Gossip is certainly a way of life in CRANFORD where the neighborhood seems to be ruled by ladies who have nothing better to do than arrange marriage proposals or spread misinformed gossip about any new arrival in town--or, for that matter, any new ideas that might endanger the "way of life" in their small universe.As always in all of these British miniseries, the acting is impeccable, the costumes are perfect, the settings have an authentic look, and the color photography captures every scene with uncanny nuances of light and shadow.But upon close examination, the screenplay gives one little time to reflect on the eccentric and very plentiful characterizations. JUDITH DENCH has the biggest responsibility of carrying the personal drama but everyone around her seems equally capable of wringing the most from every scene. MICHAEL GAMBON's scenes with Judith are exquisitely played, with much regret lingering below the surface that their relationship has been stifled by events they were unable to control.Viewers of this sort of Victorian drama will enjoy--others may not be able to keep up with all the village characters involved. One almost expects a murder to break out so that we can begin to view all the characters in a suspicious light as though we were watching a typical Agatha Christie story which is always cluttered with too many suspects

I generally like period pieces because they usually build their characters and create suspense so well. Unfortunately, this series is an exception to this rule. There are too many characters and story lines for the viewer to care about, if they manage to keep track of them all. Moreover, the stories are *so* predictable - it's infuriating!! I mean *everybody* either dies or gets married, and the only source of suspense is the question which will it be this time. On a positive note, the acting is outstanding, I especially enjoyed the performance of the actress who plays Mary Smith. But this is not enough!! Indeed the great acting makes the screenplay's faults appear all the more distinct because just when you are persuaded that some character is really struggling with some emotion (for example Sophie's guilt after Walter's death or Matty's fear after Debora's death) they promptly forget all about it for no apparent reason. In conclusion, it won't be a great shame to skip this one, even if you're one who enjoys period films.

This series was recommended to me because I loved the BBC adaptations of Bleak House and North and South. It is a very high-quality production, but the story is pure fluff and lacks any substance. I've never read the books, but based on this series I would assume that, when they were written, they were pretty commonplace light reading. Someone else here described this as a "soap opera," and I completely agree. It's a nice cute series of stories, but contains nothing really interesting. In particular, the romance between Dr. Harrison and Sophie Hutton couldn't have been more boring and predictable, watching any of THAT was a complete waste of time.

I am at heart an Austen girl, and I will admit that I find that the BBC's adaptations often far outrank any other, and Cranford was no exception. I have yet to read the books but have dropped heavy hints to Santa. The BBC has, if I'm honest disappointed me recently, but for one Cranford' quality programme I can almost forgive for everything else. Pure excellence. Cranford had me in tears for every episode, and often begging for the happy ending which given the often dark nature of the narrative was unlikely to come, and often didn't. Wonderful performances, from the Sirs and Dames, down to the youngster who played Harry Gregson, and with wonderful characterisation, which made the characters lovable and known and even gives unseen characters and histories unseen depths which are sometimes unavoidably and sadly missed in period pieces. A wonderful job. One request, may 'Cranford' never meet Hollywood, they won't be able to do it better than the BBC! Does anyone know when it comes out on DVD?