The Jewel in the Crown [DVD]

In the 1980s, Granada Television went for it. They realised they had the talent and the expertise to challenge the BBC's hitherto unassailable dominance of the 'classic serial' world. They also had the money to do a production proud.

'Brideshead Revisited' was the first epic from the Manchester-based company that made us all sit up and take notice: it was executed with such skill and sensitivity that no-one has ever forgotten it. We all wondered how they could possibly follow it. Follow it they did, almost at once, with 'The Jewel in the Crown' - which was actually in production at around the same time as 'Brideshead'.

This extraordinary series, based on 'The Raj Quartet' of novels by Paul Scott, turned out to be a piece of such powerful drama that it is virtually unassailable.

Yes, it's set in the dying days of the British rule in India - that painful time of handing over sovereignty, while all around are the ravages of World War II.

Nowadays, when it's still fashionable to beat ourselves up over the way the British carried on in the colonies, it's useful to have a drama like this to put some of the background into context. This exquisite series does it very well. Punctuated with the sparing but very effective use of authentic newsreel footage, it's an intense and often harrowing tale of divided loyalties, brooding passions, and twisted sexuality.

The rape of a young Englishwoman (Daphne Manners is definitely an adult - not a schoolgirl, as wrongly stated in the product description) triggers a drawn-out series of events whose outcome can only be tragic for those involved - and whose consequences are as far reaching as the hills that so often grace the horizon in this beautifully-shot piece of work.

It has often been been said that television drama is electronic theatre - not poor man's cinema. Here, a happy balance has been struck, and the luminous photography gives the whole thing an epic quality that is all too rare on the small screen.

The casting is perfect throughout, with a calibre of acting seldom equalled these days. Veteran stars (actors who really were stars of stage and screen) grace the credits: Peggy Ashcroft, Eric Porter, Rachel Kempson and the glorious Fabia Drake - these famous names rub shoulders with a galaxy of superbly-chosen younger performers; as an ensemble, the cast is second to none, blessed with a script by Ken Taylor that is so well constructed and written that every clipped and strait-jacketed line conveys the seething and tortured relationships of these fascinating characters.

A worthy companion to 'Brideshead Revisited', 'I, Claudius', 'War & Peace', and the 1967 'Forsyte Saga' these fourteen wonderful episodes can justifiably be regarded as one of the finest jewels in the crown of television drama. Once seen, this series is hard to forget.

Trust me, it's DEFINITELY one for the collection, as a reminder of just how well things were done (no, they do not make 'em like this nowadays) and repeated viewing serves only to make the crown glitter even more brightly.

I bought this wondering whether my memories of the quality of the stories, the acting and beautiful locations in India would match the reality of watching this series 25 years on.I am delighted to say that the quality I recalled was not idle nostalgia but was based on a true recollection of the sheer quality of the production values and the enjoyment of watching a long series over a number of weeks ,just as was done in the 1980s.The slow pace IS one of the great virtues affording time for the characters and varied parallel stories of the Raj in India to develop and allowing one's own thoughts about that period to mature.The finest acheivment of ITV and a worthy contender to the BBC's "Tinker Taylor.." series and "I, Claudius" as the finest British TV ever. I sadly feel it is true"They don't make programmes of this quality now"

One doesn't really associate ITV/Channel 3/Granada/LWT - whatever you wanna call them - with quality literary/costume adaptations, but this early '80s series about the last years of the British in India is not only that but superbly acted and visually beautiful, rich in texture and alive with enigmas, metaphors, unanswered questions.

I've just got through watching for the sixth or more time, with equal pleasure, and have been inspired to pick up the novel/s which inspired it.

The jewel in ITV's crown, intelligent, serious, exotic, and with nothing of the circus about it.

Recommended with the greatest enthusiasm.