SERIES REVIEW: The Paradise

It only ended  a few days ago, and I already miss it.

I’m talking, of course, about The Paradise, product of the BBC’s latest rummage through the period drama cupboard. Based on an Emile Zola novel and with Sarah Lancashire amongst the corset bearing cast – it was always going to be good.

The storyline follows Denise, a young shop girl from Peebles as she embarks on a new life in the city, as well as a new job in local department store, The Paradise. The shop is run, naturally, by a devilishly handsome, clever man named Moray who, naturally, she falls wholeheartedly in love with rather quickly. The enigmatic Moray, however, is, naturally, engaged to manipulative neighbourhood gentry type Katherine Glendenning (Elaine Cassidy), who, hell bent on making Moray love her back no matter what the cost, will stop at nothing to get her way. Throw in a fantastic supporting cast of other shop workers, including the aforementioned Ms Lancashire, Stephen Wight and period drama veteran Ruby Bentall, and a guest appearance from Arthur Darvill for good measure, and you’ve got the makings, it would seem, of a very good show.

And lo, it was indeed good. Emun Elliott is brilliant as the seductive, charming Moray, perfectly capturing the torment of a man caught between respectability, success and his own feelings with none of the usual maudlin stiff upper lip, sense of responsibility frequently bestowed upon us by dramas of the genre. The man never stops smiling, or winking, or generally looking rather animated for longer than ten seconds throughout the entire series. At worst, he gets a bit angry – a welcome change from, in my view anyway, the expressionless men of BBC2’s Parade’s End of a few months back. Joanna Vanderham is adorable as Denise, refreshingly clever for a period female lead, whilst remaining a caring, kind and ultimately three dimensional person. Again, and I can't say the word enough it seems, all very refreshing.

The older characters and generally formal dialogue, however, keep it safely the other side of the comforting ‘in another time’ line, making the series, I found, perfect cosy night or lazy Saturday viewing. It’s also oddly engrossing, possibly because of the team like, homely atmosphere of the department store, as well as the engaging nature of the characters’ relationships with each other. The, albeit brief, appearance of the insanely versatile and ever talented Arthur Darvill didn’t hurt either.

My only real criticism of the show, and I seem to find myself saying this rather a lot about dramas, so apologies for the repetition, is the ending. Having led us by the hand into this interesting, poignant and sweetly funny world, the production team seemed to suddenly let go and disappear off into the night at the last moment, credits rolling behind them. Happy and again, very safe, though the ending was, it came about all too quickly and gave no real sense of resolution or character depth. Which was a huge shame, really, as I haven’t got a bad word to say about the rest of it.

Anyway, ignoring the irritatingly brief, and all too soon ending, The Paradise is well worth a catch on iplayer if you can. If not, the box set would make a lovely Christmas present- even if you do only buy it for me.

-Jen

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