Lark Rise to Candleford Saved My Life

Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but, at the end of the day, watching Lark Rise to Candleford is like taking a tranquilizer before bed without the next morning zombie-like effect.

For years, my husband and I have been watching lawyer/cop dramas at night. Just looking for a story to wrap up the day and forget our troubles, we've subjected ourselves to child abuse, unfairly accused people driven to suicide, torture, kidnapping and more torture, and the sheer torture of watching the authorities accuse everyone they meet in the course of an investigation of the most hideous crimes imaginable. It don't make for sound sleep and a relaxed mind.

I can' t help but wonder if the popularity of the profoundly awful reality shows indicate that people are sick to death of murder and mayhem, brutal criminals, and obnoxious authority figures.

And when we do fixate on a show, it's the kiss of death. Producers should run pilots by us. If we like it, they could save a lot of money and ditch the whole thing.

Somehow, by accident, we stumbled on Lark rise to Candleford. Drawn by the picturesque setting - every scene looks like a 19th century painting and many scenes resemble my favorite art, 19th century landscapes and impressionist landscapes.

Set in late 19th century England, a cast of characters live life full of the simple day to day problems sans electricity. In our first episode, Laura lost a package she was supposed to deliver, damaging the self respect she had earned by assisting the controversial post mistress of Candleford. Following episodes introduced plots filled with tenderness, unfulfilled desire, fear, shame, and my all time favorite poignancy.

None of the characters are fabulously beautiful, although the late Victorian/ early Edwardian outfits certainly are. The serial follows the inhabitants of a market town, and a nearby hamlet called Lark Rise. Even the names of the places are poetic. Drawn from a memoir written in the 1930's and 40's by Flora Thompson around her youth in Oxfordshire, England, the quaint setting and people belie the complexity of the simple dramas enacted in the show.

Characters are complex and varied with personality traits that are both annoying and endearing. Dorcas Lane,the post mistress, has inherited her post office from her father. She is a strong minded feminist, a kind hearted employer, busy-body, a love sick spinster, both generous and petty, straight-laced and silly.

The Pratt sisters are self righteous, pretentious pains-in-the-ass as well as loving, ambitious, and foolish.

Lark Rise to Candleford is a BBC production (of course) that our local PBS station airs in the afternoon. We tape it to watch at night. When I first fell in love with LR2C, I googled it only to learn that the BBC has already canceled it! Four years of kindness and poignancy is all we get.