The Forsyte Saga

[treacle_a]

While everyone else was watching the DW finale last night, I was watching Damian Lewis as Soames Forsyte in the entire first season of 'The Forsyte Saga' and, consequently, rocking my world.

Has anyone else seen this? With Rupert Graves and Ioan Gruffudd as well? It's like high-grade OBASC crack.

Comments

[excantare]

It is basically obasc catnip, isn't it? *g* Ahh, Rupert Graves. AND Ioan. Although, I pretty much hated Damien Lewis at the end of that - not because he wasn't brilliant, but because he was a little too good at the evil. I felt like throwing things at the screen everytime Soames popped up.

[treacle_a]

I was actually surprised about the amount of sympathy I felt for him. I mean, he's a fucker, but he's all messed up isn't he? And twisted. I kept thinking how happy I could have made him if I'd been Irene...

::sigh::

[excantare]

Well, I was much more sympathetic to Soames as a character, particularly in the final few episodes, when I watched it again two years ago. When I first saw I was a) young and b)fangirling Ioan liek woah in the wake of Hornblower, so, though I blush to remember it, I think I spent most of the time yelling at the screen "No! You cannot tear Ioan and Irene apart - their love will last 4EVAH!", or something else equally shame worthy :D

[treacle_a]

I admit I dreamt about being his anti-Irene most of last night. And finding all kinds of ways to heal his tortured psyche...most sexually.

That scene where he rolls off her and she goes straight into the bathroom and gets out her antiquated victorian douche...

And he just pours himself a whiskey.

::shudders::

[treacle_a]

I adore Rupert Graves. He isn't in half as much stuff as he should be, but whenever I miss him I can just stick in "Room with a View". Freddy has to be one of my favourite screen brothers of all time.

"Oh come on Lucy!! He's simply RIPPING!!!!"

[boobookittifukk]

Oh my god. I love that series! It's what introduced me to Damian Lewis, and I fell in lust with him immediately. *sighs happily*

[treacle_a]

I'm actually a little ashamed that I'd never got around to watching it until this week. I think BoB was my introduction to DL, but I've since devoured everything else he's been in at a rate of knots.

His lips make my tummy feel funny :-$

[boobookittifukk]

Other than The Forsyte Saga, I also love him in Shakespeare Re-Told's Much Ado About Nothing! (And Richard Armitage in the series' version of Macbeth.) If you haven't seen Damian in Shakespeare Re-Told, I would STRONGLY recommend you go and see it. He's got fantastic comedic timing!

[treacle_a]

I have it thanks...thynk2much ripped it for me when it was first shown and I spent the entire length of it in a kind of Lewis-induced stupor of bliss. His hair is fabulous in that :P

[jellybean888]

The Forsyte Saga is fabulous - the books are good too.

[treacle_a]

So I'm told. It has a real feel of EM Forster about it.

[mmebahorel]

If you like Forster, Galsworthy is fab. And if you read plays and like Forster and Galsworthy, Granville Barker is amazing (the only thing of his that ever gets produced, it seems, is The Voysey Inheritance, but I fell in love with him, and thus with Forster and Galsworthy, based on The Madras House). They're all similar in that they write about the psychological breakdown of the Edwardian bourgeoisie.

Of course, Galsworthy then moves on into the 1920s and possibly 1930s (I don't have the last trilogy of the Forsyte Chronicles, but they cover a branch line, anyway, so I'm less concerned with it. I still haven't read the second trilogy but I have it - v. hard to find in the US, mine might actually be a first edition, but all three are still put out by Penguin UK).

[jellybean888]

The second trilogy is sooooooooooo depressing :(
Also, Galsworthy wrote a collection of short stories about the Forsytes called On Forsyte 'Change, it gives a bit more background to the family.