Flambards: The Complete Series [DVD]

 

 

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Orphan and Heiress-in-waiting, Christina Parsons has lived with various aunts until she is sent, at age 17, to live with grumpy Uncle Russell and his two sons - Mark and William - in the crumbling family pile that is Flambards. Hopes that she will marry cousin Mark and use her inheritance to restore the family home are dashed as Christina finds him boorish and cruel, but in younger cousin William she finds a real friend. William likes all things mechanical and while Christina is happy to learn to ride, William spends his time dreaming of owning his own plane at a time when aviation is in its early stages.

The old system of Master and Servant is explored as Christina fights to stop stable lad Dick from being dismissed without a reference by her uncle for helping her rehome a horse, but when conditions in the home become intolerable she leaves, with William, to begin a new life together, working and living at an airfield. With new pals Sandy and Dorothy they are finaly free of the constrictions of life at Flambards and can be 'bright young things' - until the shadow of war closes in on their lives.

With fantastic costumes and detail to the period, Flambards on DVD is a delight from start to finish. Christina McKenna is an accomplished horsewoman as she proves when her character and namesake learns to ride, and bounder Mark (Steven Grives) begins to show a softer side when he escapes from his bully of a father. Sensitive William, (portrayed by Alan Parnaby), as a dreamer whose love of the new-fangled flying machines leads to challenge after challenge as he tries to earn a living.

13 episodes on 4 disks - sadly no subtitles - this is a worthy addition to the DVD collection of any fan of costume dramas. The haunting music, nicely paced story and splendid planes and motorcars of the early 1900's are a joy from start to finish and the temptation to view more than 1 episode at a time is hard to resist.

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This review contains spoilers

'Flambards' was first shown on ITV in 1979 and perhaps has not had the staying power of other series from that period, partly due, I think, to the haphazard nature of its original scheduling (different ITV regions showing it at different times) and it never being made clear who the target audience was.

The thirteen episodes fall into three definable sections.The first third deals with Christina's arrival, just before the First World War at Flambards, a run down country estate whose owner and his eldest son Mark live for hunting. The second third deals with Christina's marriage to the younger son William and his interest in aviation. The final section deals with Christina's return to Flambards and the changes wrought by time and the war.

The strongest scenes of the series occur in the first section which shows the conflict between the two brothers, Mark the huntsman and William the would-be aviator and the brothers' relationship with their domineering father. Interest dips in the middle section which concentrates on William's exploits as an aviator. There is an awful lot of early aeroplanes in flight which, whilst looking spectacular rather hold up the plot. There is also the absence of any conflict between the characters which made the first section so compelling. The series gets into its stride again in the final episodes with the return of Christina to Flambards, the development of the estate as farmland, and the employment of a German prisoner of war.

This is a slow paced drama, certainly compared to what we are used to on television nowadays. I have no problem with this. It is a pleasure to watch something that does not have a relentless, driving pace.

Steven Grives manages to create sympathy for the obnoxious son Mark and Christine McKenna is a sparky forthright Christina used to usually getting her own way. Perhaps Carol Leader as Dorothy strikes too much of a modern note. However, it did occur to me, from time to time, that the actors playing the three main leads were too old for the characters they were portraying. There were some occasions when the dialogue and its delivery were not consistent with the period.

The Yorkshire countryside looks great and there are some lovely shots of the farm workers returning home at sunset in the later episodes.

Finally, a word about David Fanshawe's music which is such an integral part of the drama and which made an impression on me when the series was first shown. Fanshawe's remit obviously was to get away from the conventional music associated with a period television drama and he came up with a sui generis score which includes cimbalon and ondes martenot as well as whistling. On a second viewing, it dosen't always work. It is so unusual and draws too much attention to itself. Rather than adding to the emotional nuances of a scene, which I think good incidental music should do, it has the effect of somehow deadening them.

I enjoyed 'Flambards' when it was first shown on television thirty years ago and, despite my reservations outlined above, enjoyed it all over again now it has been released on DVD.

I first read all the books in the series and was hooked from the beginning. I saw this series many many years ago and was delighted when i discovered it had been released on DVD. The story follows the fortunes of Christina and the house Flambards. Christina is an orphan who is sent to live with her Uncle and his two sons - her Uncle was crippled in a hunting accident many years ago and now lives his life through the hunting adventures of Mark and William (sons). The series begins with Christina's arrival at the house and William suffering a hunting accident that leaves him with a permenant limp- he is therefore unable to ride which greatly pleases William whos great passion is flying.Christina is an heiress and her Uncle plans for her to marry Mark and save the flambard fortunes. The series follows the fortunes of the family through pre and war time. I would highly recommend this series - only complaint is that Christina is really too old at the beginning - she hardly appears to age through out the series. I also wish that they had continued to film the last book in the series - Flambards divided

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3.0 out of 5 stars Nice story, dreadful picture and sound quality
As a great fan of period drama I'm starting to 'sweep-up' as many of the oldies but goldies - some have been technically done over and are fine on modern dvd players and high... Read more

Published 20 days ago by mercury

5.0 out of 5 stars Flambards dvd
Lovely series about a bygone age. Still with a hint of rebellion. It was a time that changed Europe. Well done and true to the books. A real favourite .

Published 2 months ago by louise

3.0 out of 5 stars Flambards DVD
The sound was rather poor quality but we enjoyed the series. Would have been better if sound had been better.

Published 3 months ago by Chris

5.0 out of 5 stars I love it.
I am a huge fan on costume drama, and this is one of the best. I remember it when it first came out in the seventies, and it is just as good now. Read more

Published 8 months ago by Debbie

5.0 out of 5 stars The Incomparable "Flambards"
I first saw this series on PBS in 1980; in fact, with two different PBS stations in my area, I ended up watching each part 3 times a week! Read more

Published 9 months ago by L. M Young

5.0 out of 5 stars Flambards DVD
I have never seen the series before but when we watched it all the way through almost non-stop, we found it absolutely wonderful. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Procyon

1.0 out of 5 stars Devastingly BAD
I wouldn't even give it one star! The delivery was excellent, but the quality of the recording was absolute rubbish! The acting is woody, and I can act better! Read more

Published 12 months ago by mips

4.0 out of 5 stars Flambards dvd
Bought as a Christmas present for my wife as she enjoyed the series when first shown. As far as I know, this has never been repeated on any TV channels, yet was immensely popular... Read more

Published 12 months ago by RingoDave

4.0 out of 5 stars Flambards
Outstanding acting and well directed. This series brings back many happy memories of time spent with horses and old motorcars. The scenes with model planes were also excellent.

Published 13 months ago by Bill Harrison

5.0 out of 5 stars my first review
Excellent! I was very pleased with the prompt and easy to use service for my first Amazon purchase. The dvds were enjoyable.

Published 14 months ago by tcp

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