"I knew who I was and who I wasn't, because I had had forty years to work it out. And then suddenly, people wanted me on the cover of magazines. Government ministers phone me up for my opinion. And the man who I was in love with when I was twenty - and who ditched me for someone else - suddenly decides he's never stopped loving me, and that he wants to marry me." - Amanda Redman as Alison Braithwaite
At Home with the Braithwaites: Complete Second Series DVD Review
By Christopher W. Czajka
After a critically acclaimed and wildly successful first season, Britain's battling Braithwaites returned to ITV in 2001. The second season of this intensely addictive - and expertly crafted - dramatic comedy, created by British soap vet Sally Wainwright, picks up eight months after the conclusion of the first series (so if you haven't finished watching your first season DVDs yet, consider this your official spoiler alert). Alison Braithwaite (Amanda Redman), who had previously lived a very typical suburban life in northern England, has gone public and shared her fabulous secret with the world: she is the winner of the mega-jackpot of the first-ever Euro Lottery, and she and her delightfully dysfunctional family are now sitting upon a sizable (and at times, unmanageable) fortune. Throughout the first series, Alison hid her secret from her family, worrying that the sudden introduction of mammoth wealth would bring out the worst in them. The second series proves, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that her fears were hilariously well-founded.
Life has changed quite a bit for the Braithwaites since Alison's explosive revelation. Alison herself has undergone quite a makeover, and her new kicky blonde 'do makes her look appropriately monied and glamorous. The Braithwaites have ditched their comfortable suburban digs in favor of a sprawling, ostentatious country estate, complete with manicured gardens and a landscaped swimming pool (which makes this Yankee wonder how long the summer swimming season is in Yorkshire. . .two weeks, at best?). Alison's husband David (Dr. Who star Peter Davison), has broken off his affair with his horndog secretary, Elaine Fishwick (Judy Holt), in a desperate attempt to salvage his marriage. Ne'er-do-well daughter Virginia, after nearly murdering a reporter in Series One, is working at Alison's charitable trust. Middle daughter Sarah (Sarah Churm) is extremely pregnant with the child of hunky neighbor boy Phil Skidmore (Damian Zuk). And the Braithwaites' youngest daughter, the enigmatic and morbid Charlotte (Keeley Fawcett) is enrolled in a high-end boarding school.
Despite the trappings of wealth and privilege, the Braithwaites are far from happy. Alison hates her new house and is fairly certain that she'll divorce David. Virginia is still struggling with her sexuality, and simultaneously carrying on a secret relationship with her former college roommate, Tamsin (Lucy Whelan). Charlotte is relentlessly teased and bullied at her new school. And when David decides to throw a ridiculously overdone, overpriced housewarming party, his dangerously handsome brother Graham (Ray Stevenson) enters the scene and awakens long-suppressed feelings in Alison.
All of America, it seems, is caught up in ABC's two smash hits of the current television season, Desperate Housewives and Lost. Both of these shows could take quite a few lessons from At Home with the Braithwaites. While the plots of these primetime serials progress at a maddening snail's pace and present far more questions than answers in each weekly episode, At Home with the Braithwaites again careens along with breakneck pacing and lightning-fast plot developments, underscored by great acting and liberal doses of humor. Each episode is as exciting and satisfying as the last, and viewers' lingering questions are dealt with quickly, smartly, and appropriately. Watching Braithwaites gives you a good idea of what Desperate Housewives could potentially be. . .but no American network show in this day and age could hope to be as naughty, irreverent, risqué, and hilarious. A single episode of Braithwaites contains far more action, romance, intrigue, and comedy than everything we've seen thus far on Wisteria Lane. The careful, clever collisions of characters and plotlines, the freewheeling sexuality, and the diamond-sharp writing all make Braithwaites an intelligent, fun delight that current American serials can only aspire to reach.
The cast continues to deliver vigorous and terrific performances. Sarah Smart's Virginia, who rides a nonstop roller coaster of cataclysm and calamity throughout the season, shines in both dramatic and comedic moments. After making a series of extremely ill-informed and disastrous decisions, the dykey Virginia blubbers out to her mother, "I'll be good. . .I promise. . .I'll wear dresses." Julie Graham as Megan Hartnoll, the Braithwaites' conniving and manipulative neighbor from the burbs, is also a comic delight, and provides a winning combination of sexiness, bitchiness, and skullduggery. And Keeley Fawcett's haunted Charlotte proves that there's plenty of humor to be mined from deeply (DEEPLY) disturbed children. As a matter of fact, all of the cast--from Sylvia Syms and Lynda Bellingham as Alison's staffers at the Trust, to Ishia Bennison as the matriarch of the trashy Skidmore clan, to Kevin Doyle as Megan's hapless, hopelessly emasculated husband--provide solid, nuanced, wonderful work.
One criticism that could be leveled at the second series of Braithwaites is that at times - specifically when it tries to be more of a "traditional" soap opera - the action lags the teeniest bit. Perhaps because the rest of the series is so fast-paced and farcical, the "romantic" plotlines between Alison and her two primary love interests tend to slow the series down. However, when you're going 100 miles per hour, it can be a good thing to take a breather for a few minutes every now and then.
Simultaneously, the delicious and intersecting plotlines pile up so quickly that frequently, the characters' lives exceed even the most willing suspension of disbelief. Consider, for instance, that on a certain character's wedding day, the family is dealing with an accidental murder, an extortion plot, a recent suicide attempt, a family friend being released from jail, and a mysterious disappearance. If it weren't for the humor, it would be totally beyond belief. The series' tongue-in-cheekness, and constant winking at the audience, make the implausible extremely palatable.
After eight episodes that include - among other things - gunpoint abductions, a humpy pair of male strippers, a dizzying succession of blackmail plots, some fantastic slaps and drinks thrown in faces, a vicious fistfight, a sloppy foodfight, and a deadly expedition in search of some rare birds' nests, each of the Braithwaites (with the exception of young Charlotte), end up in the arms of their one true love. At least, that is, until Series Three arrives on DVD.
The eight episodes that comprise the second series are divided onto three DVDs. The DVDs are housed in regular-sized plastic keepcases, which slide into a cardboard slipcover. The menu designs are simple and functional. Episodes on each disc are listed, while footage from the episodes plays in a small window. There is individual scene selection for each of the episodes.
