The Paradise

When they cancelled Lark Rise to Candleford, the BBC promised us that it was to "make room for other dramas". So far, I haven't seen anything worth watching, until The Paradise came on. It has the same gentle feel that Lark Rise did, and the same idea of having pride in the work you do. It is really nice to have a TV show which is not obsessed with having nude scenes in it, or using swear words at every turn, but rather concentrating on a good script, and a storyline that makes you want to know what is going to happen next. Some of the characters do feel like they need to find themselves a little bit, but since this is the first series, I think that they can easily be forgiven for that! This is definitely a show to watch, especially if you were a fan of Lark Rise to Candleford.

If you come to this series having first read Zola's book, you'll be greatly disappointed. There are few touch points between the two, and the entire spirit is different as well. What they do have very much in common is the theme of big business relentlessly and irreversibly destroying small business.

That said, I enjoyed this series. Denise is suitably innocent and pure, Moray is single-minded and lecherous, and the introduced character of Jonas is malevolent. Yes, the whole show has Victorian melodrama stamped all over it, but that doesn't make it any less compelling.

Given the ending of series 1, I can't imagine what series 2 will be like.

The Paradise is just that! An amazing show which captivates you very quickly and has you thinking constantly. If it is not about the era, the times, the cast, or writing...It is what is next! I am a definite movie buff with hundreds of thousands of shows watched. Not to say anyone is qualified to say what is good or bad but The Paradise is just simply VERY good in many ways. This series was a refreshing step away from the overdone crime dramas and did not need or require nudity nor profanity to make is superb. Some here criticize the last episode(s) however they may not understand this - the writers knew the show would be canceled well before it ended, sadly, and were required to conjure up a somewhat appealing ending. I am highly disappointed, again, in the BBC's horrid decision to cancel. Those in the BBC who "decided" to cancel are far better off working as shoe makers or barbers and should kindly step out of the entertainment business.

I normally avoid what I call "modern" costume-dramas like the plague, no "Downtons" or "Candlefords" in our house, but having read the source novel by Emile Zola (one of the rare novels my wife and I both enjoyed reading) and believing then that it had continued relevance in today's shopping mall, hypermarket, bigger-is-better consumer society, I was persuaded to tune in.

I'm rather glad I did, as, while I can easily see the soap suds gathering around the fringes, still Zola's story-telling skills shine through. I can't remember enough about the novel to place the appropriate episodes depicted here, although some of course were of modern invention, still I felt as a whole, the series maintained consistency, continuity and credibility throughout.

It's well acted with, in the lead roles, Emun Elliot as the charismatic retail supremo Moray (Mouret, in the original French) and Joanna Vanderham as the initially demure but fast developing shop-girl-in-a-hurry Denise, while the rest of cast support well, with the possible exception of Sarah Lancashire, who overplays the starchy department manageress, Miss Audrey.

I would carp at the sets which seem to be have been done on the cheap, you hardly get the impression that the store is large at all and as for the exteriors, it appears the BBC could only be bothered to dress up one section of the street outside the shop, giving an air of budget-cuts to proceedings.

Nevertheless, this was easy-to-watch family entertainment, which I'm pleased to see has been commissioned for a second series. We'll be watching.

The Paradise is a very good show,you can see culture about 19 century of British empire.people who make the show work hard to cover details of that time and also great effort on thinking and behaving of people.the characters are splendid and idea about creating this show is kinda different and also it's very good to watch.people who loves 19 century styles and living,this drama show will attract you so much.this show also teach you how to establish a good business,if you are willing to one.many inspiration things you can find in this show.in today's world people forgot to care about their staff and there is very rare such thing like loyalty and honesty in big supermarkets/shops/firms,but in this show you will see such things.At last a very good show,who likes old time drama and want some inspiration must watch it.