Lark Rise To Candleford – The Complete Season Two (2009/BBC DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C Episodes: C
Based on
the autobiographical novel series by Flora Thompson, Lark Rise To Candleford is a very average melodrama from the BBC
that has a following for people who like their TV shows very laid back, but to
me, this is park of a larger glut of series that even when intelligent only
work so well. The cast consists of
relative unknowns (especially in the U.S.), though Dawn French appeared
in the first season.
All 11
hour-long shows are here on four DVDs as this 19th Century-set
series goes through what seems like the motions. At this point, James Dowland (Jason Merrells)
is looking for a wife in the title town, but of course, not everyone is happy
he is here or in what any of his business is, so here comes the gossip and
maybe some backstabbing as they pretend to be in polite society, but that is
always a fraud. Plus, if they are so
bored and have nothing to do, this is what they do.
Even if I
had seen the first season, I doubt it would have been much better than this
one, but you might want to start there just in case you are interested in this
costume drama/comedy. Others should move
on.
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is much softer than a new show should be, with plenty
of motion blur and other playback issues throughout. Too bad, because the sets, costumes and
locations are good, but maybe it is just the DVD format. We’ll see if this ever arrives on
Blu-ray. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is
better, but this is a quite show and the time it is set in is not as
noisy. Extras include seven featurettes
that go behind the scenes of the show and a 75-minutes-long Christmas episode.
- Nicholas Sheffo
