Note: This review contains spoilers from the previous sections. If you do not want to encounter spoilers, do not read this review. I do encourage you to read the first review, the second review, and the third review of The Pallisers, though.
Synopsis
The Pallisers finishes up with the concluding episodes chronicling the events that occur in Anthony Trollope's books, The Prime Minister and The Duke's Children. Plantagenet Palliser, the Duke of Omnium, is raised to the position of prime minister, something which his wife, Lady Glencora, take advantage of socially. Plantagenet and Glencora's children, Lord Silverbridge, Gerald, and Lady Mary Palliser, have grown up and become main characters in The Pallisers and the story focuses on their lives.
Characters
More recognizable actors come in this final part of The Pallisers.
Actor/Actress | Character | Also Seen In |
Susan Hampshire | Lady Glencora Palliser | The Barchester Chronicles as Signora Neroni |
Anthony Andrews | Lord Silverbridge | The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982) as Sir Percy Blakeney |
Jeremy Irons | Frank Tregear | The Lion King as Scar |
Michael Cochrane | Gerald Palliser | Downton Abbey as Mr. Travis |
Finally, most of the focus is back to the Palliser family. After many episodes of them not being so much of the main focus, the focus is back on the Pallisers with some side plots for other characters. Marie, now married to Phineas Finn, is still a big character in these episodes, however Phineas is rarely seen in these episodes and he quietly goes off screen.
Silverbridge with his friend, Frank Tregear |
Seriously the best picture I could find of Lady Mary. |
Glencora receiving some shocking news |
The main subplot in this section of episodes is of the politician Lopez and his fall from grace with his fellow politicians. From the start, Lopez was a slimy character and a scam artist that you couldn't like with all his shady business dealings and scams. I was able to feel sorry for his young wife, Emily, who falls victim to Lopez's shady dealings. Even Glencora fell victim to his charm and even encouraged him to run for parliament (which she had to take back), which caused the Pallisers to look very foolish Spoiler and which caused Plantagenet to give up his position as prime minister. End of Spoiler.
Scenery
The scenery doesn't change too much in this section of episodes. Most of the scenes take place around the Pallisers home of Matching, but there are still some scenes that take place in parliament. We get to see Lopez's home and place of business, but there really wasn't anything extraordinary about the scenery in these episodes.
Costuming
An older Marie Finn |
There is definitely a difference in appearance in both Marie and Glencora. In earlier episodes, both looked fairly young (even during the last episode of the last section), but once this section started, they both looked old: the hair on both women looked duller with some grey, so you can tell that quite a few years passed since the series started. Still, both are dressed well (though a little matronly as becomes their age).
Overall: 4/5
The Pallisers I thought ended on a high note (though I didn't like the one death that occurred) and nicely completed the saga that I started reviewing a while ago. There weren't really any loose ends at the end of this miniseries, which is always a nice thing to achieve. Was it a happy ending? I think for the most part, yes. Sure, some parts of the ending were sad, but I think everything pretty much worked out for the best.
The Pallisers Overall: 4/5
I've seen four Trollope period dramas, and I think this one is a very good period drama to add to anyone's watch list. While some parts of it can be a little slow (especially in the Phineas Finn story), the overall period drama is great to watch. The acting is very nicely done and the costumes are definitely worth a look! The plot can get a little heavy on politics, however, and you may need to look up some things to understand what is going on, but I still recommend this period drama.
From what I recall, there wasn't any objectionable scenes in these episodes (but if there was, it was minor). There may be some language, but other than that I can't think of anything else. The series still maintains a TV-PG rating.
The Pallisers is available on DVD. There are 26 episodes in and and each episode runs at about 50 minutes.
Thanks for recommending this by a comment on my blog. It does sound fun and I've been wanting to see it sometime. Glad to see you give it a 4/5 rating! :)
ReplyDeleteHmmm.... this certainly looks fascinating! I am looking for a new series to watch... as our family is nearly done watching (sadly) Lark Rise to Candleford - which has completely swept me away! How dare they end it!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your wonderful review!