This kept popping up for me to view and at first I did not watch as I wasn't sure I would enjoy the setting... war time. But the appeal of watching two extraordinary actresses : Francesca Annis and Samantha Bond.. drew me in in the end. So glad I watched. I felt the first episode had to take time to set the stage and the characters and from there it just got better and better. I can remember my Mother talking about the second world war and what the women did in particular during that time. I feel as though this series really captured the essence of the strength of the women and the strength of people, women and men, when outside threats bring a community together. I loved how the small arguments between the WI members at the beginning fall away into respect and friendship as the months continued. Of course Francesca Annis and Samantha Bond are outstanding but so are the rest of the cast, women and men alike. Claire Rushbrook, with whom I am not familiar as I have lived in the US for many years, is absolutely outstanding in the role of Pat Simms. As for Mark Bazeley as Bob, her cruel & vindictive husband, he's terrific, I just wanted to punch him! The authenticity of the locations, sets, clothing, make up etc is first class and it must be quite hard to achieve that.. we are talking about a time which is now 80 years ago. Like other reviewers, I am dismayed that ITV canceled it. I recall the same reaction when BBC canceled 'Merlin" ... even though Merlin had more viewers than Home Fires. It seems that viewing figures of 5 - 6 million is not enough to constitute keeping a show going. I wonder what the other long running dramas get ? I simply refuse to believe that more than 50% of the general public want to watch the boring, CGI, violent, blood spattering, badly acted rubbish that is in most shows nowadays. That stuff is being marketed consistently and yet it is these shows, portraying a time when communication between men and women and people in general was gentler, more respectful and shows humanity that many people want to see. Thank you to the producers, director, cast and production crew for making such an authentic and engaging show. I hope that some other production company will have the courage to take this up and continue the story. Amazon, Netflix, Hulu... are you listening?

just one glaring error during the titles; one of the Spitfires wears "invasion stripes" [ not painted onto aircraft until 1944] otherwise looks pretty realistic as regards scene setting etc. All the cast are believable and the clothing seems close to the period, with the ladies being more elegant, even the working class ones; it seems to capture those earlier days of the war and the bombing had not started in earnest yet. getting feedback from people in the northwest who lived through that period, they seem to feel it has captured something of that period; I am a little too young but lived through the V! doodlebugs dropping on north London;

I know that Bob Simms was not untypical of the men of that era, in which he expected his wife to wait on him hand and foot, put his meal before him, and even put sugar in his tea - that was her job! But I found the scenes of his bullying very upsetting. Although viewers in this day and age would not understand why she allowed him to treat her like that, and why she did not walk out on him, rather than cover it up, in those days she would have been convinced that she would have a difficult time getting a job and finding somewhere to live, as she had been so brainwashed into feeling worthless and that she deserved to be treated like she was, that she would not have had the courage to leave him. She could have got a job and somewhere else to live as workers were in short supply when the men went off to war, but she hadn't the confidence.The accountant who was being blackmailed into falsifying the accounts of war profiteers should have gone to the police regardless of their threats. Once again, someone was allowing themselves to be bullied.Other than that, I found that the series overall was very comforting to watch, showing time when people kept their ready cash in a tin on the mantelpiece, and when they paid a bill, placed the banknotes in an envelope. I was an avid viewer of 'Un Village Francais', which was similar except that the French Villagers had to cope with the German occupation rather than making jam and digging victory gardens. It will be interesting to see if this series also lasts for six years!

It is an absolute delight to see a drama about the Second World War from the women's perspective. From the outset I was gripped by the characters. The anxiety among the entire village of what might be to come casts a pall over the country in the late summer of 1939. Stunning sets and achingly beautiful cinematography with sweeping shots of the glorious Cheshire countryside, this drama nevertheless holds the promise of great menace and danger to come. Simon Block has created characters that are emotionally intelligent and with great integrity and authenticity, translated effortlessly into outstanding performances by a stellar cast. The imminence of the war and the women's determination not to be cowed by whatever the next few months might bring is never stronger than in the very first scene: strong femininity versus the brutal machines of war. I know whose side I am on.