Countdown to Thirteen: Cranford: Series 2, Episode 2 – “Return to Cranford: Part Two – October 1844” (2009)

It’s nice to report that Peggy, Jodie Whittaker’s character, does get quite a bit less milquetoasty in the second half of series 2, which is a relief.  While she’s still not a character I have a huge amount of interest in, it does make the whole thing a little less trite, less one-note love interest who’s beloved by the dashing young man Because Reasons (a few spoilers.)

Surprisingly, the hubbub over the railroad has pretty much completely vanished since Part One.  William, Peggy’s would-be beau, is still obsessed with trains and the future, but everyone else in town has moved on to more pressing matters, like the arrival of an aristocrat and the effect that will have on their social circle (or not have, if the lady’s hostess has anything to say about it.)  Meanwhile, William’s father is appalled at the thought of his son wanting to marry someone who isn’t from an old well-to-do family, and all the expected keep-the-lovers-apart dramatics ensue.  Peggy and William, however, aren’t giving up without a fight.

That fight is where we see more of Peggy’s personality.  It’s a sort of strength that fits with her character as we’ve seen it, more of the Fanny Price variety – timid but resolute, standing up to a man of a considerably-higher class.  Mr. Buxton tries numerous tactics to get Peggy away from William, but while Peggy has no intentions of dragging William down to ruin if that’s the situation Mr. Buxton is trying to force, she doesn’t let him strong-arm or try to scare her into giving up the man she loves.

There are still a ton of clichés here:  the roadblocks thrown in the path of the young lovers, the handsome heir having to choose between his money and his lady, the quiet dignity of the young heroine standing up to the classist antagonist, and so on and so forth.  Nothing that we haven’t seen executed far better in a Jane Austen novel, and as such, the plot doesn’t hold too much of my interest, but I am still pleased to see Peggy being less of a wet blanket.  She strikes a good balance between fighting for what she wants and being realistically cowed by Mr. Buxton.

Also, I was really charmed here by Erminia, the Buxtons’ ward played by Michelle Dockery.  It would’ve been super easy to paint her as Peggy’s snobby rival, a father-approved choice for William to have to resist.  However, the moment she hears Mr. Buxton suggesting William would be better off with her, she shuts the idea down right quick.  Not in a mean way exactly – not looking down on William as not good enough/handsome enough/rich enough/whatever for her – but in kind of a delightfully dry way, ironically pointing out that neither should be forced to inflict themselves on the other.  A wonderful little scene, and I love it.

It might seem silly to repeat my wrap-up info, since Whittaker’s part here is only two episodes long and I just did all this last week.  But, first- and last-episode wrap-ups are the way I do actors’ TV reviews, so here we are.

Accent Watch

Northern.

Recommend?

In General – Not necessarily.  Masterpiece/ITV fans will probably enjoy it, but there are plenty of better options for getting that fix.

Jodie Whittaker – Again, not necessarily.  Although Peggy does get more interesting in the second half, there just isn’t a whole lot to this character worth checking out.

Warnings

Brief violence and some drinking.

Doctor Who: Series 22, Episodes 3-4 – “Vengeance on Varos” (1985)

This is probably the best story from series 22.  I don’t like it as well as “The Two Doctors,” but I’m objective enough to recognize that “Vengeance on Varos” is definitely the better-written of the two (the “Two Doctors” love is all about seeing Two and Jamie again.)

Long before there was Panem, there was Varos.  No, there are no children being forced to fight to the death, but the government does broadcast torture and executions of dissidents as popular entertainment, coming up with increasingly0-inventive ways to satisfy the oppressed public’s desire for bloodshed.  This is the cheery place in which the Sixth Doctor and Peri make an emergency landing.  What starts as a simple mission to repair the TARDIS winds up a deadly cat-and-mouse game packaged as top-tier entertainment, complete with hallucinations, acid baths, nooses, and genetic modification.  Oh, and we meet chief baddie Sil, whose disgusting appearance and demeanor make him the most perfect sci-fi allegory for a grasping oil baron in the history of ever.

I really enjoy Varos and how twisted it is.  It contains lots of elements that can be found in various fictional dystopias, but the way it all comes together makes it feel fairly original.  Varos’s version of democracy, in which the governor goes on TV to explain what he wants to do, the people vote, and part of his life force is drained away if he doesn’t get a majority, is particularly wild.  Sil is also a fantastic villain.  Even though the “greedy/heartless businessman” is one of the oldest villains in the book, the archetype is executed so strikingly here; the performance is wonderfully slimy, and you can see why the character was brought back the following season.

Despite warming to him somewhat on rewatch, Six is still my least favorite Doctor by quite a bit.  That said, he’s relatively workable here.  As he shepherds a pair of rebels through a labyrinth of lethal traps and tortuous head trips, he shows off both derring do and cunning.  Plus, given his usual penchant for criticizing Peri, it’s nice to see him display a fair amount of concern for her well-being at different points in the story.

As for Peri, well… Par for the course, she doesn’t have a lot to do other than flail and get captured.  In this story, the only thing I can really give her points for is her spunk, both in staying strong when she’s captured and in offering up some decent snark when the Doctor is characteristically rude to her.  (However, she’s not subjected to any creepy perving from a villain, and this story has two prime specimens in disgusting space slug Sil and sadistic mad scientist Quillam, so that’s another plus.  No gross leches for Peri in these episodes – way to the show some restraint, Who!  I don’t have to point out how sad it is that this is noteworthy.)

One of the best things I can see in this serial’s favor is that it survives the double-length runtime pretty well.  Although an hour is perfect for new Who, that was definitely not the case for the classic series, and most season 22 episodes start to feel endless around the 35-minute mark.  Both installments of “Vengeance of Varos,” though, have enough going on and manage the pace well enough to keep my interest.

Little Women (1994, PG)

I loved this movie when I first saw it as a kid and have revisited it numerous times over the years; I often associate it with Christmas, but really, it’s good for any time.  This was my window into the March family, and reading Louisa May Alcott’s book a few years later was probably my window into enjoying classics in general.

The March women – sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, and their “Marmee” – have been getting by on their own since the family patriarch has been away in the Civil War.  All four girls experience the ups and downs of growing up in Concord, Massachusetts, struggling with reduced circumstances but dreaming of better things.  The arrival of an amiable young man next door shakes up their small circle, but while it expands to admit new members, the story as its heart rests on the four sisters.

By now, I’m well aware of the liberties the film takes with the book, and while a few of the changes don’t really work for me, I still think the movie does a great job capturing the spirit of the book.  All the characters feel like their book counterparts come to life, and iconic scenes from the book are really well-executed.  Because the book’s narrative is quite long and can feel episodic at times, there are places where the movie feels like a string of incidents rather than a purposeful storyline, but a lot of the tangents are entertaining, affecting, or both, and I love the cozy, lived-in feel of all the little incidental scenes that just show what life is like in the March household.

If the movie has a major fault, it’s that, by and large, the first half is a lot more engrossing than the second (which I find to be true of the book as well.)  After the time jump, the characters are more scattered, which is a blow when the film’s chief asset is the interactions between the sisters, Marmee, and Laurie.  The first half is so charming and sweet that it’s hard for the second half to measure up, although there are definitely later scenes that are every bit as effective as the earlier ones.

This movie was my introduction to all kinds of well-known actors, even if I was too young (9, maybe?) to be aware of it at the time – for years afterward, I’d see one of these performers in another role and go, “Hey, it’s Amy!”  “It’s Beth!”  “It’s Marmee!”  This is the first film I saw any of the following cool people in:  Susan Sarandon, Winona Ryder, Claire Danes, Kirsten Dunst, Christian Bale, and Gabriel Byrne.  All of them, in my admittedly-biased opinion, kill it as their characters, with special mention going to Sarandon as Marmee and Bale as Laurie.  And although I’m not as familiar with Trini Alvarado as I now am with the others, I can’t leave her out, since she’s equally great as Meg.

Warnings

A bit of swearing, smoking/drinking, a teeny bit of suggestiveness, and some thematic elements.