As I said in my review of the North and South DVD, I'd not read the book of North and South before watching this adaptation on TV. Having watched it I then went straight out and read the book. I'm quite pleased I did it this way, as I think if I had read and loved the book beforehand, I might ... Read review
Advantages: Engaging adaptation of a classic novel Disadvantages: None as far as I can see
...in my review of the North and South DVD, I'd not read the book of North and South before watching this adaptation on TV. Having watched it I then went straight out and read the book. I'm quite pleased I did it this way, as I think if I had read and loved the book beforehand, I might have been disappointed with some of the changes.
That certainly is not to say that the changes are bad (Margaret and John's final meeting takes place at ... ...just a bit different.
PLOT
Daniela Denby-Ashe stars as Margaret Hale the daughter of a New Forest country parson who has been living with her aunt in until, until she turns eighteen and returns to her father's vicarage. She is surprised to receive a marriage proposal from henry Lennox, a close family friend, and declines him. This comes on the same day as her father (Tim Pigott-Smith) informs Margaret and her mother ... more
As I said in my review of the North and South DVD, I'd not read the book of North and South before watching this adaptation on TV. Having watched it I then went straight out and read the book. I'm quite pleased I did it this way, as I think if I had read and loved the book beforehand, I might have been disappointed with some of the changes.
That certainly is not to say that the changes are bad (Margaret and John's final meeting takes place at a train station and not in London for instance), but just a bit different.
PLOT
Daniela Denby-Ashe stars as Margaret Hale the daughter of a New Forest country parson who has been living with her aunt in until, until she turns eighteen and returns to her father's vicarage. She is surprised to receive a marriage proposal from henry Lennox, a close family friend, and declines him. This comes on the same day as her father (Tim Pigott-Smith) informs Margaret and her mother (Lesley Manville) that he has decided to leave the church and make a living as a tutor in the northern town of Milton (a poorly disguised Manchester).
Her already frail mother takes the news badly, so the task of finding lodgings falls to Margaret and her father. Their task is made easier by the assistance of a local cotton mill owner, Mr John Thornton (Richard Armitage) who has engaged Mr Hale to tutor him in the writings of the Greek philosophers.
When Margaret and Mr Thornton meet, they agree that their love of their respective homes and their difference in views are at odds and each takes an instant dislike to the other.
Soft-hearted Margaret befriends a mill worker, Bessie Higgins (Anna Maxwell-Martin) who is dying of consumption and her father Nicholas (Brendan Coyle) and she is distressed to find that there is talk of a strike in the mills. When the strike goes ahead, margaret is caught up in a riot when she tries to protect Mr Thornton - he mistakes this as a sign that she has feelings for him and Margaret is forced to turn down his proposal of marriage.
In the meantime, Margaret's mother has become more and more ill, and just before she dies she begs to see her som Frederick who has been exiled after an alleged mutiny several years before. Margaret writes to him and her risks hanging to visit his family before their mother dies.
As time goes on Margaret and Mr Thornton cross paths on many occasions as Mr Thornton's fortunes take a turn for the worse and Margaret's (after the death of her father) take a turn for the better. Margaret returns to her aunt's family in London, until she hears that Mr Thornton has been forced to close his mill and is bankrupt. She forms a plan to help him return to business, but is unsure of her motives. Is this simply a business deal or does she have another reason to help this man?
OPINION
I loved this programme and waited patiently for six months for the DVD release, buying it on the first day of release and watching it straight away.
The story has been described as 'Pride and Prejudice with a social conscience' and that does strike true somewhat - the initial meeting of the main characters in on a misunderstanding and is one of instant dislike, and is very reminiscent of Lizzie and Darcy's first meeting. The resemblance after that seems to be a little more blurry and the ending where Margaret offers a bankrupt Thornton a lifeline is a total and satisfying role reversal.
The performances by the leads (Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe) are excellent. Denby-Ashe imbues Margaret with a steely iron will and a quick and fierce temperament, while Armitage portrays both Thornton's gruff 'Master' side and his softer, anguished side with assurance.
The supporting cast (Tim Pigott-Smith, Lesley Manville, Pauline Quirke, Sinead Cusack) are all excellent in their roles, although Lesley Manville does provide a rather hammy turn as Margaret's dying mother. Sinead Cusack is believable as Thornton's mother as she portrays a similar gruff manner to her on-screen son.
The show itself is nicely decorated, with a real industrial/victorian feel to it, the costumes and props are in keeping with what we imagine the age to be like and the sets and location are excellently thought out (for the mill scenes the production travelled to Keighley, West Yorkshire to use real 19th Century cotton mills).
The production is sumptuously scored by Martin Phipps and, unfortunately, this is not yet avaiable as a CD.
Definitely a recommendation from me on this one and a recommendation to see the DVD, which is available from £14.99 from a variety of retailers.
Advantages: Cool Presenters, Great Music, Very Local and decent Compo's Disadvantages: Can sometimes be repetative music wise
Well theres not been a review of Hallam recently so I thought I would post my Views.
Tag Line
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"South Yorkshires Number 1 Hit Music Station"
plays current chart hits, and a few oldies, including early nineties stuff.
Frequencies
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97.4 in Sheffield and Rotherham
102.9 in Barnsley
103.4 in Doncaster and pretty much all the surrounding area.
http://www.hallamfm.co.uk Worldwide via Windows Media Stream
DAB Digital Radio on EMAP South Yorkshire Mux
In practise 103.4 frequency can be heard as far south as Nottingham and as far North as Leeds.
As many people have said in their reviews, after the "Glory years" on hallam, with Daryl Denham, Hirsty, Emma Scott and the one and only Scottie McClue, things did go wrong for a while. In fact I think for a while I listened to Galaxy 105!
Now tho, Hallam ...
Advantages: None Disadvantages: It means You've been Framed is watchable...
Admittedly I'm not from the intended target audience, but found the whole programme a second rate affair from start to finish. The idea is quite a good one, and a good way to promote an up and coming teeny bopper group, although it is not the most original idea (remember North and South!). The storyline is flimsy and just appears to be coincidental to getting the chance for S Club 7 to perform their one-track music. In five years time S Club 7 will be has beens and we'll not have to put up with them. This programme encourages me to switch over whenever I hear them sing. ...
Morgenhund 29.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of LA 7
Advantages: Interesting coverage of lives Disadvantages: Only shown on weekends morning or afternoon
Besides news coverage, BBC world has a good variety of programmes and one of them was the travel programme Michael Palin did on Around the World. His visits to the Asia, particularly, North Korea, the Philippines and Japan were intriguingly covered. These culture-rich countries provide spectacular aspects of lives. How the North and South Korea was physically separated by a border of a table. However, not so much of scenaries was offered. Latin America offers better nature sceneries especially the coverage on the Amazon river. I would appreciate if there was a programme done in areas of China such as Tibet or Urumuqi or the Gobi desert or silk road.
Overall, Michael Palin did a good job in narrating and taking up the challenges of what the journeys had in store. ...