The Crimson Field

As a fan of period dramas, I knew The Crimson Field would be up my street, but I have really loved every second of this and will be devastated if this is the only series. The mix of well known actors and new faces was inspired casting and I've been hooked by all the characters and the back stories which emerged over the first couple of episodes. Still so much to be resolved and only one episode left. How can this be?? Richard Rankin and Oona Chaplin deserve special mention for their sizzling tension and I would love them to have their happy ending! But as a seasoned drama addict, I know that what the viewer wants isn't always what is delivered by the writer. Talking of the writer, Sarah Phelps has excelled herself in creating this and I really hope the BBC see sense and commission at least one more series to bring her remaining ideas to life.

I am really loving this series, and hoping it not only is renewed for a second season but is picked up in the US. The portrayals of each character are great, and we see them as they are revealed layer by layer. Also like that they are not black-and-white, cardboard people, but layered and ones we grow to care about and respect. The sets and action are true to the time period, well devised and shown. Crossing my fingers to see more... I find Richard Rankin's portrayal especially good. He is a doctor who is more progressive that many of his "superiors" but also from a lower social class than most, so he fights a double battle. The support he receives from the Lt. Col. Roland Brett (head doctor played by Kevin Doyle) and Brett's own struggle with what's good for the patient vs. the Army wanting to put men back out in the field is well-portrayed. I'm liking very much the lives of the nurses and VAD's. Oona Chaplin is Kitty, a VAD with a secret and spectacularly shows the emotions boiling under her very controlled surface. The other nurses and VAD's all have their own secrets and these are slowly being revealed. All in all, excellent series. Hoping to hear the BBC has renewed it soon.

The Crimson Field has been such a beautiful series, at times reducing me to tears, all the actors have done a brilliant job in bringing the story alive. I really hope that there is another series or 3! I feel there is so much more for all the characters to tell. We have had a glimpse into what it would have been like 100 yrs ago, the V A D's , nurses and surgeons worked wonders in such difficult conditions. All the actors deserve credit, I wan't to hear all their stories, and the fizzing will they /won't they romance between Tom and Kitty has kept us on tender hooks! The writers have done a wonderful job, Sarah Phelps has real talent in making us believe anything that she writes.

The crimson field is brilliant.

I usually don't watch shows like this because it tends to be too gory for me but there is some violence and some gore but it isn't over the top. I throughly enjoy the characters because you can hate them one episode and love them the next!

It's a sympathetic show and also a very realistic portrayal of what the time would have been like.

I think that anyone who watches this would thoroughly enjoy it because of how well the actors and actresses portray their parts, the suspense and excitement will capture in the first episode.

I would recommend! I look forward to this every week!

Sarah Phelps has written a new perspective on WWI that is intelligent, humorous, compassionate and poignant. While it is from the point of view of nurses and VAD's in WWI, the experiences of the soldiers who are their patients, and that of the other men on staff, are given equal attention.

Each major character has a depth of storyline that still has not been fully revealed (writing this review after viewing S1Ep5). I've been counting the days until the next episode airs, eager to learn more about what past events has shaped each of these very well drawn, fully realized people. Above all, this is where the uncommon strength of this series lies. I hope that we get to see these wonderful characters proceed through to 1918.

All of the actors are very talented and a joy to watch, but most especially newcomer Richard Rankin. His character, the Scottish surgeon Capt. Thomas Gillan, is explosive, passionate and conflicted.

I completely agree with previous reviewers that favored director Richard Clark's episodes, his vision is truly beautiful.