The Paradise {series one}

I am a huge fan of period dramas. (Talk about stating the obvious, right? ;)

Give me an Austen adaptation and I am a very happy lady! I'm not just fond of Jane Austen though. There are lots of wonderful period dramas out there, and I am slowly getting my chances to watch some of them. The Paradise has been out on dvd for quite a while and why it's taken me so long to get around to watching it I'll never know. But watch it I did, so on with the post, shall we?


I thoroughly enjoyed every moment spent in this vast and ahead-of-its-time store. Firstly, the set designers did an absolutely fantastic job! The sets are simply amazing. I watched the behind the scenes footage and they talked about how it's actually all one big set where you can walk in the front door and wind your way through almost all of the rooms used for filming. Which is cool! The way the show is filmed, the store feels like a real place and I suspect the ability to be one big set helps a lot with that feeling. But also the hats! And the dresses! And the gloves! (Ladieswear in general.) And every other part of the store! It all combines, along with the characters themselves, to create a lush and scenic show to watch. We see the elegance of the front surroundings, yet also behind the curtain, to where the real (and less elegant) lives of the shopgirls exists. It's quite amazingly well done, in my opinion.


And I also loved all the clothes the actors got to wear. Not so sure it was comfortable for them, but they looked fabulous! The ladies dresses especially. The particular time period this is set in (1870s) certainly made the fashions quite stunning. So many colors and designs. And the hairstyles! I loved the hairstyles and all the hats the ladies wore.

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But of course, one of the most important aspects is the characters. Any period drama would be utterly lost without unique characters! And this one most definitely has those. Mr. Moray and Denise are the most intriguing for me. Mostly because they get the most airtime and much of the story revolves around one or the other. Or both! They certainly have palpable chemistry together. But there's also Pauline (who I loved) and Clara (who had to grow on me), as well as Sam (who had to grow on me as well) and Dudley (who is such a great friend and manager) and Jonas (who is extremely creepy) and Arthur (who is cute and just made me want to sweep him into a hug, he could use a little more love in his life). Also Miss Audrey (who had such a great storyline, I wasn't sure about her at first, but I grew to really like her) and Denise's Uncle Peter (who was awesome), and then there's Katherine (who I didn't like) and her father, Mr. Glendenning (who I didn't really like either). Not to mention several side characters of note! Plus it's just so fun to see several familiar faces as well as some new ones. I especially loved seeing Olivia Hallinan (of Lark Rise to Candleford) again. Even if her character wasn't especially lovable. :)


All in all, it's quite a fun series and now I'm anxious to see series two and find out what happens. I do have to admit, however, that while I enjoyed it, I wasn't blown away with happiness. I don't think it'll be one that I'll add to my collection anytime soon. The storylines just simply didn't grip me like I thought they might. I ended up skimming through several of the episodes and not feeling like I had missed much. But overall, I'm still very happy I watched it. And I would recommend it to any other period drama lover as well. For the fashions alone if nothing else! :)