Cranford on the BBC

I have been a major fan of Sue Birtwistle, Heidi Thomas and Susie Conklin's Cranford Miniseries for quite awhile, and since there wasn't anything about it on this forum yet, I thought I would do the honors.

Apart from Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskill's books have some of the best material for a miniseries, and the way the Sue and Susan compiled information from three of her major books (Cranford, Dr. Harrison's Confession's and My Lady Ludlow) into one major production is both clever and believable. Her essay, The Last Generation of England, was also used as a source.

While there are many intricate and interweaving threads and ministories, my favorite would have to be a tie between Mr Carter and Harry Gregson's, and Dr Harrison and Sophy Hutton's. I also love Jessie Brown's story and, of course, Matty Jenkyns.

One of the things that draws me to this series is that it has such a warm, family feel to it, and by the end you feel like your apart of this village and involved in these people's lives. Another thing is the inter-connected stories...I just love how everybody knows everybody else, and are constantly absorbed in one another's lives.

I love the BBC 'Cranford' too. As well as being warm and inviting like you say it's also really funny sometimes. It's one of my favourite period dramas.

I haven't watched 'Return to Cranford' yet though. Have you seen it?

Yes, I love Return to Cranford, even more than the original, if that's possible :)
I don't want to give away too much, but a few of the reasons why I like this Christmas Special so much are as follows:

1. It's about half the length of Cranford, which means you can watch it more often
2. The new stories and characters which are introduced, as well as the way the lives of the old characters are furthered
3. How they wrapped the story-lines up, while still allowing audiences a chance to fantasise about what might happen to the characters after the credits roll.

I would highly recommend you watch it, but I must caution you that if you do, you cannot compare it to the original, as it has a completely different feel to it.

I'll definitely watch it then. I haven't done so yet because I just wasn't convinced it could be as good as the original and I didn't want to be disappointed. Thanks for recommending it.