jlfittro

I am sorry to see a series that was intriguing for the first 15 minutes degenerate so quickly into ridiculous farce. A sensitive subject matter that could have been handled in an intelligent, thoughtful way is made absurd, more so by the hysterical wife, not by any stretch of the imagination a realistic partner for the David Tennant character. I may be watching the wrong program, this is supposed to be a farce. Certainly not smart enough to be satire. Fans will tell me to go elsewhere. And I do, to the better productions of past years. I see this type of programming as the continuation of extreme dumbing down of it's target audience. I didn't realize it was supposed to be farcical or perhaps I wouldn't be so disappointed.

I agree with other reviews, that the population politics in this series should be discredited. What a wasted opportunity, or perhaps intentional, to wage a real conversation instead of the simplistic eugenics tale. Unfortunately this series mirrors popular misconceptions, and continues the propaganda. It looks great, the characters are interesting, it can be mesmerizing. It is also nauseatingly violent. I confess to watching in entirety, and feeling sick and disgusted. But I couldn't look away. Reminded me of many other movies and shows, Pulp Fiction, Hannibal, Terminator. And Clockwork Orange, but where it was ultimately anti violence, this show celebrates it, tenderizes us so we become accustomed to it. Mesmerizing crap. Just my opinion.

This series was created by women, and I did see that the first episode was written by Jill Hyem, who also wrote the excellent Tenko, another highly recommended series about women and with majority female cast.

Really enjoyed this excellent series one, with intelligent dialogue and strong female characters (not caricatures) who did not act "out of character," as in so many dramas for women which are dumbed-down (U.S. mainly) soap operas. These are women struggling to make a living after being left virtually or relatively I should say penniless (they do still maintain a beautiful, grand home and a servant). I enjoyed the history conveyed- the lack of opportunities for work and independence for women (this setting is after WW1 when returning men once again filled the few jobs available), the paternalistic and hypocritical attitudes of men towards women, the plight of the really poor and homeless. I don't understand the low ratings for individual episodes on season one (6.4, etc., seems low to me). My only disappointment was with the final episode which did not spend enough time on the introduction of the sisters' own line of clothing, instead veering off into soap opera territory with the jealous competitor. I'm afraid this is an ominous sign for future seasons, so I thank you newatt-2 for the heads up. Not sure I will continue as I don't want to spoil the joy of season one. Highly recommend season one.