I read some Mervyn Peake years ago, so I know a little of his penchant for the bizarre and his love of language. I was ready to like Gormenghast, which I had not read before. This didn't work for me at all, and now I have no desire to go back an read the original.Positive: good production values, typical of British period film-making. Good actors, many familiar faces again from other UK TV films.Review. I found no characters with enough redeeming qualities to relate to in any fashion. The message is negative, ugly, gruesome, grotesque and distasteful. Likely someone involved with the production would argue that that is just the point: this is an allegory of a brutal, hateful and inhumane society. That it is, but I don't want to watch it! For entertainment to work, you have to have something that the typical human viewers can latch on to, usually by being able to empathize with at least one character. I particularly found the incessant squealing, whining, aching, hurting, yelling, and hollering of just about every character in the production very grating after only a few minutes into the film. An unpleasant viewing experience altogether.

I'm normally a lover of British fantasy (Harry Potter, Doctor Who, etc.), so I've been interested in checking out Gormenghast ever since it was first released. I happened to catch the first two episodes on PBS last night - and realized that I was better off skipping the rest of it! Gormenghast is a distillation of everything I find irritating about BBC productions, without any of the usual benefits of their house style. The acting is ludicrously over-the-top; after a few minutes, I got sick of watching normally respectable actors making stupid grimaces, shouting, whooping and generally carrying on like twits. The direction is rigid and unimaginative, and the film quality is cheap-looking, particularly in the bright outdoor scenes.Perhaps unusually for a BBC production, the sets and the costumes look great. However, the special effects are predictably woeful (I've seen better-looking models on Blakes' 7!) I was hoping that the script might contain a whiff of wit or social satire, but I'm afraid it failed to impress me. The jokes are pretty predictable, particularly those involving the university professors, who all fall asleep during their lectures and speak in mock-academic language. Talk about taking potshots at an easy target! As for the other characters, they tend to have dull and portentous dialog, such as "There is much that needs to be done." In fact, I think that particular phrase is uttered about six times in the first two episodes.I can't say if the original book is better. But I can say with confidence that this miniseries (or at least the first half of it) is rather rubbish. Unless, of course, you really relish the idea of watching venerable character actor Richard Griffiths attack venerable character actor Christropher Lee with a meat cleaver, while simultaneously making funny faces and snorting like a pig. Pfft!

When I watched this with a bunch of friends,only me and one other person felt that Steerpike was the protagonist. Everyone else was happy when he was defeated by Titus and found Titus the protagonist. Looking back I do realize that Titus is the "good guy" and Steerpike is the "bad guy" but didn't you find the story of Steerpike too touching to feel hate for him? He had never been loved as a child, and was so helpless in Swelter's kitchens. When he broke free he realized he had to do something in order to ensure that he never went back into his hell-those kitchens. Plus, he is honestly the most charismatic character I've met. It seems natural for people to fall in love with him, like Fuschia did. Why do people feel no empathy for him?~Rock and Roll is a prostitute-it should be tarted up~

This is one of the best miniseries I have ever seen. It's like Lord of the Rings, only without the Hobbits. If only they would show us the lovely face of Steerpike again...sigh... They don't make them any better in my book. The acting, the background, the lines: all brilliant!