Georgina Eldridge The reason I am giving this is 8/10 is basically for Damian Lewis, who is incredible in his role as Soames.From the offset, we see Young Joylon selfishly abandon his wife and daughter in favour of the governess, who he loves. He is painted some kind of victim as his family turn against him for his selfish actions, and we are supposed to feel sorry for him.Then we have Soames, who meets and ADORES Irene (the incredibly mis-cast Gina Mckee who is too old, not attractive enough and too cold), who marries him essentially for his money and then makes NO EFFORT WHATSOEVER within their marriage. THEN, she starts a very blatant affair with her BEST FRIEND's fiancé. She is extremely selfish and unpleasant,but Soames again is the villain because he gets drunk one night and forces himself on her in desperation.The rest of the series is basically "poor Irene and evil Soames and poor Young Joylon...and let's make Irene and young Joylon happy but leave Soames unhappy." Other than that major problem, there are some excellent characters.

Ioana P I just finished watching the Series One of the Forsyte saga and I must say I liked it. It has a good picture, realistic and exquisite backgrounds, costumes, everything. I don;t know if so it was intended but i HATED IRENE who in my opinion is nowhere near beautiful and somehow this way in which she is presented is quite strange, being shown as an outstanding beauty when in fact she isn't, also the way characters gravitate around her is not convincing at all. Soames on the other hand is very well played, he is very real I would say, the realest of them all. I recommend this movie if you like the epoque feeling and romantic stories.

greenegg I looked forward to seeing what modern film makers would do with one of my favorite literary projects, as well as the granddaddy of the mini-series, the impeccable Forsyte Saga. My disappointment as I viewed this insipid, sophomoric mess beggars description. This version feels like a cheap imitation, with dreadful costumes that look as though they came from a jumble sale. To call this garbage an adaptation of Galsworthy's towering literary achievements seems akin to calling a TV dinner an adaptation of a meal served in a five-start restaurant. While the current performers have talent, they are never allowed to show their acting chops, as they struggle to move beyond the horrific script and pathetic production/direction. Annihilating more than half the elder Forsytes, especially the amusingly agoraphobic Timothy, and the middle generation, such as Francie, the composer of those droll little ditties, insults not only the author, but also the audience. Clearly, the writers and producers feel contempt for both, as they imply modern audiences must be too stupid to follow such a large cast. One would think they might at least have included Roger's character, since he is George's father, or Timothy, as Ann, Hester and Juley share his house. Playing with the characters' ages so shamelessly proved equally absurd and irritating. Swithin and James are twins; Swithin dies at 79 during the early 1890s, according to Indian Summer of a Forsyte, but in this TV adaptation, Swithin strangely makes an appearance at James' 90th birthday party, which of course would have been Swithin's 90th, too. Likewise, Galsworthy's Aunt Hester lives until her mid-late 80s, whereas in this production, she seems to outlive the unseen Timothy, the youngest Forsyte, who is last of the elder clan members to die at the ripe old age of 100+ around 1920. One can only call such lapses sloppy, lazy writing/film making. This new version also takes inexcusable liberties with Galsworthy's characterizations. Galsworthy paints his main characters in shades of grey; many are neither good nor evil, but rather simply human, with all the attendant flaws of humanity. This production paints young Jolyon, who is referred to as Jo in the books and original series, and Irene, in a much worse light, in the sense that it unforgivably softens Soames. I haven't read the novels in many years, but when I skimmed some of the early chapters of Man of Property, I found what I expected: Galsworthy offers many hints about the grim, relentlessly possessive Soames, who is described as detesting sunshine. Irene should have known better than to marry him, but the books describe Soames as having finally worn her down on his fifth attempt to propose in the face of some unpleasantness at home. Irene hoped she could handle Soames more easily, but the more she withholds herself, the more desperately he grasps her. He wants what he wants, and the older he grows, the more he wants. Galsworthy describes Jo as a good-hearted person, despite his mistake of leaving his first wife to run off with Helene, whose streak of melancholia/mental illness these writers inexplicably ignore. I never felt Galsworthy censuring Jo, Helene or Irene. The author focuses upon his characters' responsibilities versus their needs, as well as the ravages of time and change upon the entire Forsyte clan, from the second generation to the youngest. Ripping this essential quality from the mini-series sucks the life out of it. Series one and series two become reduced to pure melodrama, without a larger scope. Series Two especially goes overboard by over-softening Soames. It also violates the rules of good story-telling by having Monty live far longer than he did. Monty died in a fall down the stairs after playing baccarat in Paris long before 1920.

maxineski This saga of the extended Forsyte family is full of 3-dimensional characters. You fall in love with some, are charmed by others, and a few bad guys exist to keep things tense. The six episodes are complete in themselves. Of course, you crave more information on at least one of the story lines, but, you can wait until tomorrow to continue. You will feel sated, and, at the same time, want more. A soap opera at its finest.If you are as charmed by our young architect as much as I, you must see Horation Hornblower. It is an 8 part DVD set that is based on the classic C. S. Forester novels. They are books, and now a DVD series, for people of all ages. You must be prepared to applaud his bravery, delight in the misfortunes which, of course, must come to the villain in each episode. The repeated theme music will warm your heart. Am I being to soapy? Have a sense of humor. A word to the wise . . .