The Big Series That Couldn’t Lent Day 14

Stephen cautioned me that I might sound like a bit of a snob if I write this post. I considered his caution but decided to write it anyway. We’re all entitled to our opinions and this is my blog after all. I know that this is going to sound incredibly hypocritical after my reflection on shame yesterday. I suppose the difference is that I am criticising an acclaimed tv series and as such it is art and art is always open to reflection... and a little bit of scorn. 

So after mulling over the first episode I have come to this conclusion - the tv series Bridgerton is kak. Or at least the first episode is. Unless someone wants to pay me some money (I would probably sell out for a meagre sum) to watch it Bridgerton is going to linger in the ‘Continue watching’ section of Netflix permanently. 

I’ll start off by saying that I have no problem with the historically inaccurate casting choices. But the rest is just a complete gimmick. 

I feel like the cast of Bridgerton are the poor relatives who never crack an invite to Downton. If we’re looking at acting calibre it’s a white wash. If you’re going to do a period piece you do need to have some sense of the sociopolitical context of the time to understand why people behaved the way they did. For me the acting style is Bold and The Beautiful meets a corset. Of course with film one really is at the mercy of the directors and editors but everyone is just a little too You magazine with not enough Vogue. 

The storyline is also just too obvious and I know I’ve only watched the first episode but the set ups for the rest of the season are as subtle as the costume choices. 

And playing pop music with violin doesn’t exactly make me shudder at the sheer brilliance of the intertextual references to love sick teenagers over the centuries. It’s all a little bit dated. Let’s leave that to Baz Luhrmann.  

I was really hoping for something intelligent and classy. We’ve just finished binge watching ‘Schitts Creek’ which is unfortunate because the writing and acting in that is solid flippen gold. And don’t even get me started on costuming. Unfortunately Bridgerton has just turned out to be the weak handshake from a muscle bound man. All the potential but none of the charisma. 

So I’ll leave Bridgerton to the love-struck teenage girls all over the world and get back to scouting for my next television fix. Better luck next time.