This was the show I ran home to see. I spent the last three Sundays watching the encore airing of the original, Cranford. You know, to psych myself up for the Return!
But before I launch into my thoughts on the Cranfords, I should take a moment to explain something to the PBS novices out there. Is Masterpiece Classic the same as Masterpiece Theatre, you ask? Well, yes and no. Classic is one-third of Theatre. There’s Masterpiece Classic, Masterpiece Mystery and Masterpiece Contemporary that collectively are Masterpiece Theatre. And how do you know which Masterpiece you are watching? A few ways. Who’s doing the introduction? What time of year is it? Is it January on your calendar and Laura Linney is on your screen? Classic. Alan Cumming in late July? Mystery. Or perhaps David Tennant is warming your little Doctor Who-lovin’ heart with his natural Scottish accent in chilly November. Well then, you are watching Masterpiece Contemporary. Other telltale signs include if people are in bonnets and riding horses, if Miss Marple is lurking about or if it’s, well, contemporary. One sign that will not help you distinguish: whether or not there are British accents.
Now back to Cranford. Cranford is based on books by Elizabeth Gaskell which, to be honest, I had never heard of until Dame Judi Dench was nominated for an Emmy for it. (And then it stalked me: I went into Anthropologie and on the table with the Jane Austen’s was Cranford. On that same table? Candles. Next to that table? Sweaters. You are such a sassy, random lady, Anthropologie. Love you.)
So: Return To Cranford. When we left Cranford, people were happy for the most part (I say most part because several characters died throughout the five-hour series. Life is cheap in Cranford). All misunderstandings were tied up. People married, etc. So Return begins two years later. And some townsfolk are missing. No, that’s not the storyline. That’s me wondering if Return is scripted that way or if certain actors passed on the sequel. There are explanation lines like “You must be lonely with your daughter in India” and “I hardly see my sister now that she’s married to the butcher.”
The overall story is the railway. It was touched on in Cranford and now it’s reared its ugly head again. I say that because in the first series, the ladies of Cranford were in an uproar over the thought of the railroad coming through town and how “that’s not how things are done in Cranford!” Poor Eileen Atkins was so in a tizzy about it, she died. Her character, I mean. She heard about the railroad, went home, grabbed her head and then collapsed. Well, now in Return, new potential young lovers are introduced and they are all about “progress” and pro-railroad. While the elders are still, “No way!” (One elder, Lady Ludlow [Francesca Annis] denied the sale of her land to the railroad but she dies standing in her hall waiting for her son Septimus to arrive from Italy. Based on the name alone you know he’s going to sell the land.) There are still holdouts, though. But then Miss Matty (Dame Judi) sees that Cranford needs to move with the times or all the young people will leave and then Cranford will whither away. So by the end of Part One, the ladies of the town and Jonathon Pryce take a ride on the railroad and reluctantly approve. In a nutshell. There’s more to the hour and an half than that. And though I seem snarky, I’m totally there for Part Two. Why? Many reasons. The kick ass cast. Dame Judi and Imelda Staunton? Come on, man. And I love the hell out of that brit-accent-men-on-horses-embroidering-by-candlelight-smalltown-gossiping-Victorian-romantic-stuff.
So what did I learn from Return To Cranford, Part One? Old people want to keep their traditions and not change. Young people fall in love. And they want updated transportation. Don’t trust very rich, spoiled sons who just inherited a big estate. Also, when there’s a dramatic death, there’s another one at the same time across town. Who knew?
