Season 6 - Poldark Series 1 (1976-1977)
My introduction to Poldark was the 2015 adaptation starring Aidan Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson. I of course knew of the original. I even have some of the Winston Graham paperback tie-in editions from the seventies that I picked up at a library sale with that very yellow logo with it's double handled "P" and swooping "K." But, for me, the first season of the 2015 adaptation was one of the most perfect seasons of any show ever. So perfect in fact that as time went on the show was never able to recapture the magic of that first season, and the less said about the nonsensical plot of the fifth and final season the better. I mean, Ross was a spy embedded and in bed with the French!?! Deep breath in, pretend they didn't try to shoehorn the entire season's plot into one episode, and breath out. Which all leads to the fact I was hesitant to watch the seventies adaptation. I'd only seen Robin Ellis in a handful of roles and they didn't endear me to him. In every one he annoyed me beyond belief with his quick temper and hauteur, which, I have to admit, are qualities necessary to playing Ross Poldark. And yet he's a far less hot-headed Ross. I was expecting the sanctimoniousness of Aidan Turner's Ross and instead, Robin Ellis's Ross is blunt. His word is his bond. This, among countless other reasons, is why I now love the original seventies adaptation more than I ever loved the reboot. They may try to lure me back in by continuing with the story in a few years, but they won't be Robin Ellis and Angharad Rees! And yet this version of Poldark is far from perfect. The second season, which comprises the plot of the third and forth seasons of the reboot, was more staid. It was a faithful adaptation that didn't swing for the fences. Yes, we finally had the longed for addition of Aunt Agatha and her hatred of George Warleggan, leading her to proclaim that she hopes "shit take him!" And oh, Morwenna needs to do even more monologues about how she feels like a gutted deer. But these highlights weren't enough to make up for the toning down of the show and it's copious recasts. They literally recast Dwight Enys! He's one of the core four! I could almost forgive Nicholas Warleggan and Harris Pascoe, but never Dwight! Which leads me to the conclusion that I will only ever get a perfect first season of any Poldark adaptation. This one was just a little longer ending with Francis's death and Elizabeth's remarriage to George. And that right there might be the key to the tonal shift in the show. Francis Poldark as played by Clive Francis is a revelation. He is the core to the campiness of season one which literally ends with a party taken straight from the pages of Edgar Allan Poe with an homage to "The Masque of the Red Death." Francis is unhinged. His drunken Christmas dinner screaming about his sister being a whore and then brandishing a knife while hacking at the beautifully prepared bird before collapsing to the floor is up there with Truman Capote's Thanksgiving rant on Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. I need more of this in my life. Why couldn't Francis have had just an iota of this energy in the remake? We know what a fabulous actor Kyle Soller is, he could have brought this delightful depravity, instead he was just dissatisfied and petulant. The manic energy, the mood swings, the joy in Clive Francis's face when Ross asks Francis to join him in his venture at Wheal Grace. This was perfection. Too bad it didn't last longer. But the greatest things never do, unlike Aunt Agatha's curses. They last forever. No matter George's wishes that she may rot in hell.
From hearing the first strains of music as the picture faded in I fell in love with Poldark. The sweeping Cornish coastline coupled with the theme music created an ache in my heart that made me nostalgic for a place I have never been. While I enjoyed the complete series, especially the encroaching Regency fashions, and hope that it will one day return to continue the story when they are older, the first series remains my favorite. This show wallows in star-crossed lovers, from Elizabeth and Ross to Verity and Captain Blamey to Dwight and Keren these are just the tip of the iceberg before Demelza's broody brothers were introduced. But to me what makes the show work is coupling the heart with the humor. The overly melodramatic Ross needs someone as pragmatic and blunt as Aunt Agatha to balance his histrionics. Also George and his fantasies are always blunted by his Uncle, the magnificent Pip Torrens. Though the humor of the series can be summarized in one person, Jud. When Phil Davis left the show they lost a comic genius and one of the checks and balances that kept this show sailing smoothly. There's a reason why the show was good but never quite as good after that first season. George had more depth, the plots seemed more personal, and there was Ross and Demelza falling in love. The way Demelza healed Ross's heart after Elizabeth shredded it to bits (and yes I'm fully ignoring what happened later.) Oh my, be still my heart. The scullery maid got the guy! Yes, she did force his hand a little but he grew to love her and she became his rock. The forth episode of series one might just be ranked among my favorite television episodes of all time. In the episode Demelza and Ross go to Trenwith for Christmas. This could be disastrous. On so many levels. But Demelza shines and not only do the other guests see what Ross saw all along, but Ross also sees Demelza anew and realizes how lucky he is. This was the pinnacle of the Poldark passion and romance for me. The dress, the singing, the pregnancy, the love, oh, I feel a great need to go rewatch the whole first season again and perhaps this episode more than once.
There needs to be a special prize for The Terror because it was able to include every single British male actor of a certain age. Is that Tobias Menzies and Ciarán Hinds having a Rome reunion? Yes it is! Is that Fisher Bloom from Lark Rise to Candleford I see, aka Matthew McNulty? Yes in one! Could that be Victor Colleano from Mr Selfridge? But of course! On and on you will name check every actor in this series, yes that IS George Warleggan's dogsbody, but there are literally SO MANY characters you will have no idea who's who so you will literally be calling Victor Victor instead of Henry Collins and Fisher is Fisher, not Lt. Edward Little. And yes, I had to look up their names because I literally had no idea what their names were even though I devoured every episode of this show that merges the history of a doomed expedition to find the Northwest Passage with supernatural elements from Native folklore. So you're probably wondering why watch this show that leaves you scratching your head half the time wondering who everyone is referring to? The answer is twofold and it's two characters that are polar opposites (see what I did with the polar joke?) Henry Goodsir played by Paul Ready and Cornelius Hickey played by Adam Nagaitis are just riveting. You will never love a character as much as Henry Goodsir and you will never hate a character as much as Cornelius Hickey. Henry Goodsir is a creature of pure light and goodness and you will want to protect him from all the ills of the world while every time Cornelius Hickey is on screen you will be calling for his head on a pike. These two made the series. These two deserved Emmy nominations. But the problem there is you'd have to remember their names... 
