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Marchlands eps 1-2, Bedlam ep 1
Feb. 12th, 2011 12:41 amHey! Two new ghost story series from the UK at once! One is awesome, one is…not.
Marchlands which has two out of five episodes out, is absolutely fabulous. I kind of regret choosing it for a group watch instead of a completely series because now I have to wait a whole week between episodes. The series is about three sets of families living in the same house in the 60s, 80s and today, tied together by the death of a girl named Alice in the 60s. The 60s family is, of course, Alice’s family, and focuses on her mother (who needs to bond with Betty Draper and they can get drunk together and let loose about their husbands) trying to find out what happened to her, while the 80s family-particularly their young daughter-is haunted by Alice, who appears to have sinister plans for them. The modern family, meanwhile, is expecting their first child, and the soon-to-be mother discovers all the remnants of Alice’s existence that have been hidden over the years. It’s spooky and creepy and suspenseful, but not actually scary, and the leading women are rightly being described as Epic in a lot of feedback. (80s mom is Alex Kingston and she is super hardcore at finding out what’s up with her daughter.) My main reaction is “Squee! Want more! Squee! I hope it gets a US DVD release!”
Bedlam…well, I may have liked it more if I hadn’t watched it just a couple hours after Marchlands? But I’m not sure. The plot of Bedlam actually sounded a bit more fun to me. Basically, it’s an apartment complex in a building that used to be an asylum. Naturally, there are spirits, and they are restless. But…uhm…I think there may have been a case of a ghost possessing the female lead and making her have sex with one of the tenants (I wasn’t very clear on that, but it was creepy regardless) and the main character gets messages from the other side and Suffers For His Gift, which is a trope I’m really over, especially when angst seems to be the main character’s main personality trait. But mostly, I just…kind of thought it was boring.
Marchlands which has two out of five episodes out, is absolutely fabulous. I kind of regret choosing it for a group watch instead of a completely series because now I have to wait a whole week between episodes. The series is about three sets of families living in the same house in the 60s, 80s and today, tied together by the death of a girl named Alice in the 60s. The 60s family is, of course, Alice’s family, and focuses on her mother (who needs to bond with Betty Draper and they can get drunk together and let loose about their husbands) trying to find out what happened to her, while the 80s family-particularly their young daughter-is haunted by Alice, who appears to have sinister plans for them. The modern family, meanwhile, is expecting their first child, and the soon-to-be mother discovers all the remnants of Alice’s existence that have been hidden over the years. It’s spooky and creepy and suspenseful, but not actually scary, and the leading women are rightly being described as Epic in a lot of feedback. (80s mom is Alex Kingston and she is super hardcore at finding out what’s up with her daughter.) My main reaction is “Squee! Want more! Squee! I hope it gets a US DVD release!”
Bedlam…well, I may have liked it more if I hadn’t watched it just a couple hours after Marchlands? But I’m not sure. The plot of Bedlam actually sounded a bit more fun to me. Basically, it’s an apartment complex in a building that used to be an asylum. Naturally, there are spirits, and they are restless. But…uhm…I think there may have been a case of a ghost possessing the female lead and making her have sex with one of the tenants (I wasn’t very clear on that, but it was creepy regardless) and the main character gets messages from the other side and Suffers For His Gift, which is a trope I’m really over, especially when angst seems to be the main character’s main personality trait. But mostly, I just…kind of thought it was boring.