The Living and the Dead [DVD]

So BBC, we're on how many series of Death in Paradise? The bland detective show that should have been put to bed after Ben Miller left and exists seemingly just to give British actors a holiday on a Caribbean island, is still inexplicably renewed again and again, while beautifully crafted and acted shows like this are canned? I'll add the cancellation of The Living and the Dead to my "what the hell were you thinking?" list. Oh hang on. Ratings of course. Even though you're publicly funded and don't necessarily need high ratings so could take a few risks now and then and do something innovative ... but whatever. I guess all the money for new programmes goes towards keeping "talent" such as Chris Evans, Gary Lineker and Claudia Winkleman.The Living and the Dead is set at the dawn of the industrial age - newly married psychologist Nathan Appleby returns to his childhood home in Shepzoy with his progressive new wife, Charlotte, to run a farm. Nathan's mourning the death of his young son and the village is trying to get to grips with the approaching new century of mechanisation - are the strange supernatural happenings a manifestation of Nathan's disturbed mind, the ghost of his son or something worse?The programme was beautifully acted with superb performances by Colin Morgan and Charlotte Spencer, with a sterling support cast. The art and production team should get awards for the absolutely stunning cinematography here - the colours are vivid and incredible and the whole thing looks like a Constable painting. There are some striking images - notably the bonkers woman with her red dress against the green of the forest and the burning tree, amongst others and it all feeds in to a nicely unsettling and creepy atmosphere. The soundtrack also needs a shout-out, hauntingly, beautiful Wicker-Man type English folk music by the Insects. In fact, that's probably why the BBC cancelled it - it has an unashamedly British aesthetic, all of which is frowned upon by the BBC now - we're all Brexit-voting, racist bigots who aren't supposed to like or celebrate our culture. Anyhow, enough politics, back to the show ...The stories are spooky and intriguing. People seem to have been confused by the overlap of the modern day stuff but I thought it was pretty clear that either Shepzoy or the Appleby family were the nexus of where different time periods bled into, overlapped and affected each other. I really liked this different take on the traditional ghost story with the modern world portrayed as the "ghosts". It was original and interesting and I was looking forward to seeing which direction the story went in after the explosive finale. The modern bit wasn't as well done as the period stuff, but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it and was looking forward to a second series.It was a real shame the BBC decided not to pick this up and so we are left with a deeply unsatisfying and unfinished cliffhanger. But, hey, Death in Paradise is still plodding on with the ever-decreasing charisma of its leads, and Gary Lineker is still overpaid. So well done BBC.

Wooooow, this was intense! I admit to first being drawn to The Living and the Dead just because Colin Morgan was in it. I’m not going to lie, I’m a fan. But the show quickly spoke for itself and I became engaged for other reasons.I originally planned to watch it over two days, watching three episodes a night. After seeing the first, that plan went out of the window. This show is intense, heavy going and watching two episodes back to back was too much, let alone three. That intensity detracted from the show. I like to binge watch and it just wasn’t possible with this one, which was a shame. One night where I wasn’t in the mood and other nights, it felt like too much effort. I enjoyed it but wasn’t hooked on it.That being said, it was a case of don’t blink when watching. The Living and the Dead quite literally had me on the edge of my seat. I’m not normally good with horror type things, but I have to admit I loved the thrill I got from this one. While not gripped, I was emotionally invested as it nearly made me cry more than once!The acting was great! It can’t be easy acting as a terrified villager, afraid of ghosts. Maybe that is why they are actors/actresses and I am not. I’ve always known that Colin Morgan can do haunted and tormented extremely well and I cannot picture anyone else playing the part of Nathan Appleby. Charlotte Spencer was an excellent Charlotte Appleby, contrasting the innocence of young love with the frightened woman wishing to stay by her husband’s side.The plot threw me off in a few places. For example, in an early episode, lights rush towards Nathan. The Living and the Dead is set in the 1800’s: the lights were clearly from a car. This confusion was present through to the penultimate episode. Thankfully, the final episode was definitely one of the strongest and answered any questions that I had and brought it to a satisfactory close. So saying, it was left on a cliff-hanger and now it appears there won’t be a series two.If you like having a chill run down your spine, this is the ideal show. Enjoyable but intense throughout the entire series.

A fantastic show, admittedly it could be a bit slow in places but so wonderfully shot, a great story and with fantastic acting and chemistry from the cast!! It all follows on, though each episode has a slightly different arc to it, focusing on a different character on the farm, always with the backstory/main story of the primary characters. I would admit, it isn't as scary or 'sexy' as some news articles advertised it as, but in my opinion it was just right, with a lovely dark atmosphere but not too spooky, and romantic enough to be lovely but not in your face, as some shows seem to take it now-a-days. I am so sad to learn this was not renewed for a 2nd series and I really wish somewhere would realise its potential and carry it on- particularly with the 'cliffhanger' type ending. Added to the show, the music really sets the scene and fits wonderfully- a lot of songs sung by 'The Insects'. As for delivery, it came on time on day of release.

Watching

This mixture of Thomas Hardy's Ghostly Tales, and outré time-slip sci-fi, is very enjoyable even if it sadly wasn't recomissioned by the BBC for a second series. Although well acted by Charlotte Spencer, the irritatingly assertive feminism of the central character doesn't ring very true in the historical context and jars a little. The script too needed a little more attention and development, as it lacked the ability to satisfactory integrate the vast range of themes and ideas with which the writer juggles. But that said, "The Living & The Dead" is still high quality programming that holds your interest and is a total production triumph in terms of evocative photography, the employment of rustic & folkloric detail, and wonderfully atmospheric design.