Berkeley Square

I just want to say I loved the mini series "Berkeley Square" and I hope BBC will make a Berkeley Square II/sequel. This was definitely a classic and I would compare it with Anne of Avonlea, Little Women,or my favorite mini-series, Pride and Prejudice. Berkeley Square is worth watching over and over again. This British mini-series has 10-episodes and will keep you captivated from beginning to end, and it has a delightful script and wonderfully believable characters but most of all the fact that it had values and morals which are rare in a film today, but which I look for in a film. The acting was superior, and I felt I became caught up in the moment of each episode. The fact that it takes place in London and also there's like 3 or 4 plots going at all times which kept you on the edge of your seat. I thought it was entertaining and I couldn't wait to watch the next episode. If there's anyone I can write to suggest a sequel please let me know. I'm fascinates with the life and times/history of any English movie.

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

A highly recommended entry in the BBC mini-series genre, "Berkeley Square" holds its own with "Pride and Prejudice," "The Pallisers" and "Upstairs, Downstairs". Lovers of Victorian/ Edwardian-era costume dramas will especially enjoy it. Although it lacks the budget and polish of "The Grand", "Brideshead Revisited", and "Duchess of Duke Street" (and the plot intricacies of "Upstairs- Downstairs") it's friendship theme among the three main characters and its mood of subtle nuance more than compensate.

I must confess a favorable bias as I was fond of taking my lunch in mid-1970's Berkeley Square during my time in London and have very pleasant associations with the location. It is a real square with houses on all sides of a small park.

The mini-series takes place in 1902, a Victorian to Edwardian transitional time begun with the coronation of the new King. Although class differences are a feature of the program the real focus is on three young nannies/nursery-maids just beginning work for three prominent families on the square. This is the strength of the series as the three television actresses are perfectly cast physically for the compare and contrast dynamic that pulls the three parallel story lines together.

Mattie (Clare Wilkie) is the only Londoner, a no-nonsense East Ender who has already worked her way up the domestic career ladder. Her brother calls her Sarge because she has always been controlling. The Sinjin family is the most challenging of the three households, the cook and head housekeeper being politically savvy, the nursery maid Pringle being resentful, and Mrs. Sinjin carrying on a turgid flirtation with a slimy officer. This moronic romance is the worst aspect of the entire series. Fortunately Mattie has her own action going with the new footman, their relationship has a high-energy mentally combative quality that holds your interest.

Hannah (Victoria Smurfit) just moved from Yorkshire with her baby following the death of her upper class lover. Smurfit is the reason I began watching the series, having really enjoyed her nicely over-the-top performance in "Bulletproof Monk". While her Polish landlady minds the baby Hannah lives-in at the Hutchinson household and takes care of young Bertie (Adam Hayes). Their touching scenes together are terrific, the best segments in the series. Since the directing of the other child actors is not especially good, it is likely that Smurfit was responsible for getting such a perfect performance from young Hayes. Her regal look (she reminds me of Fay Masterson) is an asset in this role, as she must convincingly face off against upper class adversaries and she allows just the right amount of hidden strength to surface in these confrontations.

Lydia (Tabitha Wady) is a horse-faced country girl who moved to London to escape the trap of the poor farmer. She is there to assist an elderly nanny who first feels threatened but eventually comes to appreciate Lydia's earthy openness, even her immature personality. Once secure in her new household Lydia must confront the reality of being a homely girl with little sincere attentions from men.

"Berkeley Square" has just 10 episodes of about 50 minutes. Unlike "The Prisoner" it appears that they intended to produce more and unlike "Freaks and Geeks" they did not have adequate advance notice of the early termination. Although it ends at an obvious season break point (so major stuff is resolved), there are some loose ends remaining after the last episode. This is not all bad, they stopped before they ran out of ideas and the loose ends make for interesting speculation.

The DVD package is minimalist, without any useful special features. The marginal quality of the audio tracks cry out for captions although I don't envy someone trying to transcribe the least audible of this stuff.

Bottom line it is a very entertaining series with fast sequencing and nice performances (especially from Smurfit-watch for the scene where they picnic in the country and Lydia becomes jealous of Hannah-Lydia insults her and the reaction shots of Hannah's exasperation are priceless).

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

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.

As the co-creator of Berkeley Square, it's very exciting to see all the great reviews. Thank you for all your kind words. I loved coming up with the idea and we had a great time making the series.

I do want to set the record straight on two points: Lyndahayes-1 commented that the broadcast dates were chopped and changed at the Controller's whim. That's certainly true and it drove us absolutely insane.Yet amazingly, in spite of this vicious rescheduling, the ratings were excellent, I believe they were consistently above a 30% market share, which is pretty bloody amazing. (Thank you, Lyndahayes-1 and everyone else, for sticking with us as best you couid!)

So why wasn't the series picked up for another season? Debbie Cook and I had some great stories in the works and Victoria Smurfit and the other leads did a remarkable job. However, the BBC is a beast unto itself and often casts aside common sense. A show that got terrific reviews across the board and which despite all the odds, was a great success? Shall we commission a second season? Hmmm...

Perhaps it's somewhat different now, but at the time it was possible for a head of department to more or less independently make such a decision, without little regard to the show's quality or ratings. There were a lot of voices calling for a second season as well. Thank God the BBC isn't an American network and doesn't have to be so entirely ratings-driven, but still...

As I recall, we got a new head of series around this time. Being inherited (for show and staff) is always tricky, new people want to put their own stamp on things. Perhaps it didn't feel masculine enough for him...who knows?

But it makes me very happy that people are still enjoying the show. Thank you!