Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

It's already a best-selling book series and a widely-loved television serial, but I predict this latest adaptation of Winston Graham's Poldark novels - recounting the tribulations of British Army officer Ross Poldark - will be the next North and South. That is to say; a BBC period drama whose sheer popularity takes everyone by surprise. This is certainly helped by the presence of Aidan Turner (doing for Poldark what Richard Armitage did for John Thornton in his portrayal of a brooding and hot-blooded romantic lead) though there are plenty of other similarities between the two shows: the depiction of class tension, simmering love entanglements, a strong sense of time and place, and every character's struggle to reconcile the old world with the new. It's 1781 and Ross Poldark has returned home to Cornwall after three years in the American Revolutionary War to find his father dead and his sweetheart Elizabeth Chynoweth engaged to his cousin Francis. Nursing a broken heart he departs for his family estate, now little more than a ruin run by degenerate servants. That one of the first sights we see of Ross is him standing and ruminating at a crossroads is no coincidence, for soon he comes to a decision that will impact the lives of many. He opens his father's old copper mine, employing the desperate workers in the area and creating quite a stir among his peers. The series encompasses a range of dramas, both local and domestic, involving Poldark's family and colleagues, tenants and servants. His cousin Verity for example, engages in a secret love affair with a man who may or may not be a wife-murderer, while Francis slowly succumbs to his festering jealousy of Ross; a striking portrayal of how an essentially good-hearted young man can be beaten down by expectations, bad choices, and the knowledge that he was his wife's *second* choice. Meanwhile Poldark strives to keep the mine open, be a good landlord to his tenants, and do right by young Demelza Carne, a waif that he rescues from a street brawl, hires as a scullery maid, and gradually comes to rely on as a helpmate - and perhaps something more. The cast is strong all across the board, particularly Aiden Turner in his attempt to prove he's not just a pretty face (though don't worry, we get to see him threshing corn sans a shirt) and the luminous Eleanor Tomlinson as Demelza. I've seen her play so many high-born ladies that I initially struggled to imagine her as a street urchin, but once her transformation takes place it's a mystery as to how Ross's attention could ever be diverted from her. Providing most of the laughs is the ever-reliable Phil Davis and Beatie Edney as Poldark's squabbling servants, and there's even a fun bit of casting with the appearance of Robin Ellis as Reverend Halse, most recognisable as the original Poldark. Naturally comparisons with the original 1970s television series are bound to occur, though I think this new take on the material holds up well. The 1970s version unfolded at a more leisurely pace (which meant more time to spend on the supporting characters), but this one has high production values, with costumes and set designs that look attractive but also lived-in, as well as beautiful shots of the Cornish coast (one assumes Jamaica Inn is just around the corner). As it's already been commissioned for a second season, "Poldark" may well prove to be a worthy replacement for the soon-to-be-ending Downton Abbey, capturing what audiences love most about period dramas: characters constrained by social mores, a vivid glimpse into the past, and the reminder that heart-ache and joy is a human condition regards of age, class or gender.