I just finished watching this series, and in the end, I must give it a thumbs down. It's well made for what it is. But what it is isn't anything very good.Sure, it's well made. It's well acted, well directed; it looks good, the sets and costumes and all bring the various periods to life. It's a classy, competent product. But what is the product? What is this thing they've made into a movie? Well, I'll tell you what it is: it's the story of a man's life. That's it. There's no plot other than that. Which is to say, there's no plot at all. By definition, a plot is connected sequence of events which follow a logical sequence to arrive at a climax. There's none of that here. There's just the events of one man's life. So what we have is not a plot, just a bunch of stuff that happens.Sorry, for me, plot is not optional, it is essential. Granted, some of the stuff that happens is interesting. Some of it is heart-wrenching. But in the end, it's still just a series of vignettes, not a coherent, integrated whole.

Mr Boyd's novel has this quote from Henry James on the frontispiece and is written in a style that combines Evelyn Waugh and Anthony Burgess to great effect. It follows Logan Mountstuart from his days as a rather unpleasant, arrogant public school man till his death aged 85,and is in the form of a journal. The TV series is made as a straightforward tale and suffers a lack of a narrative voice. Mountstuart had a "nearly" life.He was "nearly" a successful novelist. He was "nearly" closely involved in some pivotal moments of the 20th century. In his early life he was "nearly" as clever as he thought he was. Mr Boyd wrote the screenplay so presumably was happy with the way his work was presented on screen. Personally I found the novel had been adapted for 21st century BBC TV presentation rather clumsily,with certain aspects coarsened. Logan's love life is somewhat de - sensitized to fit in with the medium's obsession with straining bodies and tangled sheets. Such is the abysmal quality of far too many TV productions today that "Any human heart" stands out as a work of really high quality amongst the dross. The actors - as so often - seem far from my conception of the characters they play:even the great Mr J.Broadbent is a way away from my idea of an elderly Mountstuart.But this is purely subjective and shouldn't be allowed to diminish your enjoyment of a superior TV series. Whilst in the novel Mountstuart is never entirely either likable or admirable,his televised version is less ambivalent. Unlike Master Copperfield he has no doubt as to who will turn out to be the hero of his story.

I only saw the two final episodes, so I missed some of the build-up, but I found it sort in interesting. One review said our hero was at key points in history, actually, he wasn't, he just happened to meet some people who were or became semi-famous. And anyway wouldn't we all remember what we were doing at key points, more so than most of our day to day lives? I liked the changing times and scenery and how Logan Mountstewart managed through and around them. I thought he was certainly lucky enough to have several fortunate events to come his way when he needed them the most such as Gloria (ex wife of a good friend) coming to pass the last days of her life just as he about destitute and bringing in some money, and then being bequeathed a house in France by somebody he barely met years before. I wish somebody would bequeath me a house! Typical 19th century English novel convenience. (see Jane Eyre) I found it a little hard to believe that he could abandon a dwelling for long periods of time, and then show up at them and have them not only be livable, but in fairly good repair. Houses don't work like that. But the running down of his flat over years was handled quite well.Once I understood that, one, these were scenes from his life that he was recalling with some fondness, and two, that women played an important part in them (eight mostly which is where 'Octet' came from), it became a little interesting to see how he would fare.One sequence I did find interesting, Kim Cattrell basically playing her age - and aging. And one sequence that should have affected me more because if done right, I can really get into it - his death was more happenstance than emotional. It was like, OK, he died, becoming a little better known and successful after death than he was while living.That leads to one of the bigger drawbacks of the production, basically everything was 'telegraphed' way in advance. It took a lot of the drama out. You knew the Duke and Duchess of Windsor would turn on him; you knew, everyone he loved would die almost tragically; you knew his last - sort of - love did not really know the past and he would be rejected when he found out and told her of it.Finally, one amusing but also embarrassing scene - Jim Broadbent trying to convince some 20-something left wing radicals that he had a lot in common with them. Neither his image nor the entire portrayal of Logan would lead anyone to accept that.Most the reviews so far are either gushing orchid letters or scathing criticisms. It warrants neither. Some good and some bad, with good production values, which is why it's a generous 6.

William Boyd has shown himself to be one of the finest readers & chroniclers of the Human Condition writing today. It is almost a badge of honour that he has not won an award from one of the product placement companies. My first exposure to his work was a short-story called "The Persistence of Vision" - a perfect gem. Whenever I get depressed with the current offerings in the shops, I revert and, within seconds, I am transported. If I were to say that the life of Logan Mountstuart parallels my own to an almost spooky degree, it is not to say that I have played golf with some HRH & had my matches nicked. I have never jumped from an airplane or worked as a spy. One thing is certain: William Boyd is a far better writer than Ernest Hemingway ever was.Today, like Logan Mountstuart, as I sort out photographs and ancient family papers, I find - often depressing - aspects of that earlier life, the appalling personal loss of a loved one, letters of despair. Here and there a picture drawn by a loved child.As I said, Mountstuart is Everyman. He was not a bold boy; nor a bad man. He was easily led, but he is a good man; honourable, in a way that Peter Scabius was false. And so, Boyd leads us alongside this fallible man; while we, on occasion, find ourselves aching to say to him "Don't!" It would be better to read the book in the first instance; the screenplay follows the same sequence and one is more prepared for the jump-shifts in time. It is what I call a satisfying read; what I would like to write if I had the talent. The acting is universally faithful to the characters, especially Matthew Mac Fadyean, who is utterly convincing & sympathetic. If the producers are going to transfer this to DVD, please keep it intact, as they did in the excellent VHS version of "Armadillo" - which suffered badly in the compressed version, on DVD.It is supremely gratifying to find that there is an audience who can relate to great drama; who have the patience to follow a complex storyline and debate its merits or otherwise. Sunday is going to seem empty when it ends.