Parade's End: 6 Reasons It's A Must Watch Even if You Hate Period Dramas
Here’s why you, my fellow haters, and anyone I can tempt away from Downton, should catch the first few episodes on iPlayer.
You scan the TV on a Friday night and see Parades End pop up. Immediately, your eyes will roll, and you will tut Oh god, not another prestige costume drama and switch onto Cowboy Builders. And I am one of you. I generally despise period drama, especially Downton Abbey, one of the dullest, twee and unoriginal dramas to grace Quality British Televison (Well, ITV) in a long while. And that doesnt mean the Beeb is innocent- in fact, they are worse. How many friggin Dickens adaptations are we going to get, or Victorian novels sexed up? Poor show, Auntie Beeb. When I first head of Parades End, I balked. Nothing different, nothing special. But the presence of Benedict Cumberbatch, a convincing feature in an issue of Empire and the appeal of a Tom Stoppard script persuaded me to give the first episode a shot. It intrigued me enough to get into episode two, and I became hooked. Its a brilliant miniseries, and definitely worth everyones time, especially if you hate period drama. Because Parades End is far from a period drama, rather a drama that happens to be period. Heres why you, my fellow haters, and anyone I can tempt away from Downton, should catch the first few episodes on iPlayer in time for Episode 4 this Friday.