Indischer Sommer

I am enjoying this series, because of the fabulous scenery and the historical context. It's interesting to see how the resentment is building up amongst the local people, and how racism exists not only amongst the British occupiers but amongst the Indians themselves with their appalling caste system.

However I am disappointed with the characters. The cast includes a full set of stereotypes of the late British Empire, from the drunken Scot to the frustrated missionary, the arrogant consul to the Anglophile nawab. Thank goodness for Julie Walters, she's the only one who can actually carry off her character and bring her to life. The rest are just wooden.

The setting is beautiful and the audio and visuals and costumes really bring you into the series. I can almost smell the air of the mountains. There are several themes running through the series and you can see things starting to come together into a more coherent whole by the 3rd episode. I would rate this series as one of the best i've seen - along the lines of Downton Abbey or The Wire. There are also some really great actors and actresses like Jemima West and Henry Lloyd- Hughes. Jemima West really carries the show. Little subtleties add a lot of flavor to this series. Highly recommended and great for unwinding after a long week.

Just watched the first episode on Channel 4, the pilot was 1 hr 45 min long but wasn't boring at all though some of it was a bit predictable but it's only the first episode and still got 9 more to go. The first episode was about Ralph Whelan and the rest of the Indian Civil Service begin the annual move to Simla where Cynthia Coffin prepares the exclusive white British Club for the summer season. Overall it was a great experience and especially performance by Jemima West, Julie Walters, Henry Lloyd-Hughes and Nikesh Patel were flawless and true to their character. The sets looks great and hope the audience enjoys it and the producers manage to make the remaining 30 episodes.

We have come to expect more from Masterpiece Theater, but this is so shocking dull I can't believe it was even encouraged. Someone must have done one hell of a sales pitch in a meeting to get this project green-lighted. It moves at a nail's pace and at the end of a 2 hour episode you feel completely drained and realize you just wasted your time. A re-run of Downton Abbey in Season 1 would be a much better investment in your time. So consider this a friendly heads-up, this is not a well put together story. It lacks clear identification of the characters, their purpose and motivation of why they are there and what they expect to accomplish. At best it isn't even an interesting story or premise to hang on to. It was all I could do to stay awake because I was expecting some sense of what I was watching that never came.

When I saw the trailer for Indian Summers, I couldn't wait till the series began. For some reason I was positive that this was going to be a class apart.

The settings are picturesque, reinventing Shimla's green glories. The English men and women are dressed in the most befitted way. The story, although gripping, is a little slow paced for a 10-part series.

I enjoy watching the series, but with a grudge. I strongly feel the authenticity of Indian culture in northern India have been heavily compromised. I could be wrong, I am not a historian or an expert of the past. However, from what I see, the Indian folk shown in the series are no where close to what people of Shimla look and dress like. The dressing and physique of the people is heavily bent towards South India. Even if there were multiple cultures thriving in Shimla at the time, considering it's summer capital status, something doesn't seem to fit in.