Several years ago, I was lucky to have been one of the people who started viewing a new (very British!) Masterpiece Theatre presentation called Bramwell. Unfortunately, I didn't have the foresight to tape any of the episodes, so my husband and children missed it… until it finally became available to either rent or purchase. (Produced by Whitby Davison Productions Ltd.)
It is not a mystery, but in my opinion, it has cozy "written" all over it. But, be forewarned… since it is a Victorian medical series, there is a fair amount of blood in it.
Bramwell is based on the fictional life of Doctor Eleanor Bramwell, portrayed by Jemma Redgrave (of the famous British Redgrave family) and she is absolutely wonderful in this role. She is able to convey the innate feisty-ness that it would have taken in the late 1800s for a woman to become a doctor. But at the same time, she is able to capture the very feminine reserve it also must have taken for an intelligent, capable woman to have been able to to "make it" in a man's world back then.
The first season of Bramwell is comprised of three discs. It sets up the series by showing us Dr. (Eleanor) Bramwell's succession from working under a leading surgeon to finding a sponsor for a clinic she opens in the slums of London. Dr. Bramwell is stubborn, as well as smart, and has the youthful quality of sometimes jumping before evaluating the jump…
The wonderful actor David Calder portrays the senior Doctor Bramwell. Calder's performance shows us how Eleanor's doting father could have raised her to believe (or should I say "know") that she could indeed become a good doctor… despite London's (or should I say "the world's") disapproving attitude. Remember- the late 1800s was a time when society women stitched floral patterns on their needlepoint canvases. It was not a time when these same "dainty" women stitched up gaping, open wounds!
Season two of the Bramwell series follows Dr. Eleanor Bramwell's experiences at "The Thrift." The Thrift is the name of the clinic she opens in London's "bad side" of town.
The sets/scenery seem flawless to me… as do the costumes. The entire cast is excellent. One of the characters I absolutely love in this series is Nurse Ethel Carr, played by Ruth Sheen. Sheen is great in everything I have seen her in, but her portrayal of Nurse Carr is so good that I found myself (almost gleefully) awaiting her next scene.
Season three has just been released (January 8, 2008.) When I wrote the review of this series it had yet to be released.
Bramwell's fourth season is it's final season, and has been available to either rent or purchase for the longest amount of time. I don't know why they started with the last and worked their way to the front but, that is apparently what they did. (That is a mystery to me!)
If you are planning on watching the series, be sure to start at the beginning and follow the correct chronological order. Since I am waiting until I am able to watch season three, I have not watched season four yet. I watched it when it was on Masterpiece Theatre years ago… which, at this point, is almost like saying I haven't ever seen it!
If you would like to see more TV and Movies suggestions, click here.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, I love Bramwell! I didn’t realize season 2 was out already on DVD – thanks so much for including the amazon link! I also think it’s a wonderful period piece, with very loveable characters. If you like good characters, it’s a series for you. Since that’s where a lot of cozy mysteries really shine, I think this series will be perfectly appropriate for many users of your site. Thanks for all the great tips!
Thank you, Stephanie…
You are right about the "good characters," which are really important to all of us who love good cozies. I think that it will be an appropriate series to watch, also… but I went ahead and added in the "a little bloody" just to be sure that people of the site are aware…
Stephanie, Bramwell sounds fabulous, but it appears that season 3 isn’t available from either Netflix or Bockbuster, so I’m not sure I want to begin the series if I can’t view all of the episodes. Do you know anything about this missing season? Your website is very helpful and I’m finding lots of books and films that I want to read/view. Thanks for going to all of this trouble. Niobe Charlotte, NC
Niobe, I just checked, and you are right about Netflix and Blockbuster not carrying the third season of Bramwell. I also just checked, and Amazon says that it is releasing Bramwell: the third season DVDs on January 8, so the other two places shouldn’t be far behind.
I love the Bramwell series but I missed a lot of the later episodes because I was starring in a Victorian drama at our local am dram society and it coincided with the rehearsals. The only bit I saw up to was when Eleanor proposed to Dr. Marsham, then I saw no more so I don’t know what his answer was. I hope it was yes, for her sake, he was sweet. Now I’m going to collect the entire collection so I can watch it at my leisure. Hurray!
Rebecca,
I think that Bramwell is one of the best Masterpiece Theatre shows that I have seen. I absolutely love Eleanor’s character, and enjoyed how they were able to flesh-out all of the secondary characters.
However, I do think that they could have finished the series after season three.
I just finished watching the final season of Bramwell, and it was far from cozy. It was so completely different from the rest of the series and was such an awfully depressing and disturbing way to end it. Just awful.
***DON’T READ THIS IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON WATCHING THE BRAMWELL SERIES… ESPECIALLY SEASON FOUR***
Ky,
When I wrote the above entry, I had not watched seasons three or four yet. When we finally watched season four, I remember that ALL of us were very surprised by the totally different direction the producers went. I also remember wondering why all of the characters didn’t come back.
I (personally) was sorry that they hadn’t simply stopped the Bramwell show after season three… even leaving loose ends dangling…