I've always really enjoyed this series. However, for a show that extols the virtues of tradition, stability and family, it has possibly the highest casualty rates among its cast of any television series in history. In just five years, only one member of the original ensemble cast remained with the show. Together with all the supporting characters who were brought in for a few episodes before moving on, the impression was that there was a stampede to get away from the crumbling Highlands estate of Glenbogel. Recently BBC America has been racing through the series on a five-day-a-week schedule, exhausting the entire life of the show in only three or four months. With this accelerated viewing, you can see the series morph before your eyes. It remained entertaining throughout, but the organic balance of the original quickly evaporated.
The main problem is that although the show started with a well-balanced cast, the only departing cast member who was replaced with a dramatically similar character was Archie (Alastair MacKenzie), whose half-brother Paul (Lloyd Owen) stepped seamlessly into his shoes. Beyond this, the original equilibrium was quickly thrown off-kilter. The show particularly felt the loss of Archie's father (Richard Briers), who provided most of the original whimsical comedy. After that the show became a succession of stories of unrequited love and hurt feelings with little or no leavening for several seasons. Finally in the last year or two the whimsy returned in the person of Donald, the family's black sheep brother (Tom Baker) and Ewan, a lovable young scamp who apparently hailed from the Scottish branch of the Bowery Boys clan (Martin Compston). These two and their wacky schemes together finally brought the levity of the original back to the series.
Through all its iterations the show remained warm and entertaining. What it could have used was more stability.
The main problem is that although the show started with a well-balanced cast, the only departing cast member who was replaced with a dramatically similar character was Archie (Alastair MacKenzie), whose half-brother Paul (Lloyd Owen) stepped seamlessly into his shoes. Beyond this, the original equilibrium was quickly thrown off-kilter. The show particularly felt the loss of Archie's father (Richard Briers), who provided most of the original whimsical comedy. After that the show became a succession of stories of unrequited love and hurt feelings with little or no leavening for several seasons. Finally in the last year or two the whimsy returned in the person of Donald, the family's black sheep brother (Tom Baker) and Ewan, a lovable young scamp who apparently hailed from the Scottish branch of the Bowery Boys clan (Martin Compston). These two and their wacky schemes together finally brought the levity of the original back to the series.
Through all its iterations the show remained warm and entertaining. What it could have used was more stability.