on the time. And it will be nice to get a chance to at last see the Cabin Pressure pilots acting together.

It was interesting to read how the casting process went for Tietjens , with the screenwriter having imagined Benedict Cumberbatch in the role long before casting began, and getting a chance to visualize him as the character because of War Horse. (from the Media Pack you linked to)

Benedict had never worked with Sir Tom Stoppard, who adapted Parade's End for television, and first met him on the set of War Horse.

"On the set Tom kept on looking at me sideways and he said to me 'You've had such a wonderful, extraordinary year Benedict'. It was lovely but there was something slightly odd about the conversation and what he confessed to me later was that it was agony for him because all he could see was Christopher Tietjens and he wanted to offer me the role there and then as he had thought of me two years before.

....

"So it was very hard to begin with. I was quite nervous around Tom because he had such high expectations of me. He had imagined me playing this role, imagined some performance of mine as this character and I hadn't yet. I was wary about superficial detail playing that class of man; I couldn't see the beauty in the details, the full richness of the world. I didn't know where to place his voice, how to express heaviness but not wanting to make him dull. I really was at sea and then I saw other people around me just having fun with it and Tom's scripts always tempt you into humour… shades of tragedy or great, great comedy and I thought I can enjoy this but at the same time there has to be something of Christopher that is a still fulcrum, a centre point when everything else is going insane because he is observing this.

It will be interesting to see how that character comes to life (just from the descriptions I've read so far)

Too bad we need to wait so long for it in the US.

[not Bridget]

Sherlock & Christopher Tietjens share no character traits except for their brilliance. Give the content of Benedict's interview/essay in the press pack, that's also one of his characteristics.

Amazon.UK will ship DVD's of Parade's End on October 1st. I replaced my DVD player just before the Sherlock Series 2 DVD's shipped--so I ensured that it read all regions....

[mupt90]

notBridget, thanks for starting this thread.

I am currently working my way through the novel(s). It's not my usual summer reading and does take a bit of effort (I always struggled with stream of consciousness, thank you, James Joyce) but once I got into the rhythm of Ford's style, it's gotten easier. Christopher is just so tragic to me, this man who is really noble and trying to be the most honorable man he can be and somehow it always seems to backfire on him. He's heartbreaking. (I'm halfway through No More Parades. Maybe it gets better, but I kind of doubt it.)

I find it interesting that Stoppard immediately thought of BC for the role because he's not at all how Christopher is described in the book. That said, there are lines of dialogue in the book where I could absolutely hear BC in my head (never a bad thing).

I'm speculating that HBO is holding off on the premiere to court the Emmy vote for next year.

[2ndthought]

Recent article, with a couple of pictures, from one of the UK papers:

"Who is this Benedict Cumberbatch?"


ETA: longer article, published today, with smoldering picture:

telegraph.co.uk

Edited by 2ndthought, Aug 11, 2012 @ 9:46 AM.

[Navona]

Will Amazon UK send DVDs to the U.S.? If so, I will be upgrading my DVD to an all region one as well.

[dogonfire]

I can't wait to see this. The books are wonderful but don't lend themselves to a dramatic adaptation. It's based a lot on memory, perception and interior monologue so I'm particularly interested in seeing what Stoppard does.

The first episode is due August 24 on BBC2 if anyone hadn't heard yet. (What are the ground rules going to be here? Are spoilers going to have to be blacked out?)

Will Amazon UK send DVDs to the U.S.? If so, I will be upgrading my DVD to an all region one as well.

Yes, they do (thank goodness!) Just be aware of currency conversion and a hefty delivery charge.

[not Bridget]

I'd suggest spoilering any specific details. More generalized comments might be OK--the time period & setup of the story have been pretty well publicized. This writeup from The Independent has input from Cumberbatch & Sir Tom...

The five hour-long episodes are strikingly filmed by the director Susanna White (Bleak House, Generation Kill), with nods to such modernist art movements as Vorticism and Cubism. But by following the same late Edwardian aristocratic caste through the First World War and into the 1920s, could Parade's End be fairly dubbed "a thinking person's Downton Abbey"? "I guess that's a crude label for it," says Cumberbatch. "Not to denigrate what you're saying, but any comparisons are a danger." However, without naming names, he later says that Parade's End won't be "some crappy, easily digestible milk-chocolate on a Sunday evening… it's going to be hard work, but it will pay dividends if you stick with it".

Let's pass by yet one more comparison with Downton to check out some artistic background. Vorticism began in 1913 & was shortlived, mostly due to the War. Ezra Pound, who named the movement, was a lifelong friend of Ford's. Wyndham Lewis, the main promoter, considered him a bit old-fashioned--but allowed him to contribute to Blast. The first issue (of two) includes part of The Good Soldier, Ford's pre-War masterpiece. (At the time, The Good Soldier was still called The Saddest Story & Ford Madox Ford was still called Ford Madox Hueffer.)

Ford's artistic consciousness was shaped much earlier, as grandson of Ford Madox Brown, part of the Pre-Raphaelite group. The young FMF wrote extensively on the Pre-Raphaelites. By the time of Parade's End, he'd gotten over them somewhat; at least two of his characters Had Not...

Aside from The Important Issues, Ford cared about how people dressed & how they decorated their rooms. It appears the series producers care, too...

Just added: Brief trailer for Parade's End...

Edited by not Bridget, Aug 11, 2012 @ 8:04 PM.

[Navona]

I saw on Amazon UK that the DVDs will ship in October - I don't care about the hefty price tag, I'll get them. I have seen reasonably priced DVD all region players on Amazon and since there are a number of Brit shows I am looking forward to that we may never get here, I'll go for it. Drives me crazy that in this day and age, we in the U.S. have to inexplicably wait for these shows - grrrr. And, really, BBC America is just shameful in the crap they choose to air leaving just an hour or two a week to some of their best productions. Not at all what I expected when the channel first became available here.

Thank you for the confirmation that they will ship to the U.S.

[not Bridget]

Searching for press about Parade's End has become rather hazardous. A few out of context comments from Benedict Cumberbatch have been blown up into a huge controversy; of course, the intelligent, articulate 99% of his interviews has been ignored. The world has changed since Edwardian days, but some of the vicious gossipmongers from the novel would fit right in to the modern world, cutting & pasting their opinions onto garishly designed websites. Then there are the dullards who assume that something must be true if they Heard It At The Club or Read In On The Internet.....

A rather good piece from The Spectator has been provided for us here.

'I do write talkies, ' Tom Stoppard confessed at the press preview, explaining why there's more dialogue in this film than most.

This was no surprise. Over lunch in Rye, he had expanded to me on why he is so unapologetically script-driven. Most film scripts have relatively little dialogue, usually very short sentences. Stoppard has more not only because of his playwright background but also because of his belief that it is through words that we become most fully human, that only words can simultaneously convey the seriousness and humour of life, that it is through words that we become what we are.

The result is a masterly compression that gets in all the important themes, an intelligent rendering where the Word is accorded its rightful prominence, as we should expect when one of the greatest novels of the past century is dramatised by one of the greatest playwrights. Ford would have approved.

I just noticed that Alan Judd co-wrote this article. He also wrote a most excellent biography of Ford Madox Ford. A soldier, diplomat & novelist, he was amazed by Ford's pre-war masterpiece, The Good Soldier. When he researched Ford's life, he was appalled by many biographies; even respectable academic writers were more intent on Ford's supposed shortcomings & (mild by today's lights) scandals than on what the man actually wrote. Of course, Ford wrote about 80 books & numerous articles--so it's easier to criticize the man than to read all that stuff. Judd did the work--& actually cares about his subject. He also recommends which of Ford's vast output is worth exploring first; for The Good Soldier & Parade's End, he mostly recommends we read them. Or read them again. The fact that he recommends this series heartens me mightily.

(Granada TV did a fairly good adaptation of The Good Soldier in 1981. Now streaming on Netflix, it stars Jeremy Brett.)

Edited by not Bridget, Aug 16, 2012 @ 9:39 AM.

[Navona]

Seems like a lot of people just go for the lowest common denominator and seem to thrive on turning something benign into something nasty/vicious.

Like anyone else in the public eye, BC is going to have these stupid moments - all part of the business he is in. It will pass.

I have liked BC's description of the book and times as one era shifted into another and how it affected everything in society and life. Too bad the "journalists" can't focus on how well he has articulated the important aspects of his interviews.

Nothing new though - cheap shots and making controversy where there is none is their stock and trade.

[not Bridget]

Many articles on Parade's End remind us that Tietjens is "a Tory." It's not that simple...

As the books appeared, they were known as “the Tietjens series” after Ford’s hero, and imperceptive critics made such of Tietjens’ remark that he was “the last Tory.” This label has injured both the understanding and the sale of the novel. Tietjens is a troubled, compassionate, gently sardonic man, and that phrase is the most wry of all his comments on his personality.

That's Kenneth Rexroth, from one of his Classics Revisited; the essay mentions other classics. (If that sort of thing interests you, there's more at the link.)

Since the first announcement of the series, The Times has never failed to include comparisons with Downton Abbey in its articles. (Really, Masterpiece Theater raised me on a diet of Brit Costume Dramas--there have been more than these two!) The last article was a feature with Sylvia Tietjens in a lovely frock splashed across the screen (I'm an online subscriber.) But it devoted half the article to Downton comparisons, dismissing the books behind Parade's End as "a stack of experimental modernist doorstops". (They aren't. Rexroth says their "style is conventional indeed in comparison with many recent successful novels, and the less sophisticated public of years ago found (them) acceptable enough."

Rather than actually discuss the show, the Times included a bunch of Ford Madox Ford factoids--including a few half-truths & ancient gossip. From another Rexroth essay, linked at the one above.

Americans cannot understand the peculiar boycott of Ford, H.G. Wells and D.H. Lawrence by London literary circles of the first quarter of the century even though the reason is patent upon simple inspection. All three men lived openly out of wedlock with women who were their social equals. In addition, although Ford liked to call himself a Tory or, at other times, an anarchist, depending on which would have the most stimulating effect on the company, they were all republicans [i.e., anti-monarchists]. This is how to forever cease to be a clubbable man."

"The Tietjens series" sold better in America than in Britain....

[not Bridget]

It's not cool to follow your own post with another, but it's probably less cool to respond to a post about this show in another show's forum. From the Sherlock thread:

It's not really surprising when you consider the Beeb have pretty much the same view of Downton. I read in the Sunday Times that Parade's End is basically a delayed reaction to ITV beating them at their own game. "Anything you can do..." and all that.

The Times has consistently compared the two shows rather than try to convey what Parade's End is about. The novels were written in the 1920's and the producer convinced Tom Stoppard to read them a couple of years back. Here's an article giving a clearer picture of the round-table discussion excerpted by so many other media--who so often just clipped controversial bit for headlines.

Digital Spy and other journalists caught up with Benedict to discuss his role in the five-part period drama, based on Ford Madox Ford's novels, and got the scoop on his new stardom and his Hollywood experience.

Was it the chance to work with Tom Stoppard that attracted you to Parade's End?
"Yeah, because his output's slowed a little bit in recent years, so yeah, it was a huge pull. I didn't know the books, but I knew of Ford Madox Ford because of [1915 novel] The Good Soldier but then I started reading the books and that really drew me in.

"I completely fell in love with Christopher Tietjens, the most adorable and long-suffering but virtuous character I think I've ever played. I really think he has many admirable qualities I'd like to siphon off into my life....

There were reports that you had criticized Downton Abbey...
"Yes, I was sort of quoted in the press out of context. All these people [from that show] laughed when they read it. I thought the second series sort of dropped off a bit at the end, but it's still a great show that keeps you hooked. What we're doing is not supposed to be compared to that."

Still, all the manufactured scandal did inspire some amusing readers' comments about That Posh Toff. Apparently some Brits still swallow that "Class" thing--bless their hearts.

There has been some good press; links to some here. Even The Daily Mail mostly liked it--although they insisted on headlining the "two sex scenes in the first six minutes." Got to fuel that outrage!

Adding this one from Cultbox:

Lately you can't read an article about Parade's End without mention of a certain ITV period drama being invoked, but really it's unfair to compare the two. Whereas Downton Abbey is a very good period soap, this is very good period drama, and so high-brow it's touching the top follicles of a smartly lacquered hairdo. No ad breaks to pause and discuss 'er Ladyship's machinations here.

In fact, a moment's distraction will likely leave you lost, as Parade's End zips back and forth across its own timeline in almost Brownian motion. The first 15 minutes are bewildering enough to alienate the less dedicated, as past and present events flicker into each other without warning, mirroring the kaleidoscopic imagery of the show's title sequence.

Edited by not Bridget, Aug 21, 2012 @ 8:05 AM.

[GothamCity]

A BC sex scene!? Sign me up. Not going to get that with Sherlock, that's for sure! I hope this does well and I look forward to reading the thoughts of those who will be watching on BBC.

[not Bridget]

Intellectually stimulating treatments of Modernism & deconstruction of shoddy modern journalism are fine topics. For now, let us distract ourselves with lovely costumes.

Edited by not Bridget, Aug 21, 2012 @ 1:15 PM.

[HappyHeart]

There has been some good press; links to some here. Even The Daily Mail mostly liked it--although they insisted on headlining the "two sex scenes in the first six minutes." Got to fuel that outrage!

Some things never change. To be honest, I think the first episode of The Street actually falls under that criterion as well. I guess it must be a mark of quality :-).

Edited by HappyHeart, Aug 21, 2012 @ 5:36 PM.

[gabbyghoul]

Considering it's BBC doing Literature, I doubt we'll be seeing anything approaching "Skins" level of rumpy-pumpy. But everyone seems to enjoy Cumberbooty, so there's that.
To paraphrase the words of Atia of the Julii,"Cumberbooty is always welcome."

Edited by gabbyghoul, Aug 21, 2012 @ 6:59 PM.

[skeeter22]

Considering it's BBC doing Literature, I doubt we'll be seeing anything approaching "Skins" level of rumpy-pumpy.

It's a BBC/HBO production, so I wouldn't be so certain about that.

[McBrien76]

Considering it's BBC doing Literature, I doubt we'll be seeing anything approaching "Skins" level of rumpy-pumpy.

If it was airing on the main BBC channel, BBC1 then maybe. However, it's airing on BBC2 who broadcast the HBO/BBC series Rome without editing out the 'adult scenes', as well as Showtime's The Tudors.

Some of their own dramas can be quite racy, such as Tipping The Velvet starring Keeley Hawes and Rachael Stirling;Lady Chatterley starring Sean Bean and Joely Richardson etc. Both productions were given 15 cert. when released on DVD.

[not Bridget]

The first time I read Parade's End, I knew HBO would be involved in the TV production. Having seen (and enjoyed) Game of Thrones, I thought "Ha! There's no sex in this book!"

But not really. The action of the books begins in 1912; as we follow our main characters over the next years, we don't see them get any "action." But as the story goes forward we also go back in time: how did Tietjens & Sylvia get into this pickle? Sure enough, sex was had. By various people at various times. The past is discussed--or more often, remembered, in a sort of stream-of-consciousness technique, although Ford didn't use that phrase. Rather than using the dread voiceover--or those long silent scenes of pretty people staring at each other while we're supposed to assume deep thoughts are being thought (as in Birdsong)--Tom Stoppard has apparently brought those scenes to the screen.

They will probably be more subtle than the meaty Sexposition™ of Game of Thrones. But I doubt they will be devoid of erotic interest...

Edited by not Bridget, Aug 22, 2012 @ 4:52 AM.

[HappyHeart]

Accidental Post

Edited by HappyHeart, Aug 24, 2012 @ 5:51 PM.

[ImNotLeesa]

Interview with Benedict Cumberbatch from The One Showtoday. Discussion of Parade's End picks up around the 6:00 mark.

Very lovely conversation, with a clip as well. And some joking comparisons between Parade's End and Star Trek, at the prompting of the hosts:

There's not so much fighting in Parade's End, no. Not much of the Vulcan grips. (host: It's verbal jousting?) Verbal jousting, exactly. (Laughs) It's a battle of the minds...

And some reviews of the first PE episode have popped up:

From The Independent:

There are so many details to savour in this dense and ambitious BBC/HBO co-production that it will almost certainly reward multiple viewings. .... On the whole, though, this was impeccable stuff. Pedants watching to nit-pick about historical verisimilitude will only be depriving themselves of something rare and rather wonderful.

And The Telegraph

There are some little spoilers in the reviews, though no surprises if you've read the pre-premiere interviews (or the books the miniseries is based on ;-) )

Edited by ImNotLeesa, Aug 24, 2012 @ 9:35 PM.

[dogonfire]

So am I going to be the first? I really liked it. First of all, it's beautifully shot. And I really like that Christopher has a lot of chemistry with both Sylvia and Valentine. Every critic who has said it was perfectly cast was dead on.

It being the first episode, there was a lot of just introducing people and situations. I've read the book and had to think back and remember who everyone is and their various relationships. I wonder what people who never read books was able to make of some it (ie, they mention Hello Central but unlike the book never explain that it's Sylvia's nickname for her favorite servant).

But my favorite parts and themes have all been hit so far so I'm very pleased. The characters were fairly close to what I imagined. And the scene where

Spoiler

Christopher and Valentine ride home after dropping Gertie off

was perfect.

I'm really looking forward to next week.

[Promethea Again]

I thought it was great. At some point last night I fell in love with Tietjens, completely: it's not a Cumberbatch thing, I think he's a very good actor but I'm not a particular fan and not sure he suits the blond dye. It was the character. At first I thought he was a little whiny (unfair, I know, as he certainly had a lot to put up with) but then he just tugged at my heart in some way. He's so yearning, not just for love but for the world to be better, yet without being a campaigner like Valentine. I haven't read the books (but 'did' The Good Soldier at university and yes, it's a novel that you never forget, so I don't know why I didn't investigate Ford further) but through the publicity I had the idea that it was about a very repressed man, the kind of upper class Englishman who never speaks about his feelings and so on. And it is, but I didn't realise that they would make it so clear what his feelings were - maybe this is something Stoppard added, but the utter self-awareness and ability to state what the situation was to everyone - I mean he's hiding nothing, from his friends/family at least (and I loved how he was with MacMaster: that bit about hating golf but doing it because MacMaster had no one else to play with), he seems to have no artificial pride, though obviously having to keep up public appearances. It was so much more subtle than the usual stiff-upper-lip stereotype. Well, this is just after one episode, but I'm really really interested in this character.

Not that the others weren't interesting too and the cast was all very good. Stephen Graham did the accent well and I'm intrigued to see what's going on with him and the vicar's wife. I didn't quite understand that scene but Rufus Sewell suddenly ranting about self-abuse made me laugh very loudly and startle someone in the next room. I got that Hullo Central was the maid's name but of course not why. I was also a little confused as to who was the government minister. The woman playing Valentine is a dead ringer for Carey Mulligan - I wonder if she was ever considered for the part? I liked her though. They captured the dreamy night of them driving (had they already dropped off the other woman?) well and the way she kept saying "my dear" seemed very natural. As for Sylvia's character, I'm not quite sure yet. I understand her frustrations and liked her dumping the twit she ran off with, but she needs to be not just a bitch. The mother's mention of hating her husband as well was certainly interesting and could explain a few things.

The programme afterwards was good but it did reveal a few things which, in retrospect, made me wish I'd waited to watch it after seeing the whole series. I do like how everyone involved seems to genuinely really like the books.

[ImNotLeesa]

I caught up with it today and really enjoyed it. It was really beautifully shot, both the internal and external scenery was gorgeous. The performances were wonderful, too. And, though some of advance press had hinted at it, I was surprised at how much humor was in it.

At some point last night I fell in love with Tietjens, completely.

Me too. For me I think it was

Spoiler

the scene where he comforted the little boy in the middle of the night, he projected such competence and caring, mixed with forlornness (longing for his home, longing for his wife to be different).

Dogonfire said:

Spoiler

And the scene where Christopher and Valentine ride home after dropping Gertie off was perfect.

I agree. It was very odd, in a way, but that oddness suited both the characters, and the tone of the piece. That scene was beautiful

Spoiler

I’ve already replayed the the part where Christopher is singing out in the fog to lead Valentine back to the carriage more times than I care to admit…so much of the character comes across in the tone and quality of his voice there.

Oh, look, someone has helpfully put that bit up here.

I’m reading the book now, in parallel to watching the series, so I don’t know if this is a Ford Madox Ford detail or a Tom Stoppard detail, but I found it interesting that

Spoiler

Sylvia’s "Righto" telegram to Christopher routed through Munchausen, because it called to mind Münchausen syndrome by proxy, in which someone deliberately causes harm to someone in their care as a desparate means to gain attention…an interesting parallel to what Sylvia seems to be doing.

Were any other Cabin Pressure fans happy to see Roger Allam and Benedict Cumberbatch in scenes together? I was especially amused

Spoiler

to find that someone named "Gertie" was indirectly responsible for a good chunk of their interactions.

Not sure how much to spoiler bar here, so I might be being a bit conservative about it (especially for a piece adapted from books written almost a century ago.)

[not Bridget]

Of course I've seen episode one--several times. But I've had a hard time gathering my thoughts. First: The production is beautiful. There are several interesting, detailed interiors--what is that shade of blue in Sylvia's bedroom? We see beautiful swaths of English countryside, sometimes placid but often with trains rushing through--

Spoiler

and there's a white horse outside the train window during what readers will recognize as the firsr scene of the book

. The costumes are sumptuous....

Benedict Cumberbatch, indeed, has pads in his mouth to hide those famous cheekbones; they seemed to interfere with a few phrases until he got the hang of it. And there's padding under his suit--he's not as portly as Christopher Tietjens in the book but not as whippet thin as Sherlock; Cumberbatch makes him more awkward than graceful. Tietjens is brilliant & sometimes impatient; we hear just a bit of Sherlock--but Tietjens actually has emotions, although he tries to hide them. Cumberbatch's expressions are fascinating....

Spoiler

Riding to the wedding, his brother, Mark (Rupert Everett), summarizes the situation: he's been tricked into marriage by a Papist bitch. They're both plain-spoken Yorkshiremen but Christopher is shocked by the brutal honesty on such a day. During Breakfast at the Duchemins, Tietjens hears his friend Macmaster quoting poetry to Mrs Duchemin, a pre-Raphaelite fantasy made flesh; his quick grimace & smirk indicate his realization that poor Macmaster is being trapped, too. In the same scene, Reverend Duchemin raves obscenely about "self abuse" and mentiones "semen"; Tietjens looks down at the content of his fork in dismay & stops eating.

.

In the books, I considered Macmaster a pompous little ass. As played by Steven Robertson, he's still pompous--as is Tietjens, occasionally. But he's able to discuss their work, although he's not as brilliant as his tall friend. And his concern for Tietjens comes through--along with a bit of charm. At last, I could see this odd couple being friends.....

The episode covered the action of the first half of Some Do Not..., the first volume of the tetralogy. Some scenes are taken almost intact from the book; Ford could write! But other dialogue is used in different scenes or given to other characters. And I noticed some quite fitting Stoppard inventions--a few phrases and a couple of scenes.

Spoiler

Those brief sex scenes? No, they were recalled* briefly in the book(s). The low comedy of the Golf Course Suffragette Demonstration or Breakfast at the Duchemins? Again, from the book--with a few minor changes. Ford tells us that Tietjens loves the boy who might not really be his son, but he does not appear. Stoppard invented a couple of heartbreaking scenes that convince you of that love.

Lots more to say, of course. And a new episode tonight. Oh, the ratings surprised many....

Audience figures show the first episode attracted 3.5 million viewers, making it BBC2’s biggest drama in years. BBC2 trounced BBC1 and ITV’s Friday night prime-time ratings with 15 percent of all viewers, doubling its usual share.

* The scenes from Sylvia Tietjens' memories are actually from the second volume--No Parades. Ford doesn't let us inside her head until then.

Edited by not Bridget, Aug 31, 2012 @ 7:53 AM.

[dogonfire]

So, episode two? I'm still enjoying quite a lot. There was more character development than plot in this one. Sylvia especially is turning out as wonderfully complex as I was hoping and kudos to Rebecca Hall for a fantastic performance. Valentine is still charming but it's nice to see some inner turmoil there as well.

One thing I've noticed about Cumberbatch (through slow-loading gifs) is that he has an impressive ability when it comes to micro-expressions. He can run about two or three expressions in a moment with the smallest of movements. I think it's serving him well here since much of performance requires him to convey deep passions hidden beneath an impassive front.

Some favorite things:

Spoiler

- The painting, particularly Sylvia and Christopher's conversation about it. You can see them both trying to make an effort but you also see why they don't work together.

- Rufus Sewell as Rev. Duchemin has been the highlight of both episodes so far. And this episode we get a bonus Geoffrey Palmer whom I just have a soft spot for in general.

- I also have a soft spot for Roger Allam and, because I'm a dork, I get a kick out of seeing him and Cumberbatch arguing.

I am really, really looking forward to next week.

[McBrien76]

Benedict Cumberbatch series 'Parade's End' sheds nearly 1m on BBC Two

Parade's End lost a significant chunk of its audience yesterday (Friday), the latest overnight data shows.

The BBC Two period piece's second episode averaged 2.18m,slipping 950k on last week's strong premiere rating.

[ImNotLeesa]

Though the viewership was down from the premiere, it seemed like it was still the highest rated scripted series of the night, if I'm reading that link correctly.

I am really, really looking forward to next week.

Me too. Really enjoyed the second episode of this, and can't wait for next week. The performances all were stunning again this week. I cried at different points, moved separately by each of the three leads in different moments this week. It surprised me how much my sympathies shifted so easily from scene to scene.

There was so much more, I don't know, I wouldn't call it warmth, maybe understanding? toward the characters...toward Christopher, Sylvia and Valentine. They did a great job of depicting what Sylvia must feel toward Christopher, and how his response to her and her actions devastates her, and how she's trying, within the constraints of the time and her nature, to make amends. And Valentine...gosh she is so naive isn't she, for someone so intelligent and understanding of the complex man she's come across?

I guess I feel like Episode 1 set the stage for all the players, and Episode 2 delved more in depth into who they were, or, more precisely, who they were trying to be.

Spoiler

Christopher's desperation when he decided to enlist was palpable...though it did seem weird, emotionally, that it was depicted as coming more from his professional stance than what was going on at home. Really not liking Christopher's brother...was there something implied about the nature of his "lodger" that Tiejens was introduced to at McMaster's gathering? Christopher seemed to really relish snubbing him.

I could have done without the side story of

Spoiler

McMaster and the Mrs. Duchemin. I know it served to explore Valentine's character and to give context to her last meeting with Tiejens, but it distracted from the main story for me. And it seemed weird that Sylvia would walk in on her husband holding hands with a distraught woman in a train car and just silently fade out, even if she understood what was going on

On a side note, I love that the Duke, who Tiejens had been compared favorably to in E1 wound up being played by Cumberbatch's father in this episode... that was a nice bit of casting. And on another side note, nice to have two of my favorite things combined: birding and Cumberbatch, during the scene at the cliffs. Never knew that Osprey were also called Fish Eagles. This show is not only beautiful and entertaining, it's educational :-)

[dogonfire]

I'm not surprised the viewing numbers were down given the amount of press that was pushing this as a bodice ripper and emphasizing the sex scenes. In reality, it's a beautiful but odd series based on a beautiful but odd book. I'm surprised it's been as popular as it has (although I can take as a guess as to why).

I think the side story of McMaster

Spoiler

is meant more as part of the overall theme of an era passing. In contrast to Christopher, McMaster came from nothing and is making his way up through society by his ambition. I always liked that, despite what he represents, McMaster is Christopher's closest friend, rather than rival. Neither one resents the other.

Seconding that it was delightful seeing Cumberbatch Sr. in a scene.

Spoiler

It's not our own chutney!