The Forsytes

I've tried to like this drama as The Forsyte saga is such a compelling story. The characters have been completely changed. Soames is a huge disappointment. The whole point of the story is his love for Irene is doomed as in the story Soames is inept of showing an emotional connection in a conversation or in the bedroom. Irene was forced into the marriage through difficult circumstances and was desperately unhappy. In this tv series the couple seem to be sharing some idyllic romantic love?! I can't see what follows in the story with these characters will be credible. Episode 3 is very slow and drawn out, it's a shame as the scenery and costumes are lovely. Most of the cast seem to act like cardboard cut outs with stilted scenes, very disappointing.

I perceive little merit to this production so far (2/3 through). The actors are tailors' dummies with blank faces and a stagey manner of speaking. I can barely distinguish them, or care about them. And the story is unrecognisable. I feel sorry for Francesca Annis and Susan Hampshire being pitchforked into this, with their fantastic track record in historical dramas. Otherwise, the actress who plays June Forsyte has ability and shows the personality depicted in Galsworthy's original character. When I recall the Eric Porter, Kenneth More and Nyree Dawn Porter version of the Forsyte Saga, I want to weep. It was unforgettable. I tolerated the later version with Damien Lewis, but this version is little better than an abomination.

If you have read the book, A Man of Property (the first book in The Forsyte Saga) or are a fan of the ITV adaptation, go and reread or rewatch, and you'll be much happier.

Massive shame because the cast is good, the costumes are gorgeous. I think they reused some of the sets from the Miss Scarlett and the Duke.

I just think it's incredible when the source material is a masterpiece and apparently that's not good enough for modern writing/production companies.

It's like coping the Mona Lisa with a wax crayon and telling everyone it's brilliant.

Shame, I was looking forward to this.

Formulaic reboot of a past masterpiece indicative of our current era. 1) More gratuitous sex 2) More gratuitous violence 3) Lack of character development 4) Non sequitur preachy politics slapped on in place of actual narrative plot and engaging script 5) bait and switch with excellent cast, costumes and title name recognition but...ultimately just a reminder to go back and watch the 2002 version to wash this nonsense out of your psyche. Thank goodness we'll always have the Golden Age of adaptations (1990-2010).

I haven't read the book, so I don't know how closely the story aligns with the original. Not a serious historical piece, for sure. For a romancings romace it looks cheaper than Bridgerton. Actors are almost distractingly beautiful, and costumes are ok. But the storytelling is very soapy/telenovela style.