Season 23 - Middlemarch (1993-1994)
While Masterpeice Theatre has been around all my life the real moment I became a British miniseries addict was in 1996 when I first saw Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth. This was the point of no return. And I was canny enough to lay a lot of the credit at the feet of Andrew Davies. The more I saw of his adaptations the more I realized how good he was at his job. I don't care for all these revisionists out there, Andrew Davies was and is the king of adaptions. Period. In my attempt to watch everything he'd ever adapted I stumbled into George Eliot's Middlemarch. What struck me most was this adaptation was made only a year before Pride and Prejudice and at that time it was apparent that Andrew Davies was attempting to make a different Firth a star, Colin's younger brother Jonathan. Jonathan is a very talented actor but he has never attained the stardom his brother has. Whether this is just coincidence or lack of drive I don't know. But I first saw him in Covington Cross, a show notable stateside for the fact Glenn Quinn quite Roseanne to be on it. Jonathan also played a right asshole in the first season of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries as well as the ghost of a circus performer I believe on an episode of Ghost Whisperer. As I've said, an odd career. But with Middlemarch there's a scene where he's playing pool that gave me a chilling sense of deja vu. Because the same scene is in Pride and Prejudice! Literally the only difference is they swapped Firths and the felt covering on the pool table is a different cover. It's like Davies KNEW this scene had to work with a Firth brother and the first time didn't take so he tried it again and sunk it perfectly in the corner pocket. While these Firthian observations are all well and good the more pressing draw to me now is my love of Rufus Sewell. Oh my Lord M who is the only highlight of Parade's End. I first saw you in Cold Comfort Farm, then was amazed by your performance of Fortinbras in Hamlet, you only blinked six times the entire time you were on screen! But you stole my heart as Will Ladislaw, just as you did Dorthea's! Who needs financial security when you have love?
If there's one thing that is certain in this life it's that we viewers love a good glimpse into royal life. And seeing as until recently Queen Victoria was the longest reigning monarch it makes sense that she's the one most often brought to the screen, especially in cameos in any film set during the Victorian era. In fact many of my favorite actresses, and a handful of actors, have portrayed Victoria in their time, Annette Crosbie, Miriam Margolyes, Anna Massey, Victoria Hamilton, Prunella Scales, Pauline Collins, Pam Ferris, Gayle Rankin, Imelda Staunton, Kathy Bates, and Gemma Jones are a few of my favorites, though a tip of the hat to certain members of Monty Python's Flying Circus is also due. You might notice I omitted Emily Blunt and The Young Victoria. I know it feels sacrilegious to say I don't like something written by Julian Fellowes, but the movie just felt like a subpar version of the Victoria and Albert miniseries staring Victoria Hamilton and the lesser Firth. Needles to say this meant I was very excited when I heard about the new Victoria series staring Jenna Coleman. She's a talented actress and they just destroyed her character on Doctor Who and I felt that this would be her redemption. Also the show just happened to be created by an author whose work I really like, Daisy Goodwin! Seriously, do yourself a favor and check out 
