William and Mary

Came upon this series by accident. I purchase many British TV DVDs from Amazon.co.UK and this complete series was going cheap and being a great fan of men behaving badly, i thought lets give it a go.

We sat down one rainy afternoon and nine episodes later, said we must go to bed. This is a brilliant series, certainly not a comedy as some might think, there are many heart rendering moments. William (Martin Clunes) is an undertaker by default and Mary (Julie Graham) is a midwife so you can imagine death is around them but there is also so much joy. What a premise to a series, one partner brings new life in to the world and the other gently takes it away.

The writer and directors from the very first episode have built a tight and wonderful story based on the characters rather than the plot. Each character and there are many in each episode are acted perfectly. There are many twists and funny/sad moments especially in episode four.

I'm glad this show did not get under the radar, do yourself a favour and buy the entire series and then pass it on, but make sure you get it back , you will watch it again.

Thank goodness for British television - from Australia, we thank you.

Mary's character is a pain, but still fun to watch. Love the contrast between birth and death situations.

I am in the middle of this series now and am already dreading it's end. If anyone can tell me where I can buy this entire series on DVD, I would love to do so. The characters are engaging, everyday people with everyday problems and you find yourself inwardly cheering them on and feeling as if you've known them forever. Each episode is directly relative to some portion of your own life - everything about the series is completely believable from the individual characters to the continuity and story lines of each episode. What one of us cannot find a character to relate to, believe in or dislike has not lived life at all, from the deadbeat ex to the interfering mother to the rude stepchildren. But what wins us over every time is the way William absolutely champions his love for Mary with a single twinkle in his beautiful eyes. When Mary finally told William she was in love with him, I was in tears. I, myself, am totally in love with Martin Clunes and will wait for him forever!

1st series really good, second series not bad, third series Mary becomes insane an frankly impossible to live with. Any rasonable guy would have 'ejected' writing was abysmal, what a shame. Acting was good but what can you do with a script this bad,

Very well acted and moving at times, William And Mary is one of those TV mini-series that ITV1 is so good at turning out these days. Martin Clunes as a dissatisfied undertaker is particularly good, acting his way through so many emotional troughs and peaks that you're surprised his character doesn't end up in an asylum. The only let-down is the ending, which is rather too neat and unrealistic for my taste.