The Pallisers

This series was a huge undertaking, of a sort that probably would not be attempted today. It was an adaptation of Trollope's "Palliser" novels, and dealt with a great many characters and intertwining plots. The series worked best for viewers who could take an interest in the fictional politics of the time, as Plantagenet Palliser, like most of the men in the story, is a politician and this theme runs throughout the series. However, Susan Hampshire as Lady Glencora, his mismatched wife, provides a romantic strain as well, though she eventually adopts her husbands concerns and interests as her own. The story from time to time veers away from these two main characters, and becomes quite entertaining as it delves into the complicated life of the scheming Lizzy Eustace, and also that of the greenhorn politician from Ireland, Phineas Phinn. His problems with women and his trial for murder (including a cross-examination in Latin!) are among the most interesting and enjoyable passages in the series. This is a thoroughly entertaining series for those who can just relax into the Victorian atmosphere and are not in a hurry to get to the end.

I never binge watch series, but I ripped right through this one. It does a pretty good job of staying true to the books, and where it doesn't, it tends to improve the story. The books are worth reading, but not quite first rank. The Palliser Novels, which were known until recently as The Parliamentary Novels ramble through quite a few stories over about 25 years. The Pallisers themselves are not primary characters in all of them, but the series turns the tale into Plantagenet and Glencora's story. Which makes for much more entertaining viewing, but requires a massive change in book six.

Most of the casting is great. Susan Hampshire is first class as Glencora. The one absolute, incomprehensible disaster is Donal McCann as Phineas Finn. In the books, he's the tallest, handsomest man in the country, which drives his story. In the series, Glencora even refers to him as "seven feet tall and an Adonis." And then in trundles Donal McCann who's slightly portly, shorter than most of the actors and some of the actresses, and has a face like a dropped pie. In the books he's hopelessly sweet, his only fault being a habit of falling in love with every woman he meets. In the series, he's a sex pest and date rapist who picks fights with all the other characters. They should have cast Stuart Wilson, who plays the impossibly hot, mustache-twirling Ferdinand Lopez, in the far more important role of Finn.

The production values are high, but the video quality is a bit frayed. Not bad, just not equal to the quality of the series.

This series deals with the second series of novels by Anthony Trollope that people recall when thinking of his novels. They are the six novels making up the story of Plantagenet Palliser's political rise and fall from Can You Forgive Her" through "The Prime Minister" and "The Duke's Children". Plantagenet (Philip Latham) is the nephew and heir of the Duke of Omnium and Gatherum (Roland Culver) who is England's richest nobleman (his estates, by the way, are in Barset). We watch Plantagenet (a Whig, and something of a currency reformer - he is trying to push a decimal currency in 19th Century England, so he is a century ahead of his time there) pursues Lady Glencora (Susan Hampshire) in the first story, where she is tempted by a more raffishly attractive lover Burgo Fitzgerald. After their marriage, the story turns attention to Phineas Finn, "the Irish Member"(Donal McCann), and his sexual political problems with two women, one of whom is Madame Max Gestler (Barbara Murray), the girlfriend of the Duke of Omnium. The third novel dealt with Lizzie Eustace (Sarah Badel), her romances with Lord George (Terence Alexander), Reverend Emilius (Anthony Ainsley), and the inept Lord Fawn (Derek Jacobi), and her plotting to maintain possession of "the Eustace Diamonds" (Trollope spoofs Wilkie Collins here). The fourth novel deals with again with Finn (the novel was "Phineas Redux"), and his final choice for a wife, as well as his trial for murder (the murder of a political rival - the real murderer is revealed by a witness who is from Bohemia and has to be cross-examined in Latin). The fifth novel follows Plantagenet (now Duke of Omnium) reaching the top of Disraeli's "greasy pole" (he is Prime Minister, but in a minority coalition government), and discovering that he can't get his favorite currency reform through. "The Duke's Children" dealt with the problems of Plantagenet and Glencora with their children, in particular their son Lord Silverbridge (Anthony Andrews), and how the family is brought together by the death of Glencora.

Trollope's strength was in being honest and painstaking in trying to describe the reality of the world. If you read "The Eustace Diamonds", Lizzie has gotten physical control of the jewelry when married to the previous Lord Eustace. But was this just temporary as long as her husband was alive, or was it permanent? There is a long chapter in the novel dealing with the British laws regarding family heirlooms that was based on legal advice Trollope sought from a solicitor to make the novel as accurate as possible. He was one of the few writers of his day to go to such elaborate lengths.

That chapter is not done in detail in the series, but the stories keep quite close to what Trollope did. The series shows the political world of that day (and really of any day) where the personalities are mixed, and you may need to work with really obnoxious types. In "Can You Forgive Her?" Glencora gets to meet a political figure who is on the lowest level of the Whig Party. The man is not a bad man, but he happens to get on her bad side. Plantagenet tries to correct this misunderstanding of him, but he does not succeed. When, in a general election, the poor man loses, Glendora celebrates!

Bigotry appears in various guises, most notably in the career of Finn, and his Irish heritage (he meets with contempt from the newspapers and some of the leaders for that reason). His need for a wealthy wife eventually crosses his path with Madame Max, who is Jewish. Yet she is tolerated more than Phineas - she has a protector in her lover the Duke of Omnium.

For a good introduction to the series of novels, the series of episodes could not be beat. Well acted, and well produced, it was a good introduction or sequel to "The Barset Chronicles" (which was produced in the 1980s, but those novels were printed first. If you can see it, you will agree to my high opinion on it.

By the way, at one point one of the characters is in jail, and is visited by his friend Dolly Longstaffe (Donald Pickering). Longstaffe is looking at some books that have been sent to the character, and reads the titles like "The American Senator", "An Old Mam's Love", and smiles, and says "I see the old fellow's still turning them out!". Yes - the "old fellow" is Anthony Trollope.

Even at 24 hours or so, this family does not overstay its welcome. Splendidly costumed and intricately plotted characters – for the most part wonderfully portrayed – combine in a number of imbricate tales, all of which, however seemingly episodic, reveal aspects of our main characters' (the Paliser paterfamilias and his wife) personalities. Humane, feminist, open- minded and just – all these define the stiff, awkward, sometimes dour but never pessimistic Plantagenet Paliser, and explain his attraction to us. He indulges his wife, the real axis for much of the story, and it's good he does; she rounds out his truth with an emotional honesty of her own that he opposes at first only to, always, bow to. It is the characters then that grab us in this long miniseries, as they must in any long-form for us to stay engaged. The Palisers may not have the same degree of dramatic ups and downs of I, Claudius and other miniseries greats – but the humanity the eponymous couple demonstrates is just as compelling.

Does anyone know why the beautiful narration by Greer Garson was removed from the DVD? I too loved the series and want to watch it again but with the narration and cannot locate a VHS or DVD with it.

I remember looking forward to every Sunday evening with Alistair Cooke and The Pallisers. Wonderful. We would sip sherry and not speak for one hour.

The cast, in my view, was brilliant. The costumes authentic and because of the way in was filmed in 1974, I felt I was watching and enjoying live theatre. This would be a brilliant class project for students in a high school. To hear beautiful English spoken and watch a tale of long ago unfold each week for a whole term. Marvelous.