I loved seasons 1 to 4. I've read all the books and loved them too, so I was pleased to see this series stick so closely to those books.
Season 5 though was a complete fabrication by the writers. There was a 10 year time jump in the books between book 7 - The Angry Tide, which ends with Elizabeth's death, and book 8 - The Stranger From The Sea. The writers decided to tie up loose ends by making up a final season. They also wanted to avoid the difficulties involved in that time jump, for example explaining how Ross become a spy in Portugal. I really wish they had not bothered, because the result is dire.
For some reason Ross and Demelza's children have not grown older, neither have the other characters - except for Geoffrey Charles who seems to have missed the memo about no time jump, because he has aged years and is now a young man, not a schoolboy.
The plot reuses tired old devices from earlier seasons - another mine disaster, another famine, another prison break - and introduces new characters. Ned Despard was a real historical character, so was his wife, but they don't seem to have ever visited Cornwall. Horatio Nelson testified at the real Despard's trial, but doesn't get a gig here. They also introduce a silly young female "revolutionary" who brings a wealth of nastiness to what plot there is. They created a stupid romance for Geoffrey Charles, The season focuses on the sort of dark nastiness you might find in a bad American soap, without the inevitable rescues in the nick of time. The whole thing is beyond dismal.
Heaven knows what Winston Graham would have made of this tripe. The final season completely ruins all that went before.
Season 5 though was a complete fabrication by the writers. There was a 10 year time jump in the books between book 7 - The Angry Tide, which ends with Elizabeth's death, and book 8 - The Stranger From The Sea. The writers decided to tie up loose ends by making up a final season. They also wanted to avoid the difficulties involved in that time jump, for example explaining how Ross become a spy in Portugal. I really wish they had not bothered, because the result is dire.
For some reason Ross and Demelza's children have not grown older, neither have the other characters - except for Geoffrey Charles who seems to have missed the memo about no time jump, because he has aged years and is now a young man, not a schoolboy.
The plot reuses tired old devices from earlier seasons - another mine disaster, another famine, another prison break - and introduces new characters. Ned Despard was a real historical character, so was his wife, but they don't seem to have ever visited Cornwall. Horatio Nelson testified at the real Despard's trial, but doesn't get a gig here. They also introduce a silly young female "revolutionary" who brings a wealth of nastiness to what plot there is. They created a stupid romance for Geoffrey Charles, The season focuses on the sort of dark nastiness you might find in a bad American soap, without the inevitable rescues in the nick of time. The whole thing is beyond dismal.
Heaven knows what Winston Graham would have made of this tripe. The final season completely ruins all that went before.