Milz

I think the people in the courtroom would have understood "putrification of the lungs" more than "consumption". But I was waiting for Robin Ellis to go Judge Judy on Ross and tell him "Hey! Poldark! I will read a doctor's letter or if the doctor is here I will hear his testimony. But you cannot tell me what some else has told you. That's hearsay! Bring me a letter or bring me the doctor. That's it! " IIRC per Verity in episode 1, Francis saw Elizabeth and fell in love with her. So either Francis didn't know Elizabeth at all or was barely acquainted with her or Francis knew Elizabeth and didn't give a rat's behind about her relationship with Ross. But as I wrote: mixed message mess. Francis inviting Ross to dance with Elizabeth in the last episode and in this episode to sit down next to Elizabeth and coo at Geoffrey Charles then getting upset/jealous is too unbelievably soap opera-ish. Anyhow, this Francis is probably too dimwitted to realize that Ross isn't his rival for Elizabeth's love: that honor goes to Geoffrey Charles.

You're correct. If Ross said "phthisis" 99.9% of the viewership would wonder what the heck that is.

I liked how Ross phrased Jim's medical state as a "chronic lung condition"...because I guess calling it tuberculosis is over the heads of 99.9% of the viewers. *roll eyes* The Paynters knew Ross' father. What's not discussed is that working in the mines is more lucrative than working as a field hand or servant. So this is a case of good help is hard to find. I was just reminded of a WTF??? moment. When Ross goes to Truro for Jim's trial, Dr. Choake is there in the gallery. WTF is Choake doing there (other than a plot devise for Ross to get a Doctor's note for Jim)? Also since Choake was there in court, he could have testified himself, rather than Ross spewing hearsay. WTF Robin Ellis didn't tell Ross he won't accept hearsay?

the production is inconsistent with class issues because it attempts to portray Ross as a "man of the people" on one finger and emphasize the class difference between Demelza and Ross on that finger's fingernail. t

Ross hardly looked at Demelza in that scene. The only thing that looked like they had sex is that they looked like they just finished rolling in the grass. It's the most tangential of tangential. All we know about Jim is some guy who Ross likes for some reason---likes enough to find a cottage for him and Jinny, likes enough to give him a job at Wheal Leisure, likes him enough to go to the Bodrugans, likes him enough to go to Truro. other than the very superficial "Ross is a nice guy" idea, we don't know why.

It's not his bedroom, it's the library. And he specifically admonishes her for wearing fine clothing----to emphasize the class agenda, which I have already expressed how hollow that is. EXACTLY!

The fact that they keep hammering the point that George is a bad man shows how they regard the viewers inability to pick up major cues let alone subtle ones like mowing a field when half the growing season is past. Changing a sentence from "you dare to wear finery" to "How dare you wear my mother's clothing!" isn't going to break the production's bank account. The class distinction they're pushing is really hollow when the miners call their boss and landlord by his given name: not Mr. Ross, not Captain Poldark, just Ross. When this version is supposed to be closer to the book, it invites pedantry. Heh...I guess we'll be seeing green lush fields during Christmas too. Well, if Aidan Turner wanted to portray Ross as a moron, knock himself out: it's a testament to his acting range. I disagree about Demelza. Elizabeth's comment crushes her. Since it's verboten to discuss the book in this thread, all I can say is that this Demelza is a spineless worm.

Years ago I used to watch The Simpsons. In one episode, Homer learns he has a half-brother: product of a one night stand Granpa Simpson had. Herb is successful, owns a automobile company and has loads of money. There's one line in the episode where Granpa Simpson says "I gave up the wrong one" upon learning how successful Herb is. Anyhow, Alan googling Gary reminded me of that. I hope they don't turn Gary into a "bad guy". I want him to be the perfectly normal half-brother/step-brother to Gillian and Caroline. Celia is such a cow. Sonofabiscuit summarized it perfectly: Celia's having a bad day so the whole world has to stop for her. It doesn't excuse Caroline's rudenss to Alan, but like mother like daughter.

So they exchanged one shot gun wedding for another. Jim didn't knock up Jinny before they were married in the books, but he does in P15. I was disappointed. Also P15's Elizabeth wasn't able to telegraph to the viewer that she figured out that Ross and Demelza slept together. Pity. Demelza 'won' that meeting in the book with Elizabeth scurrying out of Nampara.

What a mixed message mess! Francis is all “sit by Elizabeth, cousin! Make yourself comfy!” one minute. Then since we have to be reminded what a Big Bad Gansta George is, a whisper into Francis’ ear and Francis becomes “Get your ape hands off my baby and my wife”. Ross doesn’t mind the miners calling him “Ross” but then is upset that Demelza dares to actually wear fine clothing like that ladies’ dress Ross has stashed away in a chest. (Hmmmm….are we supposed to think Ross has secret of the Bruce Jenner kind? If not, they should have informed the 21st century jaded viewer that the dress and the other junk in the truck belonged to Ross’ late mother. Otherwise the same viewers who have to be constantly reminded that George is a bad guy would think that a single man + chest filled with women's apparel = transvestite.) That brings me to another thing….I hope Ross is a better mine owner than he is a farmer. Scything a field of fully bloomed Queen Anne’s Lace (couldn’t tell if it was hemlock) means Rossy is starting his plowing in mid-summer, which is too late for crops like wheat. And once upon a time, the BBC used to portray actors using tools in a realistic way: I guess they don’t have a budget for that anymore because Ross was using a scythe like a machete. I suppose if they had to have one shot gun wedding in this version of Poldark, it would be in the lower classes. Demelza v. Elizabeth: Demelza is crushed because Elizabeth doesn’t want the flowers and makes an underhanded comment. Really? So crushed is Demelza that she takes Garrick and does a runner? Hasn’t much of a spine our Demelza. Robin Ellis rocked it as the judge. No pained expressions of angst. No overly acted speeches. He just rocked it.

There's definitely some wild back story that we weren't privy to with them (other than the safe stuffed with money)

I think the major difference between productions before the 1980s and the productions after the 1980s is the amount of effort put into making it look visually pleasing. IIRC on TWoP lots of people joked about the cheesy, cheap sets used in I, Claudius, but there was little joking and mocking the story-telling. Well, P75 was like that, too. To distract from the cheap sets, the story telling---character development, dialogue, direction---had to be very tight and very good. I admit, P15 is very pretty, but from the 2 episodes I've watched, I don't think the story telling is very good.

I liked the stare: from the way her eyes were fixed on JJ to the way her head was at a slight angle. It was like she was zapped with a Freeze Ray. JJ had to ask her twice why she didn't give the plaintiff the routing number.

I think the complaints also stem from assertion that P15 is supposed to be closer to the novels than P75. P75 totally messed up with Ross marrying a pregnant Demelza, but it otherwise kept to the storyline rather well.

I always thought the Reuben-Jinny-Jim triangle paralleled the Ross-Elizabeth-Francis one, with the latter being the the more civilized interactions than the former.

Had repeats yesterday (ones I've never seen so they were new to me.). Disrespectful daughter sues pissed off Father for a car. And the other episode had the former friends: plaintiff wired defendant a total $350 in two transactions. When she asked for the money back, defendant wired her $324 (she deducted the $24 transmission fee), refused to give the plaintiff a router number and collected the money herself.

Too bad. Sir Hugh and his much younger step mother were comic relief: they were like the gentlefolk's version of the Paynters because both couples are coarse and rather lowbrow..... It makes me uneasy that many of the secondary characters aren't being fully introduced because these characters cumulatively play a large role in the later books. Reuben Clemmow's attack on Jinny and Benjy Ross is a "C" story, until later when Benjy Ross's scar and name is used against Ross.

Didn't Francis develop a gambling habit and used to got to the Bodrugans alot? BTw, go ahead and spoil me------did they do a decent job with the Bodrugans?

I also don't think there were too many eligible men from good families in Verity's age group around either. Thinking about the piece of **** Morwenna was forced to marry, I think staying single would be the lesser of two evils (just my opinion.) I would think Verity's (or anyone else's) eagerness for attending weddings, balls, fairs, etc. wasn't only to meet potential suitors but also because it was entertainment and a break from the daily schedule. These social events were times when you could catch up on gossip, eat food, hang out with your friends, gossip, eat, and dance.

I'm put off with the P15's "plain girls" angle concerning Verity: ironically, it's a more sexist and paternalistic attitude than the 1945 book and P75. Also, PN makes it clear that Verity is 2 years older than Ross and Francis. If Ross returned home from America at age 22, that would put Verity at age 24, which isn't terribly "old". And while Verity isn't a beauty like Elizabeth, neither are the other marriageable ladies in Sawle or Truro .

Loved, loved, LOVED! WonderWorks. Even though the special effects are cheesy, I still think adaptations of 4 books of The Chronicles of Narnia was great. I vaguely remember another PBS children's show called Once Upon a Classic. Bill Bixby was the host and it was sort of like a Masterpiece Theater for kids. I remember King Arthur and The Last of the Mohicans.

I didn't realize until you said it that P75 and P15 started in the carriage ride.

Aunt Agatha is the sister of Ross's and Francis' grandfather. She's something like 90 years old. The housekeeper does work which is overseen by the Lady of the House. Elizabeth isn't like Cora Grantham who does, essentially, nothing.

And rides horses back and forth from Trenwith and Nampara. Seriously though, the lady of the house had lots and lots to do. In the book Verity goes through a list of activities that need her "help" (I take it as what she had to do because Elizabeth was too delicate and fragile to do herself).

I figured that out Sunday night. Initially I thought the galloping was an homage to the 75 series where Ross is galloping over the beaches and cliffs. But then I realized that it was to show the passage of time. How many gallops or how long the gallop scene runs I think is directly proportion to the amount of time that has passed. As I wrote up thread with the condensation of the plot, it would have been more instructive if there were captions that indicated the month and year or the season and year rather that "giddyup!" As Lady of the House, Elizabeth would have been handed the "keys" when she married Francis. And her responsibility would be to manage the household from hiring/firing servants to deciding the daily menu to overseeing the making of household items like preserved foods, candles, soap to seeing that the mending and washing were done. But Verity retains much of that responsibility because Elizabeth is supposed to be too frail and too delicate to do those things unassisted.