Monarch of the Glen

An absolutely "must see" program. Warm, funny, and romantic, this is a show that renews one's faith in the human condition. You soon care about the characters and want them succeed personally and professionally. With all the gratuitous violence and sex rampant throughout television today it's encouraging to see a program the whole family can enjoy.

One of the latest in a long line of heartwarming, wholesome family series which the BBC has been making for 50 years. In the 1990's they largely surrendered this Sunday night territory to commercial rivals ITV (Heartbeat, Where the Heart Is.. etc) but have recently made a comeback with this show and 'Born and Bred'. Like many of its predecessors it boasts stunning scenery and well-acted character turns. To my mind its main weakness is its very small regular cast, basically half a dozen principals and a lack of 'occasional' characters who can appear from time to time. The number of dramatic permutations among the regulars is therefore very small and most of the storylines rely on the old 'Bonanza' standby of mysterious strangers turning up unannounced each week to inspect the castle kitchens and the like. This does become very repetitive after a while and is more noticeable than in shows that have more regular and recurring characters. The regular cast has grown even smaller in the third series with the demise of the old laird played by Richard Briers (The BBC stalwart got fed up of the long shooting schedules and was blown up at the end of series 2). As a result the third series has seen an increasing role for lovable old buffer Lord Kilwillie, played by Julian Fellowes. In another guise Fellowes was the screen writer for the movie 'Gosford Park.'

Yes, it may be a bit of fey highland fluff, but it has a quirky charm (a bit reminiscent of a Scottish "Northern Exposure") and would be worth watching for the lush green scenery and glittering loch alone if nothing else.

But, for connoisseurs of British TV, actors, and cult TV in general, the 6th series, just made available in the U.S. on DVD, is especially interesting because of the presence of at least 4 major cult figures of British television.

Beginning with the continuing, charming presence of regular "Molly" played by the great Susan Hampshire whose resume reads like a history of the best of British TV. From her appearances in things like "Danger Man" (aka "Secret Agent") to classics such as the original black and white "Forsyte Saga," "The First Churchills," "The Pallisers," etc. etc. We also are entertained with the newly recurring character of Hector's wastrel brother Donald McDonald played by the highly amusing Tom Baker (still my favorite Dr. Who) and the delicious Anthony Head (Giles from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and more recently the Prime Minister in those hilarious "Little Britain" sketches.)

And, best of all, for "Bad Girls" fans (at least those brilliant first 3 seasons which made British TV history thanks, largely, to this actress' landmark performance) we are further graced with the authentically Scottish, luscious Simone Lahbib (who, sadly/happily, was forced to leave the show when she found she was pregnant in real life.) She is a delight in her outdoorsy togs and her scenes with the farm animals. I'd love to see her do more comedy, though she excels as a dramatic actress. She and Tony Head, especially, have a very interesting working relationship/chemistry as well-matched actors here in their unfortunately too few scenes together. Very subtexty, less-is-more, breezy, low-key, naturalistic with a wry little twist and spin on the delivery. Too bad she couldn't have stayed longer, as they were just beginning to develop her character and the rivalry between Paul and Chester for Isobel's affections. I want to live on Isobel's farm, anyone know just where it's located?

Also...another Monarch Trivia Alert: in an earlier season there was a major degrees-of-separation Indy Jones thing happening with the presence in the same series of Paul Freeman from "Raiders of the Lost Ark," plus that other "Raiders" villain Ronald Lacey's daughter, and the new laird, Lloyd Owen is Indy's dad from TV's "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles."

It is great to have a series in which there is minimal violence, no ridiculous language, and virtually no sex--how refreshing for a change!

The scenery has already been noted elsewhere as spectacular, and as one of the stars. While I agree whole-heartedly with this, it is the acting which impresses me. Alastair Mckenzie does a superb job of portraying a suave Londoner who is suddenly thrust into a job he neither wants nor knows how to manage. However, (and you can see this most clearly when viewing the whole series, one episode after another) Mckenzie manages to convey that here is a man who grows from being a "fish-out-of-water" to being the LAIRD of Glenbogle. Mr. Mackenzie does it almost imperceptibly by degrees. Great work!

The rest of the original cast is equally strong. It is indeed too bad that most of the principal characters left over the seasons.

I am now home all day with my toddler and I told myself I would never descend to watching soap operas. However, I became totally hooked on this show when BBC America began running it at 5:00 pm. It has romance, hunks to look at (as well as gorgeous natural scenery) and also melodrama...but it is certainly many cuts above a "soap". The quirky characters are so much fun to watch. This show has some of the feel of Northern Exposure...but, as an Anglophile, I feel it is even more appealing.

I really came to look forward to unwinding with this show near the end of each busy afternoon. More please!