Julian Fellowes' Belgravia - starts tonight, ITV1

[QueenOfTheAndals]

Anyone planning on watching? I loved Downton so I'm looking forward to this. It might be just the sort of escapist drama featuring posh people in nice frocks that we all need right now!

It definitely improved towards the end. Not downton though.

It's not supposed to be like Downton. It has the same writer but this was a book first with a beginning, middle and end.

I thought it was a little slow to start with, then improved in the second half. Tamsin Grieg is excellent, as is Harriet Walter. Killing off half the cast was unexpected. I had already worked out that the daughter must have died in childbirth.

The music is too similar to Downton Abbey.

I did watch in the end. And the opening credits were just like Sanditon.

For whatever reason the dialogue in the first part around Waterloo, the ball etc., were very stilted as though trying to imply the talk was more formal then - or something?

I think the moment they said 26 years later the plot became obvious. But glad so many good actresses will be having scenes together. The downstairs scene was stupidly bad.

Julian Fellows is basically a -plagerist- oops, a bit of a magpie taking bits from other existing books, films etc.. A sort of mash up. Like Downton that owed more than it should to Gosforth Park and the Remains of the Day.

this and sanditon and all the rest are basicallly feeing us as addicts - the ball scence, the doomed lovers, the class system, lovely dresses, galloping horses, ...

They'll keep on making them as long as we keep watching them.

Had hoped from previews it would be a bit more down to earth. I wasn't expecting North and South but not one cliche after another.

In fact yes, more Gaskell less Fellowes!

I wonder why that kitchen dinner scene was so unreal and artificial. The below stairs scenes in Downton always worked pretty well.

The Duke of Wellington was young Sherlock Holmes back in the day He was on holiday at the same hotel as us a while back and i spent every meal smiling at him because I knew I used to work with him - couldn't remember when though

Alice Eve makes my teeth itch so it's great she's playing a character everyone hates.

It's not as good as the first episode of Downton.

OK, help me work this out - Tamsin Greig has an 18 year old daughter at the start of the programme and the year is 1815. That means her character must be say 38, assuming she had Sophia when she was about 20.
Fast forward 26 years to 1841, and Tamsin doesn't look a day older, yet is supposed to be AT LEAST 64 years old. Gene Hunt has a bit of grey hair and could probably pass as in his sixties, yet they have made no effort whatsoever to age Tamsin.
Ridiculous.

But Tamsin herself has barely aged IRL.

Tamsin is 53 IRL. They could have aged her up a bit quite easily.

The kitchen scene was clunky, I agree.

Thought they did some wrinkling around the eyes in the later time period but agree, not really a difference of 26 years . The Duchess of Richmond had been aged considerably

This is a good drama!

I agree, the servant hall scene was excruciating. Hopefully it’ll settle down next week, now they’ve established the characters. Is it really only 4 episodes?

Agree the "kitchen" scene was terrible. Bronagh Gallager was awful.

He was called the magician because he could magic up the supplies they needed.

I'll keep watching!!

Julian Fellows is basically a -plagerist- oops, a bit of a magpie taking bits from other books, a bit of a magpie taking bits from other existing books, films etc.. A sort of mash up. Like Downton that owed more than it should to Gosforth Park etc.

Since Fellowes wrote Gosford Park it is hardly plagiarism.

This was pure tripe! Dreadful scripting, actors unable to pull it much above the watermark as a result.

I enjoyed it.

^ this exactly
It did have a bit of the Downton about it unsurprisingly, especially the music. DA started with the Titanic and this with Waterloo.
Gosford Park is quite good but is a film of two halves, the second half is ridiculous with Stephen Fry as the comedy copper

TrickyD - I did say ooops! and then talk about it being a mash up. Its like he's stuck in a loop, a sort of creative ground hog day.

But then I suppose quite a few writers basically stick to one smale area of live / experiences.

For me its more why they keep getting them made in tv series.

I had concluded it must be because we cant help ourselves watching them.

Sorry, stumbledin, I though the ‘oops’ was because of your odd spelling of plagiarist.

oh dear - double ooops - I usually add brackets saying spelling? as I know I am, as my last school report said: "This girl is totally illiterate" (spelling?)

Thanks to word processing have never had to learn. No spell checker on mumsnet.

It was utter tosh. I loved it

It was fairly excruciating at times. At least no one is uncertain of the pronunciation of 'victualler' after watching that episode. How many times did they get that word in!

But I quite enjoyed it. I quite liked seeing the 'night before Waterloo' motif from Vanity Fair used in a different narrative.

Sophia played her part well. But we could have done with seeing some of the action happening in real time rather than in flashback, to build a bit more empathy with the characters.

Y'know, in some ways I don't blame Lord B for the fake wedding. He knew there was a chance he might die and that this was the only way to spend an, er, afternoon of passion with the woman he loved. Obviously the consequences were awful for Sophia, but he wasn't to know that. His life was cut short in a horrible way.

Drums fingers. Looks around for romantic lover. Gives up due to social distancing.

Ooh thieving servants!

I don't think it's improving. The acting is very wooden.

Actresses playing 'Maria' and 'Susan' are wooden in this. Not convincing at all.

Harriet Walters super - as always

It’s really bad! Although not as bad as Sanditon, I’m still seething about that hot mess!

The writing is really poor, they keep having odd conversations where they tell each other things they would already be aware of to set the scene for us, making it very unnatural and stilted. I wouldn’t expect anything less from the writer of Downton to be fair.

I’ll keep watching regardless because I’m stuck in the house for the foreseeable and I like the pretty dresses.

The scenes with the servants add nothing to the story line. Trenchard is clearly about to make millions in the Isle of Dogs.