How Poldark is seriously getting into our heads
Having at last unshackled herself from the constraints of Winston Graham’s original novels, screenwriter Debbie Horsfield is taking a leap towards slightly more modern concerns in this final series of (BBC One, Sunday). A few minutes into last night’s episode, Ralph Hanson (Peter Sullivan) plucked a book from his daughter Cecily’s (Lily Dodsworth-evans) hands and sneered.
“What’s this? A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. What rights could a girl possibly want that a wellconnected husband couldn’t supply?”
Having been identified last week as the series’ new ultra-villain, in the guise of a horrid Honduran mahogany trader (not just an unethical plunderer of natural resources but a ruthless employer of slave-labour, too), here was the final nail in Hanson’s reputational coffin. The year was 1800 and the man hadn’t even familiarised himself with the basics of feminism. Clearly he cannot be redeemed.
Meanwhile, Ross Poldark (Aidan Turner) was heroically speaking out in the Commons against slavery while his dreary… sorry, dreamy pal Dr Dwight Enys (Luke Norris) was nailing his own progressive colours to the mast, voicing revolutionary ideas on the
nature of insanity and becoming embroiled in the legal defence of the man Ross prevented killing the King last week. Which, somehow, made Ross and his old comrade Ned Despard (Vincent Regan) even more unpopular with the political elite in London, who promptly closed ranks.
Happily, that meant most of the cast had to scurry back to gloom-dispelling Cornwall – a mite too conveniently pursued by the Hansons, although the developing illicit romance between Ross’s nephew Geoffrey Charles (Freddie Wise) and proto-feminist Cecily is one of this series’ more engaging storylines.
Still, it was the newly-knighted Sir George Warleggan’s (Jack Farthing) continued descent into grief-stricken psychosis that again proved most intriguing, a thread that repeatedly wrongfooted viewers as his psychological switching from reality to delusion got ever more bizarre – and the wraith of his wife Elizabeth (Heida Reed) got to wield greater influence over him than she ever did in life.
Warleggan was about to sign up for a typically callous deal with the devilish Hanson last night, only for his contract-signing hand to be stayed, amusingly, by a beyond-the-grave admonishment from Elizabeth. A novel development, that could well transform this series of Poldark into the least predictable yet.
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elevision has a strange attitude to anniversaries. Such is the competition by rival channels to get in before others with their commemorative offerings, usually weeks ahead of the date being celebrated, that often the anniversary itself goes overlooked.
So it was that despite a meteor shower of Apollo 11-related programming from all quarters since the beginning of the month, only one terrestrial channel bothered to mark this weekend’s 50th anniversary of man’s first landing on the Moon on the day. The excellent Moon Landing
(Channel 4, Saturday) got straight down to business, whipping up a real sense of the mass awe felt on Earth as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left Michael Collins in the command module and embarked on their perilous descent to the Moon’s surface.
The atmosphere here was achieved largely by steering away from overfamiliar footage and seeking out quirkier clips instead. Such as when the BBC’S James Burke rather insensitively asked Neil Armstrong what his plans were if he couldn’t get back up off the Moon, prompting the immortal reply: “Well, that’s an unpleasant thing to think about, and we have chosen not to, so far”.
Elsewhere, a US news anchor introduced “the flight of Apollo 11, brought to you by Tang, the energy breakfast drink of Earth.” And there was some sweet footage of Armstrong’s stiff-jawed parents not quite getting their son’s “one giant leap” quote right for waiting journalists. There were also intriguing references to the failed Soviet Luna-15 mission, launched by the Russians to try and steal Apollo 11’s thunder but which failed miserably.
With so much of its focus aimed back at an awestruck Earth, this film didn’t have quite the same heartwrenching immediacy as 8 Days to the Moon and Back (BBC Two) but it didn’t fall far short. The fact that it was shown on the actual anniversary, though, made it all the more poignant.
Poldark ★★★★ Moon Landing Live ★★★★