Excellent production providing a vivid window on the twilight years of the British Raj in India. The social circumstances with all the prejudices and fears that existed at the time set against a riveting story line was most entertaining. Such a pity that the series did not go on to cover the period of WWII, partition and independence. The story could have developed into something very special.

I love India and love historical drama and I usually like BBC shows, so I expected to love this. After four episodes I can see it's not going to hold my interest. The history, which I didn't know much about, is fascinating, but the female characters are not portrayed as fully balanced human beings. Their narrative and character development is based, with a couple of small exceptions, entirely on their relationships with the men in their lives. The female/female conversations sometimes pass the Bechdel test in letter, but not in spirit, and their interactions with each other ring false to the female viewer. The (one) female character over 45 is stereotypically manipulative and small-minded. Yawn. I can get this from American TV, expect better from BBC.Reading other viewers' reviews I see that it rings false for people who are familiar with the geographic region where the show supposedly takes place, as well. This is less of an issue with my enjoyment, but is disappointing to hear as I do like realism in historical dramas.Frustrating, because I would love to be able to enjoy this show. Maybe they will get more women involved in its writing and development down the road, but I'm not sure it will hold my attention long enough to find out. I may try to find some books or other materials about this historical period, however, because it's fascinating and as an American it's not something I've really learned much about.

Indian Summers ain't no Downton Abbey. It barely meets the mark as a show worthy to be on Masterpiece Theater. Only the gorgeous scenery and the historical context make the show worth a tiny bit of time, but I could google photos and read some books and get more out of it than I have gotten from Indian Summers.I have watched every episode thus far, waiting, hoping that I would finally experience some logical character development. No such luck. Last Sunday's episode turned out to be the new nadir. Bright spots are easy to discern as there are so few of them:1) the storyline between McLeod and Sood has a lot of potential, and someone should write an entire series exploring this time period through the relationship between those two men. That would be fascinating.2) the scenery is gorgeous, and almost makes me want to travel there, except for the fact that reality today falls very short of the fantasy portrayed in the showThat's about it for the bright spots.I am undecided if I will continue to watch the show. I do have a compulsion to finish what I have started, so I probably will, but I won't be happy as I watch it. I don't care for any of these characters. Only Dalal's father would be good company. The rest give me the creeps.This is not a family show, either. Keep your remote handy in order to avoid the unnecessary simulated sex scenes. I don't watch HBO for a reason, and don't like Masterpiece Theater programs resembling those other cable shows.Lastly, can someone please increase the budget for dialect training? Why do the British dialect teachers and the actors themselves keep perceiving Americans as talking with such absurd dialects? This is a common problem in BBC shows for many years. Those actors assigned to play the Americans are evidently told to pronounce every vowel as if their faces were being stretched wide in order to get the most annoying sounds ever. No Americans sound like this. Never did. Perhaps this is on purpose - make the American characters sound as foolish as possible. Could be. In any case, it's annoying and stupid.My family would love to find another Downton Abbey, but we will wait patiently for it. Poldark has been our most favorite of the recent series. If Indian Summers is renewed, it won't be on our viewing watchlist.

Being born and brought up in Simla, only a few years after the British left, I hated it!!! It was so hard to watch. Simla is at 7500 ft above sea level. Tropical foliage where there should have been majestic deodars or Himalayan Cedars. Why did they not film it in Scotland? The vegetation and topography is so much more like the Himalayas. The Raj was as much about Simla and its unique landscape and the way it influenced life and government as anything else. The whole concept of the Mall and Promenade every evening, the Gaiety Theater and Green Room, Bandstand not to mention A race course created on a small hill using local labor to flatten the ridge to create an oval space, defined Simla. I actually have a map of the houses of the British which enabled social activity without losing ones way.The producers, directors etc, just did not get it! The Indians consisted of many more levels of society...educated, refined and of illustrious families.....than just household retainers and clerks. The British Civil servants themselves, were generally competent and decent and their lives consisted of a lot more than socializing. A bad show, misinforming the viewers. So disappointed, PBS!