Marie Morgan I was thoroughly enjoying this series (on DVD from the library until - Huh? Who are these people? Completely different cast to portray the older versions in Part 6. I couldn't even watch it because I had no idea, even with closed captioning, who they were! Perhaps it was the BBC insistence on realism that they wouldn't put "old" makeup on young actors but it was quite a let-down.Otherwise, as usual, BBC does a first-rate job with period detail. It's refreshing to see TV be about the story, rather than the celebrities who can't act and are too vain to ever look like a character other than themselves.

StarDragyn The first episode of this is somewhat similar to a Jane Austen style story, though it is set in the mid-late 1700s rather than early 1800s. After the first episode or two, it becomes generally more serious and more broad. The costumes are very different from Austen films (being set in the preceding era), but they are very beautiful and very accurate to the time period. The dresses are much more glamorous, even though the men look rather sillier in my opinion.I'm not sure how close this telling matches to the actual history of this family--I'm assuming there are at least some discrepancies--but even thinking it is at least based on real people and real stories makes it much more interesting to watch. To think that this wasn't simply invented by an author (no offense to Austen!) makes me much more tolerant of any lags or disagreeableness in "plot", since it's not supposed to be a contrived one. There are many, many characters, which may be hard for some people to keep track of who's who, and many decades are covered, so time sometimes passes in large chunks.The film is a drama and deals with some very serious issues, to a greater extent than Austen ever delved into. Much of it is somber, but not really depressing. The movie is less of a source of "entertainment" than Austen films, but it is a great look at another era and the story is intriguing enough to keep you wondering what will happen next. It does not leave you so much with the blissful smile of contentment and happily ever after that an Austen story provides, but I felt like I had gotten to know and feel for the main characters, and learned some things about history in the process. It's a great choice if you're interested in venturing into another time period, rather than the Regency (Austen) or the far more common Victorian (Dickens, etc) eras.This movie would be especially good for passing a lazy, rainy afternoon, when you'll feel more content with this milder sort of entertainment than what your expectations might be for a Friday night. Just get a cup of tea or cocoa and let yourself drift back to another time and world for a while.

hallchristoph What happened to the fifth sister is obvious to those who saw the five part version transmitted by BBC Television. She died of tuberculosis.In the US Aristocrats was seen as a three parter on WGBH with a considerably shorter running length. Somethings had to go and since the story was primarily about four sisters the story of the fifth was told as shorthand.

kirsty_uk Sarah describes her sisters.Caroline is clever, Emily is like a mother to me, Louisa is an angel and Cecilia is a child. I am a disappointment.This is based on a true story and is actually very good viewing. It has six parts, showing the sisters as children and finally as old ladies.Apart from Cecilia, all the sisters stories are based around their loves and family.Emily is the narrator of the story as it proceeds.The costumes and wigs are wonderful and the music is good too. All the sisters give great performances.