"Bea, don't look back." - Louise Lombard as Evie Eliott
The House of Eliott: Series Two DVD Review
By A.J. Carson
Set in 1920s London, The House of Eliott: Series One followed the adventures of Beatrice (Stella Gonet) and Evangeline Eliott (C.S.I.'s Louise Lombard), sisters who were left virtually penniless when their father unexpectedly died. In order to support themselves, the sisters found menial jobs. Soon, the plucky pair decided to risk opening their own business - The House of Eliott - in order to make money and keep London women in high fashion. Their dreams seemed to be coming true at last, but scandal, deception, quarrels, and ill will threatened them at every turn.
The House of Eliott: Series Two finds the duo sailing to Paris where they have been offered jobs with a celebrated Parisian couturiere. While their own business is successful, it is also small. If The House of Eliott is to grow, this on-the-job training in Paris might be just what is needed. But are they willing to give up their independence? For Bea, Paris proves to be so romantic and inspirational that she finally agrees to marry Jack Maddox (Touching Evil's Aden Gillett), a former society photographer who is now struggling to make a living as a filmmaker. Will Evie return to London with her newly married sister, or will she take up the job offer in Paris?
Unfortunately, Series Two finds the show in somewhat of a sophomore slump. What was inventive and unique in Series One seems recycled here. A sudden death throws the sisters into financial peril. Again. A possibly nefarious caretaker is put in charge of their funds. Again. The duo throws out an entire collection after finding inspiration in artwork. Again. Evie dates a daredevil. Again. The very existence of The House of Eliott is called into doubt thanks to bad decision making. Again. We've seen it all before.
Series One was literate, like watching a novel on television. Series Two instead veers toward soap and bathos. There is little flow between episodes. Instead, each features a series of situations that would seem right at home on Dallas or Dynasty. Affairs, betrayals, scandal, and even murder are touched upon before the series' wandering eye moves on to something else.
However, the series is still blessed with excellent acting and production values. Lombard and Gonet are charming, lighting up the screen whether alone or together. The remainder of the sprawling cast is also memorable (be on the lookout for Cold Feet's Robert Bathurst). The series makes terrific use of location shots, and more effort seems to have been put in to constructing sets this time around.
The twelve episodes that make up The House of Eliott: Series Two are divided onto four discs. The discs are housed in four thin keepcases which slide into a cardboard slipcover. The back of each keepcase includes brief synopses of the episodes found on the DVDs. The synopses don't give away any major plot points, but they reveal enough that viewers may still want to avoid reading them until after watching the episodes.
The menus are simple and functional. Viewers can choose to watch an entire episode or can jump directly to a scene using the "Scene Selection" menu.
