"Parade's End"

[Worf101]

"Parades End" - HBO - Don't quite know what to make of this one. I found the first hour and a half or so maddening. As a rule I dispise multiple flashbacks particularly when you don't know the characters. Every other man on the show looked like carbon copy of Snidely Whiplash. By hour 3 I'd about figured out who was who and what was what. This show clears up why dueling was so popular back then. No radio, no television, no cinema. All people had for entertainment was parties, the opera but mostly scandal and gossip. I find it hard to fathom how many lies and fabrications can be invented in a flash and acted upon as if they were gospel. Hour 4 was fantastic, not becuase of any battle scenes but for the searing insight into how big a ****-up even the smallest portion of WWI was. I'm looking forward to the conclusion but only just. Had Downton Abbey never been produced or had this been released prior to D.A. I believe it's effect would've been more far-reaching. However given the current timing this drama will draw many, unfair comparisons. Worth seeing but don't break your back to get to it.
Worf