Life After Life

A refreshing change to the run of the mill period drama. Ground Hog Day mixed with Downton Abbey! Occasionally painful to watch (episode 2 was particularly harrowing) but also uplifting in parts. Certainly kept me gripped. It does drag in parts and the narration is occasionally distracting but overall excellent, including the acting and production values.

I didn't have any knowledge about the show's source material and I have never read the book, so I basically started watching this show out of boredom. However, it instantly gripped me. The characters were all very appealing to me and Thomasin McKenzie does a fantastic job as Ursula Todd. The rest of the cast was also outstanding. This series was sometimes uplifting and comedic but sometimes downright depressing. Although it isn't flawless, it definitely kept me watching.

Life After Life: A cycle of life, death and rebirth from 1910 to the 1940s. Ursula sometimes dies at birth, at times a child, a teenager, an adult. Dies from accidents, suicide, murder, a bombing victim. In one instance she changes history by assassinating a tyrant. This is indeed a tale of the Multiverse traversed by one person, But a person who starts to remember past lives, how this affects their actions and their subsequent treatment is teased out in this adventurous and engaging series. Thomasinn MacKenzie is wonderful as the teen/adult Ursula. Directed by John Crowley, Screenplay by Bathsheba Doran, adapted from the novel by Kate Atkinson. Four episodes on BBC2 amd BBC iPlayer. 8/10.

I'm a big fan of Kate Atkinson novels. So I was keen to see the adaptation of Life After Life. In my opinion, cast and crew have done a great job. It's a very intricate novel and I was concerned it wouldn't work on screen.

I really enjoyed it and Thomasin McKenzie is a wonderful young actress.

I have loved the book for some years - re-read it several times - so was a little nervous about the TV series. But it was perfect. Most of the scenes were almost exactly how I imagined them, and the characters too. Having the author, Kate Atkinson, involved obviously helped.

Yet my favourite scenes were ironically the ones where the series departed most from the book (which is not to say it was far), especially episode four, In many ways the TV series tied it all together better than the book did.

Even though I knew what was coming the series still packed emotional hit after hit, so I cannot imagine what someone who did not know it would make of it!