Catharina_Sweden REVIEW FOR SEASON 1, which is all I have watched.When I first heard of this series, which I had managed to miss all these years, I thought it sounded like a great idea! I mean: who does not love a Lord (or "Laird" in this case)! :-) Not to speak of old castles and the wonderful nature scenery in the Highlands, and all the special Scottish traditions you can use, such as Scottish country-dances, bag-pipes, kilts with clan tartans etc.. It does not seem possible to fail with those ingredients.But in reality... it seems a bit trite. The jokes are too simple, there is too much slapstick, and in every episode it is obvious already in the beginning how it has to end.I think the part of the young Laird almost carries the whole production, because he is very likable, with a little help of his elderly but feisty father, who does not want to let go of the past, and his beautiful and well-dressed but a bit air-headed mother. The other characters unfortunately I do not like, I do not think any of the three young women are suitable as new Lady of the Manor for instance, and the other men working on the estate and running around in the village all are generally uninteresting. Although I cannot say if the wrong lies with the characters or with the actors.All in all, it is A LITTLE worth seeing if you are interested in the Highlands themselves, and I am now starting with season 2! :-)October 24, 2015Alright, I have now watched SEASON 2 AND 3 as well, and I have raised my marks to 7! I still find it silly, though. The solutions are always so very simple, and completely out of touch with reality. Of course you do not play games about the rights to an ancient big estate, and you cannot stop the bank from foreclosing your loan by refusing to help the bank employee to cross the stream... But if you put your brain aside for awhile and only watch with your heart, it is in fact quite funny and entertaining, with beautiful scenery, and also sometimes deep with human interest and things you can relate to. I, for one, can very much relate to Archie's feelings after his father died with mine after my father died. I remember all the unresolved issues, everything that ought to have been said but was then too late to say... Another thing I can very much relate to is Lexie's worries of not being good enough for Archie. I have felt like that several times when I have become fond of a man - and it does not always have to do with social differences either...All in all I would recommend this, if you just remember that it IS entertainment and escapism, and not realism.November 6, 2015Now I have watched it all to the end! I think it was drawn out too long, too many "heavy" characters disappeared and too many new were introduced - I felt I could not connect to them all anymore. Too much time was taken up by the teenagers - that is not interesting for an adult audience. Also, there were too many repetitions of already used plot ideas. Such as women throwing themselves at the Laird, first one set of women with Archie, and then another set with Paul, and the silly contests about the estate and the title of Laird. And when they could not decently introduce another Laird-contest, they threw in a ghillie-contest instead... The best thing should have been if the show had ended when Archie left. (No, the VERY best thing should of course have been if he had not left at all.) Although there were some nice stories and moments in the last seasons as well that I would not have missed. I think for instance of the misunderstanding when Paul thought Jess fancied him, and he was going to talk to her about it in a mature way... And the brief love story between Golly and Megan, and the son he finally got late in life... And the ending when Paul was going to give Iona away... but took repossession instead! :-)I think the very best thing with watching this show, was that I learnt a lot about rural Highland life. I feel like going there on holiday! :-)

CarmelaG I recently discovered this series through Netflix, and I have found it completely enjoyable. The writing is very consistently good, the characters appealing (their quirks and foibles make them even more so), and the scenery of the Scottish highlands is just lovely.The show takes you inside of a charming world that the characters inhabit. You see them wrestling with and resolving conflicts with others and among themselves in ways that are always sweet in the end, but never sickly sweet or trite. Not all of them are likable. Hector, the father, will drive you crazy, but then he comes through on important points, like loyalty and a devotion to tradition. Archie seems indecisive, but he is also very loving and loyal. And Lexie is a great character who is driven by a sense of justice, and always wanting to do the right thing. Molly and Golly are steadfast, loving - one almost too kind, and the other very stern. And Duncan too is both funny and very true, very devoted to his friends.The show also achieves the near impossible, managing to communicate a lot of sexual tension without ever becoming overly explicit - well done. It's a bit like Northern Exposure or Gilmore Girls in its appeal, but in my opinion it is much better than both of those.I could pick at it a bit and say where it might have gone wrong. But I don't want to, because I just don't think television gets much better than this. Highly, highly recommended for people who like excellent writing that combines drama with humor, shows people usually finding their way back to do the decent thing, and treats characters and viewers with dignity.

ron-phillips087 It is great to have a series in which there is minimal violence, no ridiculous language, and virtually no sex--how refreshing for a change! The scenery has already been noted elsewhere as spectacular, and as one of the stars. While I agree whole-heartedly with this, it is the acting which impresses me. Alastair Mckenzie does a superb job of portraying a suave Londoner who is suddenly thrust into a job he neither wants nor knows how to manage. However, (and you can see this most clearly when viewing the whole series, one episode after another) Mckenzie manages to convey that here is a man who grows from being a "fish-out-of-water" to being the LAIRD of Glenbogle. Mr. Mackenzie does it almost imperceptibly by degrees. Great work!The rest of the original cast is equally strong. It is indeed too bad that most of the principal characters left over the seasons.

WelshGoat It is somewhat ironic that I didn't start watching the original screening on BBC1 until the fourth season and have therefore had to catch up via UKTV Drama. Having said that I thoroughly enjoyed this easy paced drama and will still sit and catch episodes regularly. It had all the ingredients of great Sunday night fare, scenery, love interest, comedy and decent acting. It did make me chuckle at the way both Archie and Paul got through so many love interests throughout the series and there was some deja vu with Stella's character who was obviously a re-run of Justine. I might add that it would have been much better if Katrina hadd ended up as Mrs Archie but maybe that's a question of taste (would a toff marry the hired help?) Having said that the series never lost it's inherent charm. Worth catching on Cable when you can.