The Paradise

princess garnet · Post by **princess garnet** » Mon October 7th, 2013, 8:46 pm

Did anyone watch "The Paradise" aired on PBS "Masterpiece" last night? It's an adaptation of Emile Zola's classic novel about a Parisian department store. (The original French title: Au Bonheur des Dames) For this TV adaptation, the store's setting was in northern England instead of Paris.

I read Zola's The Ladies' Paradise (in English translation) for an undergrad history class so the storyline was familiar.

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Mon October 7th, 2013, 11:19 pm

I DVRed it, but have not yet watched it.

Madeleine · Post by **Madeleine** » Tue October 8th, 2013, 8:45 am

I didn't watch it, but it was very popular in the UK and a second series is starting soon. I tried to watch it, but personally I preferred Mr Selfridge.

donroc · Post by **donroc** » Tue October 8th, 2013, 2:49 pm

[quote=""Madeleine""]I didn't watch it, but it was very popular in the UK and a second series is starting soon. I tried to watch it, but personally I preferred Mr Selfridge.[/quote]

I also prefer Mr. Selfridge, but it is still better than most stuff on TV.

fljustice · Post by **fljustice** » Tue October 8th, 2013, 3:08 pm

I watched and also felt it suffered in comparison to Mr. Selfridge. If I hadn't seen MS earlier in the year I would have enjoyed Paradise more. And totally agree, it's still much better than most crap on TV.

lauragill · Post by **lauragill** » Tue October 8th, 2013, 3:43 pm

[quote=""Madeleine""]I didn't watch it, but it was very popular in the UK and a second series is starting soon. I tried to watch it, but personally I preferred Mr Selfridge.[/quote]

I couldn't stop comparing it to Mr. Selfridge, either. Moray even looks like Selfridge.

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Mon October 28th, 2013, 11:17 pm

I had DVRed the first three episodes, and decided to watch episode 1 after dinner tonight. I got about 30 minutes in and decided to bail out. Deleted all the episodes I had DVRed. Agree that it pales in comparison to Mr. Selfridge. I didn't like any of the characters and felt they were rather stilted.

Downton Abbey will be back on January 5 and Ripper Street will be on BBC America starting December 1.

Madeleine · Post by **Madeleine** » Tue October 29th, 2013, 9:29 am

Ripper Street started last night here - very strong opening and set things up nicely, I think, looks like it will be quite different from the first series. Certainly not for the faint-hearted! Definitely not a fluffy costume drama.

Mythica · Post by **Mythica** » Tue October 29th, 2013, 12:17 pm

[quote=""fljustice""]I watched and also felt it suffered in comparison to Mr. Selfridge. If I hadn't seen MS earlier in the year I would have enjoyed Paradise more. And totally agree, it's still much better than most crap on TV.[/quote]

IIRC, The Paradise aired in the UK before Mr. Selfridge so that might be why it fared better in the UK.

Ripper Street is one of my favs, haven't watched last night's ep yet though! BBA's "Copper" was a bit similar but they've cancelled it unfortunately.

Madeleine · Post by **Madeleine** » Tue October 29th, 2013, 4:10 pm

[quote=""Mythica""]IIRC, The Paradise aired in the UK before Mr. Selfridge so that might be why it fared better in the UK.

Ripper Street is one of my favs, haven't watched last night's ep yet though! BBA's "Copper" was a bit similar but they've cancelled it unfortunately.[/quote]

Yes The Paradise did air before Mr S - not sure when Mr S is coming back for a new series, presumably when Downton finishes it's current run.