D@mn and Blast! - The Palliser's Part One Review

I TOLD myself I would write a post every day of the summer holiday and it has all come to naught.

I was so very busy procrastinating from cleaning my classroom that I did not get to write any posts. I did post comments on other folks' blogs, but no writing on my own.

So, here I go...

The Palliser's - I think that is how you spell it.

I received this DVD set from Kate who received it from her mother-in-law. Kate likes Trollope and I had heard things from Mr. Franks (tutor extraordinaire at St. John's).

I thought it would be a COMEDY.

My first clue that this series would NOT live up to that expectation was on the back of the disc case- a word,in a small font in the upper corner: "Drama".

My second clue was the small booklet that comes with the 12 disc set. It contains an overview, history, and glossary of characters.

No comedy I know of contains its own glossary.

Nor is it 12 discs long.

Well, I have never read any of the books, so I just decided to go for it. What the hay!

The first six parts correspond to the novel "Can You Forgive Her?" (yes, I know books get underlined, but I can't underline in this particular program, so I went with quotes).

Disc 1 - Part I: Everyone is SOOOOOOOO happy. Plantagenet Palliser has his nerd love; Glencora has her own passionate love affair.

Then some old women and Plantagenet's uncle get cross and want them to marry each other.

It would be like asking me to marry...a football dude (I am the ultra-nerdy Plantagenet in this scenario and football dude = ultra-hottie Glencora).

With some careful scheming, all goes according to the evil old people's plans - former lovers are driven off and Glencora and Plantagenet find themselves stuck.

The whole series is set up like a play - there are definite sets and (for the time period) some technologically advanced outdoor scenes. The set designs and layout make me grateful for the realism that is demanded by American cinema and television series - and grateful that the British have adapted this style as well (I refer to recent BBC productions). While nowadays television series still have sets, one never feels like a well-placed banana peel could bring the whole illusion down.

But I digress.


One of the better scenes of part I is when Glencora goes to her cousin Alice after she has decided to marry Plantagenet "Decimal Dude" Palliser and says (in my words) "Look - I did what you said! I don't love him! Now my life is over! OVER!!! Thanks a lot @^#*$!". The actress is a little spacey (well, I think that is just Glencora's character), but really pulls off the emotion well.


Then the BEST scene follows where Glencora and old ladies and Plantagenet and his old-and-rather-morally-dubious-rich uncle meet in a field. IT IS LIKE A DUEL - beautifully set up really if you think about the characters and their wills. It is an actual field, not a painted backdrop and there is this tension as the two parties meet together - just REALLY well done.

I would totally have run off with my nerd-lover rather than marry some football/fratboy like character. Fortunately, I did not have to choose. I got my nerd-boy.

Glencora and Plantagenet - not so much.

And I really FEEL for them in that scene. It is a duel of wills, of who might cave first and say "NOOOOOOOOooooooooo - I don't want to marry you".

But they do agree to it in a show of perverse duty. It is a lovely and a REAL punch way to end the first part. You, the audience, are now sucked in - what will happen next? Will she marry him? Will he marry her? Will they fall in love??? See, as most people well know, interesting stories are never about happy people - there must always be a conflict! (And for some reason middle school students don't really GET this idea, which is odd because they have so little power,so you would think they would be all about conflict with their little dramas and tantrums - but they don't...and perhaps it is better that way because they might rise up in rebellion)

And this brings me to the problem of arranged marriages. I listen to this podcast on Ancient Faith Radio ('cause I'm Orthodox like that) and one of the podcasts was about finding the right marriage partner. I listened because I am married, have single friends, and thought it might be an interesting interview.

The gentleman interviewed did have some interesting ideas about finding a spouse, some that I feel come naturally when you think logically about the person you love. It is not easy by any means to think logically about someone you are physically and mentally attracted to, but at some point it must be done.

One thing this guy said that I did NOT agree with is that arranged marriages are a good idea. He advocated that those who have known you the longest would ultimately know what is best for you and that is why your parents should select one's marriage partner.


I think Glencora and Plantagenet would have something to say about that...even Elizabeth Bennett would have something to say! Imagine if her marriage prospects had been ONLY left up to Mr. Bennett...she would not have gotten a husband at all!

While it is true that one's parents and guardians do know one probably better than one knows herself, it is also true that their motivations and vision of a potential partner might be blinded by their own desires (see above Pallisers/evil old peeps).

I see it ALL the time in my line of work (education). Parents pile onto their own child their past dreams and hopes and get frustrated or upset when their child achieves standard below their own. This situation, I find, usually occurs when there is some sort of deficiency in the parents' lives. For example, that mother who MURDERED a cheerleader so her daughter could make the squad. Or this dad at my school who always chooses inappropriate talent show music for this band he has created around his son - the dad has gone so far as to make up BUMPER STICKERS for this band...they are in sixth grade!!!

No one benefits from a parent's skewed vision of their child's abilities - a parent can encourage, but it is selfish to demand a goal for a kid that the kid did not select herself.

So, imagine if such a parent were in charge of finding a spouse for her child - poor Glencora and Plantagenet! They each had such guardians and were not happy.

But we the audience get CONFLICT and hopefully some good story telling!