I have to disagree with comments made that the Masterpiece Theater productions 'Sleepers' and 'Clarissa' are "clunkers" or in the case of 'Clarissa,' "downright repulsive." 'Sleepers' is a charming tongue-in-cheek romp into the spy genre -- I still have it on VHS though it is rapidly decaying: Two forgotten Russian spies planted in London in the 1960s are discovered in the KGB files. When they don't respond to Moscow's directive to return for assignment, the hunt for the now reluctant spies begins.
'Clarissa,' though heartbreaking, is hardly repulsive. Based on the 18th century British novel by Samual Richardson, it is a classic telling of the 'rogue and the innocent.' Sean Bean plays the arrogant rake Lovelace, whose obsession with deflowering the beautiful but oh-so-chaste Clarissa leads to the destruction of his soul, his life, and the woman he comes to love. Much better a real story with some meat on its bones than the safe period dress 'soap operas' Masterpiece Theater has often offered over the years.
'Clarissa,' though heartbreaking, is hardly repulsive. Based on the 18th century British novel by Samual Richardson, it is a classic telling of the 'rogue and the innocent.' Sean Bean plays the arrogant rake Lovelace, whose obsession with deflowering the beautiful but oh-so-chaste Clarissa leads to the destruction of his soul, his life, and the woman he comes to love. Much better a real story with some meat on its bones than the safe period dress 'soap operas' Masterpiece Theater has often offered over the years.