Berkeley Square

I am a great fan of period piece mini series in general and especially ones produced by the BBC. Since purchasing this mini series I've watched it numerous times and highly recommend it. The storyline pulls you in and keeps you there. My only objection to this production is that it seems to end too abruptly and leaves you feeling like there should be more, more, more. I hope they continue the story someday soon.

Yes it was an excellent series. Unfortunately, it's broadcast coincided with the World Cup Football here in the UK and it's time slot was constantly being shunted around the schedule to make way for all of the games. Sometimes it was shown on Saturdays, sometimes Tuesdays or Fridays - sometimes at 8pm, 9pm or 10pm or whenever it was given a little window between football matches. Consequently, the viewing figures were lower than they undoubtedly would have been and the BBC thought it was because not enough people wanted to watch it! WE COULDN'T EVEN FIND OUT WHEN IT WAS ON!!! So the BBC would not allow a second series! It was a magical costume drama. Everyone who sees it wants to know 'how it ends'... We will have to imagine it for ourselves. Another brilliant decision from the BBC in their infinite wisdom... To cut it short after all the wonderful work from everyone involved in the production, if I were any one of them or the director or creator of Berkeley Square; that would eat away at my heart big time.

The British series crossed the line in one of the later episodes into soap opera plot lines. The three nannies are well-played and are unique and different. Mattie is the solid, moral nanny. She must deal with the manipulative Mrs. McCluskey (played excellently by Kate Williams in this role). It's interesting to see how the households in upscale Berkeley Square run quite differently. The townhouses are really organized by the staff. Relationships between staff and employer is pretty well looked down upon by the upscale upper classes. The families are uniquely different. Hannah has a history and baggage. She is far more complicated and intriguing than the other two nannies. She must deal with Nanny Simmons (well played b Ruth Sheen). Then there is Lydia who comes from a small farming village and must work beside Nanny Collins (played wonderfully by Rosemary Leach). The cast is first rate but the writing is very melodramatic. The art direction and costumes are first rate.

I happened across this show at the library and thought it looked interesting. It was wonderful. Love and laughter. Tears and heartbreak. Intrigue and deception. Life and death.

When I finished that last episode...I was dumbfounded. Is that it? The BBC is just going to leave me hanging like that? It didn't end. Does Ned make it home? How is Tom fairing in school? Will he ever forgive Mattie? Will Cpt. Mason figure out Mrs. St. John is carrying his child? Will he care? Will Isabel figure out what a scoundrel he is before she marries him? What about Lydia and Mr. Fowler; Hannah and Jack? Will Hugh get back in the good graces of his father? Will Mrs. Simmons come forward and cause more problems?

When I finished episode 10, I immediately jumped on the net to see if there was more. Nope. That's it....SIGH!!!!

I still highly recommend watching it. Once I started watching it, I couldn't stop. Maybe I'll send some emails to the BBC and ask them if they plan to do another mini-series:-)

My wife and I love this show but had difficulty understanding some of the dialogue.

As a gift for her, I took the past three months and painstakingly created the subtitles word for word. In her incredible generosity, she asked that I share it with others who love the show.

You can find the subtitles for all ten episodes on these two websites: OpenSubtitles dot Org and Addic7ed dot com