S01.E01: Episode 1

[marys1000]

Acorn TV has only the 1970s version of the show for now.  I watched the new version again last night actually to *watch* it at PBS.com, and while the HD quality was gorgeous, it was still the cut version.  I'd love to know if DVDs available for sale in this country are the edited/cut version, which is likely if PBS is the vendor.  Libraries usually get PBS shows on DVD for loan, also.  (Honestly, in HD I could watch a lot more galloping along the cliffs than I would have expected!) 

Well poo!  After I asked the question I signed up for Acorn.  I have not actually seen the 1st epi of 2015 yet as when I checked my cable episode guide it was listed as playing late last night.  So I scheduled it for recording which sometimes, for unknown reasons, doesn't happen.  Fingers crossed.

[LittleIggy]

Ross's "scar" does look as if his mascara is running!

[Clanstarling]

Ross's "scar" does look as if his mascara is running!

My daughter made jokes about it during the whole episode - she created more convincing scars as a high school drama student. Though, in looking at an old picture of Robin Ellis in the role, his scar was just as bad. Still, 40 years later, you think there'd be some improvement.

[Llywela]

My daughter made jokes about it during the whole episode - she created more convincing scars as a high school drama student. Though, in looking at an old picture of Robin Ellis in the role, his scar was just as bad. Still, 40 years later, you think there'd be some improvement.

Heh. I rewatched the first episodes of the 1975 Poldark last night and thought Robin Ellis's scar looked better than Turner's! Maybe it's the improved cinematography that shows up the limitations of the make-up...

[Clanstarling]

Heh. I rewatched the first episodes of the 1975 Poldark last night and thought Robin Ellis's scar looked better than Turner's! Maybe it's the improved cinematography that shows up the limitations of the make-up...

Well, I did only see a small jpg on a computer screen - so I'll bow to your judgment. :)  HD does make every little flaw more prominent these days.

Edited June 24, 2015 by clanstarling

[jjj]

Ross's "scar" does look as if his mascara is running!

Totally -- in fact, when I first saw it (part-way through the episode; I was not watching closely the first time), it was in a dark scene and I completely thought it was some kind of dye or mascara running down his face.  Really poor effort. 

 

Well poo!  After I asked the question I signed up for Acorn.

If you did not want to see the 1970s version, it should be easy to cancel Acorn, if it is set up like Hulu or Netflix.  Acorn does seem to have older shows, so I'd expect the new Poldark to show up someplace like Netflix after the PBS run is ended. 

[magdalene]

I suspect one reason PBS edits scenes out of the episodes it broadcasts is so that folks buy the un-edited DVDS from the PBS shop.

Edited June 24, 2015 by magdalene

[roomtorome]

I don't find AT a very good actor - if there is going to be a number of closeups of him "reacting" silently to something, then I'd like to see something, anything, going on in his head.  There are some actors who can do that - he's not one of them.  He just kind of makes a face to express whatever it is he's supposed to be feeling.

 

I agree - too much galloping - regardless of how pretty the scenery - 

[marys1000]

Well I got the first episode yesterday.  I liked it.  So glad its not yet another show about/taking place in a Department Store.  I couldn't watch any of those.

 

For me its not that the scar looks so cheesy as much as it seems to change color?  I suppose a real scar would get darker and/or redder if someone exerted themselves or got mad etc. but its a little distracting.

 

Elizabeth's mother is a piece of work, not too nice and towards the end there was a scene with Elizabeth that seemed to foreshadow Elizabeth getting a little more bitchy.  I can see where it would be hard to have your choice not to wait for your true love thrown in your face all the time and it might make you hard.

 

Loved that Ross hit that guy that was beating Derzelda(?).  Hate dog fighting and how they were all laughing at him beating her.  Thing Elizabeth recognized that she and her fiancé are the same sort of do nothing sort of people but resents the fact she is not more like him? 

 

Love the former miners and their loyalty.  Much better bunch than the guys they beat up.  Kudos for the house servant getting involved. 

 

Apparently Cornwall is very very flat and treeless.

[MrsE]

 

There are some actors who can do that - he's not one of them.

 

I suppose we each find some actors easier to read than others;  I find his face - and eyes - very expressive.   There is a scene which takes place at Trenwyth over Christmas in which he doesn't say a word, but conveys perfectly the emotional epiphany he is undergoing. 

[catray]

I haven't seen the 70's version or read the books, but I did watch the first episode yesterday and enjoyed it. I find it very interesting to read the comments comparing this show with the previous version and the book. The comments about Elizabeth are particularly interesting; even though I have no exposure to the other versions, I would agree that she definitely seems softer here than perhaps she is supposed to be. I got more of sense that she is sorry about what happened to Ross but she's not going to go back on her word to Francis. The only thing (to me) that indicated that maybe she didn't really care for Ross was the lack of communication between the two of them once he returned-- she couldn't have sent a letter? (Though the same goes for Ross, good grief.)

 

Aiden Turner is easy on the eyes and the scenery porn will probably sustain me through seven episodes, even if I don't end up loving it.

[magdalene]

Between this and Doc Martin I want to take a vacation to Cornwall.  Going by the first episode I think I'll have a good time watching the rest of the episodes. I don't expect to feel the same excitement the old Poldark made me feel watching.  I was a child then and probably easier to please and easier to surprise. And even though there may be some differences I know all the major story beats.

 

I wonder who are they going to cast as 

Caroline Penvenen

?

[Haleth]

I don't think I watched the 70s version so I watched with no expectations but did enjoy it a lot. Not sure which is prettier, Aiden Turner or the Cornish countryside.

I'm glad cock fights went out of fashion at weddings before I had mine.

[Nidratime]

I'm glad cock fights went out of fashion at weddings before I had mine.

 

 

Yeah, that was fun, wasn't it? Most modern weddings just have fistfights between the drunk uncle and the mother-in-law.

[HoodlumSheep]

Finally caught the episode!! I enjoyed it well enough. There's lots of broody scenes and dramatic closeups o characters intensely staring at something, which always entertain me.

I was close to covering my eyes when they showed the dog fight bit. I didn't know what was going to happen, so I'm glad Poldark intervened.

Ross for some reason reminds me of Edmond Dantès from The Count of Monte Cristo a little bit. Hmm...I feel like they would have gotten along.

Edited June 26, 2015 by HoodlumSheep

[twoods]

I'm all in, just for the brooding hot guy. Plus, the acting is decent and my summer DVR schedule is light.

[lucindabelle]

Thanks! I guess i corrected it in my mind to something that made more sense to me.

With the old Elizabeth it makes sense. With this one, not so much.

I couldn't believe nobody else, but nobody, stepped in to rescue Demelzas dog. We saw the country folk and they truly weren't all bad.

[LuciaMia]

 

And yes, the gal this time is too tall by far and too boyish in body.

She reminded me a lot of Toni Collette.

[SusanSunflower]

Just thought I'd mention that this show is available on PBS for re-watching at your leisure (or for those who don't get BBCA)  

http://video.pbs.org

 

creating an account (just an email address, iirc) does help with transmission and it will remember where you left off  -- if like me, your internet is slow enough that it STILL pauses  and patience requires short 1/2 hour watching sessions. 

Edited June 29, 2015 by SusanSunflower

[HurricaneVal]

I'm in.  I never saw the 1970s version, so this is all new to me.  I do love well done historical drama.

 

As others have said, the scenery, settings, costuming, set dressing and cinematography have all been outstanding...but...that sharpie pen scar is a very jarring note in and amongst all the other very high production values.  Perhaps the makeup artists employed by the production are all "beauty" makeups only, and have no experience with other stuff like scars?  Or did the entire makeup budget get spent on mucking up Judd's teeth?

Edited June 29, 2015 by HurricaneVal

[janeta]

-screeching to a halt in the forum- sorry i'm late, cable was out and am only seeing the first ep now. How many books are they going to try and cover with these 8 eps?

And i agree with whomever said Elizabeth isn't selling it; Jill Townsend was just so gorgeous and self possessed, she's a hard act to follow.

[HurricaneVal]

I was thinking about the scar thing some more during my commute home. You don't suppose it's drawn on like that because it was intended to be fixed with CGI during post-production? I'm wondering that since the running mascara/sharpie drawn on effect is so very prominent during close-ups--like it is the focus of the shot. Why would something so obviously amateurish be so carefully featured on a show with such high production values? Then they ran out of money, or it was forgotten, or the wong version was selected for airing?

One thing they got really right, which is a big pet peeve of mine with historicals, is that back in the day if you weren't well-off, things were dark and dirty. People were dirty. Clothing was dirty and dingy even when clean. When the episode opened in the colonies during the war, there's Poldark playing cards with other redcoats officers and soldiers--or maybe just officers, my knowledge of 1770-ish era British military uniforms is sketchy at best--with a dirty face. Some of that dirt is long-term because shooting those black powder guns could inject a lot of soot into the skin, and it kind of has to wear out rather than wash out. This scene told me two things: that this show is going to make a decent attempt to pay attention to historical accuracy, and that Poldark is a man of action and is not an officer content to lay back in the safety of the rear echelons.

I believe I have a new obsession, folks.

I am not familiar with the books this series is based on. Are they modern works, or older classics?

Edited: whoa, sorry about the double content. Move along, nothing else to see here.

Edited June 30, 2015 by HurricaneVal

[proserpina65]

I finally got around to watching episode 1, and all I can say is 'meh'.  I mean, Cornwall is beautiful (I've been there, so I know whereof I speak) and . . . um . . . well, Francis seems like a decent enough bloke, and I will miss the hell out of Warren Clarke.

 

Other than that, Elizabeth isn't worth losing sleep over and is wearing her hair in a very anachronistic manner.  Demelza is underwhelming, given that she was played by the magnificent Angharad Rees in the original mini-series (which I've never seen, but I've seen her in other things and cannot help but think her performance had to beat the pants off this one).  And I've already had far too many lingering close-ups of Aidan Turner - all they do is magnify the fact that he has one expression, glowering, and that he can't act to save his life.

 

Oh, and at least the dog was okay.

 

I'll probably watch the next episode to see if it gets any better, but all it really did was make me want to seek out the original.

 

 

If you are old school like me and still use the disc system on Netflix they have the entire series available.

Good to know.  Thank you! 

The books were most definitely written by Winston GRAHAM not 'Groom'. That's really not that hard to fact check!

And no one mines coal in Cornwall - one review I read called the mines 'coal mines' and all I could think is "really, you couldn't take ten seconds to google that?!"

[proserpina65]

 

So glad its not yet another show about/taking place in a Department Store.  I couldn't watch any of those.

Okay, THAT is one point in its favor.  That, and there's no sign of Jeremy Piven.

[HurricaneVal]

Isn't Cornwall supposed to be the tropics of England? Something to do with the gulfstream and ocean and upper air currents? At least the Rosamund Pilcher books I read long ago seemed to imply that with their constant references to riots of tropical flowers and warm days.

[MrsE]

I was thinking about the scar thing some more during my commute home. You don't suppose it's drawn on like that because it was intended to be fixed with CGI during post-production? I'm wondering that since the running mascara/sharpie drawn on effect is so very prominent during close-ups--like it is the focus of the shot. Why would something so obviously amateurish be so carefully featured on a show with such high production values? Then they ran out of money, or it was forgotten, or the wong version was selected for airing?

One thing they got really right, which is a big pet peeve of mine with historicals, is that back in the day if you weren't well-off, things were dark and dirty. People were dirty. Clothing was dirty and dingy even when clean. When the episode opened in the colonies during the war, there's Poldark playing cards with other redcoats officers and soldiers--or maybe just officers, my knowledge of 1770-ish era British military uniforms is sketchy at best--with a dirty face. Some of that dirt is long-term because shooting those black powder guns could inject a lot of soot into the skin, and it kind of has to wear out rather than wash out. This scene told me two things: that this show is going to make a decent attempt to pay attention to historical accuracy, and that Poldark is a man of action and is not an officer content to lay back in the safety of the rear echelons.

I believe I have a new obsession, folks.

I am not familiar with the books this series is based on. Are they modern works, or older classics?

Edited: whoa, sorry about the double content. Move along, nothing else to see here.

As I understand it the scar is supposed to be the result of a wound being stained by powder.  My father worked in a coal mine and had several very similar scars on one side of his face.  They were indistinct and blue-grey, and the scar used here reminds me of them very strongly.

[HurricaneVal]

Yeah, that would jibe with my follow-up about the ingrained powder burns on his face in the first scene.  I imagine if gunpowder got into his facial wound (youch!) that would almost turn a scare into a tattoo, eh?  I'll stand down on the scar obsession now.  It didn't bug me nearly as much in episode 2.

[CalamityBoPeep]

As I understand it the scar is supposed to be the result of a wound being stained by powder.  My father worked in a coal mine and had several very similar scars on one side of his face.  They were indistinct and blue-grey, and the scar used here reminds me of them very strongly.

 

 

Yeah, that would jibe with my follow-up about the ingrained powder burns on his face in the first scene.  I imagine if gunpowder got into his facial wound (youch!) that would almost turn a scare into a tattoo, eh?  I'll stand down on the scar obsession now.  It didn't bug me nearly as much in episode 2.

 

I'm not really seeing it as a make-up problem either, since it doesn't really bother me.  Even if they aren't stained with powder, scars can be pretty thick and discolored.  I've got one going several inches up the outside of my ankle from a bad break and two surgeries within a year.  Believe me, it ain't pretty.  Not a bit tidy or muted.  It's an ugly color and pretty thick and jagged.  The shorter one on the inside of my ankle is much more like what people today would expect from a surgery... neat, tidy and fairly likely to become less visible over time.  And the one on the front of the ankle is already that kind of shiny translucent type. I guess I just look at the make up on his face and figure it's meant to indicate a messy wound, with edge-skin lost, and the overall wound not cleanly stitched... more like something that would have been common on a battlefield back in the 1780's.

Edited July 6, 2015 by CalamityBoPeep

[Milz]

continued discussion on the Ross-Elizabeth Trenwith discussion here: http://forums.previously.tv/topic/28493-s01e03-episode-3/page-2Episode 1 is still on the PBS.org website and will be available until July 19, 2015.

 

Everyone is seated at the table. Comment about Elizabeth's weight (not enough), Francis saying he likes her the way she is. Sound like the latch opening. Comment from Charles about Verity being too valuable at Trenwith to worry about gentleman callers. Ross walks in and says he hopes he's not intruding. Mixed appearances of happy (Verity, Elizabeth, and Francis), surprise in a good way (charles), surprise in a bad way (Elizabeth's mom) Verity jumps up and hugs Ross. Francis jumps up and hugs him. Mama frowns.Francis he and Elizabeth were in despair about Ross' presumed death. Ross sees E, smiles, walks over to her expressing surprise that she is at Trenwith. Mama asks Ross how they lost the war. Ross says something about by choosing the wrong side.  Mama frowns. Ross smiling says that he couldn't have wished for a better homecoming. E says she must speak with him. Ross says okay and briefly puts his hand on her arm and rubs it. Charles sees it and asks Ross what are his plans for the future, informing him that Nampara has changed. Mama frowns. Aunt Agatha realizes it's Ross! He greets her. E says they hadn't heard from him. Verity interrupts asking Ross to sit. then Mama tells E. to get her wrap. E. looks at her And Mama gives her the eye to get lost now. E. does. Alone E. goes through a range of emotions: happiness, shock, fear. Ross sits next to Mama. He says it looks like he interrupted a party. Francis is tongue-tied. Verity looks worried. Charles is happy and says that Francis is to be married. Ross asks to whom? Mama triumphantly says "Elizabeth". Just then E. comes back with Mama's wrap. Francis looks worried. E looks worried. Mama beams and rubs it in. Charles looks worried. Ross looks like he's going to vomit. E. looks ashamed. Uncomfortable silence. Ross asks about his father. Charles tells him the pitiful end, affairs in tatters, little to inherit. Ross glowers at F & E, who look ashamedly back at him. Aunt Agatha says they didn't think he would be back to claim the property. Charles says what a financial mess Cornwall is in. Ross looks ill, makes his excuses, calls Charles "Sir Charles" rather than "uncle", asks for a horse. F&E continue their ashamed/worried looks. Ross offers a toast and raises his glass. Everyone looks uneasy. Ross says his toast. E. looks like she's going to vomit. Francis looks like "Oh well, Ross is cool with it!".

 

The only one who "pounced" on Ross was Mama. Everyone else was in various states of surprise and unease. It even looks like Charles wasn't going to bring up E & F until Ross asked what the party was for and perhaps wasn't going to tell Ross to whom Francis was marrying at that time, until Mama chimed in.

[Nampara]

In the episode 4 thread, I've mentioned that the cuts to the episodes made by PBS have been annoying, and that for us Americans it's a good idea to buy the original, unedited versions. But in episode 1, PBS made one great edit: Ross has about a three-minute fight with Tom Carne over Demelza. After they begin their contest, Prudie scurries over to Trenwith, bangs on the door and cries for help. Uncle Charles sends her away. She shows up back at Nampara, slightly out of breath, just after Ross wins the fight.

 

Trenwith is four or five miles from Nampara, no? It's either a nice horse ride or a l-o-n-g walk. In fact, early in episode 1, Ross borrows a horse from Charles so he can go home after getting the bad news about Elizabeth at the Trenwith gathering. Yet somehow Prudie waddled through an eight-to-10-mile round trip in only three minutes! I doubt that she was physically capable of making the trip at all on foot, but in any case it likely would have taken her most of a day. The Prudie expedition was patently ridiculous, and I wish I hadn't seen it. This is perhaps the only way in which the PBS version is superior to the original.

[Nidratime]

Makes one wonder if no one producing this show has a "show bible," which keeps track of all these things so that the details are consistent from episode to episode.

[Nampara]

Stray observation: We get our first indication of how intelligent Demelza is at the very beginning of her association with Ross, when he asks her in the Red Lion, "Do you love your father?" Her pithy reply, "Bible says I must," is a masterly evasion. It's the sort of rejoinder one normally would expect from a sophisticated adult. She avoids giving either a dishonest or a potentially embarrassing answer, and also discourages any further inquiry on the subject. Yet her words, with their bitterly ironic edge, also convey her true feelings to anyone sensitive enough to understand them, as Ross appears to be on this occasion.

[seacliffsal]

I just found this on Amazon Prime and am watching it.  Never heard of it before, but am enjoying it.  I dislike the 'disguise a woman as a boy' scene as it totally took me out of the scene as all I can think it 'how can people not know she is a woman?"  Anyway, Aidan is lovely to look at.  And, I love Verity.  The actress was also in the first season of The Paradise.