There's a lot to like in this fluffy show if you enjoy costume dramas - the show takes viewers back to England in the 1870s with style and flair. The scripts are good enough (although too often the plot depends on coincidence and constantly overheard conversations), the direction acceptable (but fraught with too many overly emotional reactions shots), and the pacing brisk. But the actors! The secondary players are all exactly what you'd expect from such a production (especially Miss Audrey, who brings a little much needed humor to the show), but the leading man looks like a gay clone from 1970s San Francisco with his weird facial hair and wildly overdramatic expressions (and although he's supposed to be dashing, he seems to be about a foot shorter than the leading ladies). The aristocratic Katherine is played by a woman who more resembles a dazed graduate student than a Victorian beauty. And the leading lady is bland, although it's a tough role to carry off, being the least interesting character. All in all, it's just kind of weird watching these lost thespians wander about while everyone else in the cast looks and acts the part.
Review of The Paradise
