MONTREAL - Great news for those going through the initial stages of Downton Abbey withdrawal: another sterling British period piece is set to make its North American debut.
The five-part miniseries Parade’s End begins Tuesday on HBO Canada. But unlike Downton Abbey, viewers won’t have to wait endless weeks for it to wrap. This Parade comes to an end on Feb. 28; the entire series airs over three nights.
Saving the best for last: Not to detract from Downton Abbey, but Parade’s End packs even more of a punch. Yet it, too, has epic sweep, replete with lavish costumes, tony castles and manicured gardens.
Not that time-honoured servitude doesn’t come into the fray, but Parade’s End is much more upstairs than downstairs-oriented. There is also more passion and more mirth at play here than in Downton Abbey. The tension builds dramatically in this bittersweet tale of love and valour. And the “whiff of sex permeates like a vapour,” as one character so accurately assesses.
Not to detract from the work of Maggie Smith et al at the Abbey, but Parade’s End stars Benedict Cumberbatch (yes, the same guy somewhat slumming in the Sherlock TV series), Rebecca Hall, Adelaide Clemens, Rupert Everett, Stephen Graham, Janet McTeer, Miranda Richardson and many more give the equivalent of a master class in acting. Even the late Sir Larry Olivier would be dazzled.
And not to detract from Downton Abbey creator/writer Julian Fellowes, but it’s hard to top scripts penned by playwright Tom Stoppard, who has adapted this series from the acclaimed four novels of Ford Madox Ford. The dialogue, be it tongue-in-cheek droll or deliciously treacherous, is brilliant. To wit: “He’s not dead. He’s in Glasgow.” Or, “He’s a great lump of wood … (I want) to kill him to see if he has any blood in him.”
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Move+over+Downton+Abbey+Parade+moving/7990821/story.html#ixzz2La6W2suT
2 comments:
Benedict Cumberbatch is NOT "slumming" in Sherlock, which is one of the best- written and best- produced programs on television IMHO. Perhaps you need to try harder to keep up with the plot.
Ok, people, again - I DID NOT WRITE THIS ARTICLE. It was written by Bill Borwnstein from the Montreal Gazette. Follow the link to the paper and voice your opinion to him directly. Odds are highly unlikely he'll be looking at my blog.
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