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By
FRANK BEHRENS
If you ever thought you have
had one of those days, picture this: A mother of
three named Alison Braithwaite (Amanda Redman) is
given a winning lottery ticket for her birthday by
younger daughter Charlotte (Keeley Fawcett) and
winds up with £38,000,000. Knowing what her family
is like, she tells no one except two women (played
by Lynda Bellingham and Sylvia Syms) who help her
form a charitable trust to give the money away to
needy people.
Meanwhile, her not-too-brainy husband David (Peter
Davison) is trying to wriggle out of a hot affair
with his secretary Elaine (Judy Holt), her older
daughter Virginia (Sarah Smart) has a lesbian
crush on their neighbor Megan (Julie Graham), who
is having an affair with a young window washer,
and all the while her middle daughter Sarah (Sarah
Churm) lets her drama teacher know how she feels
about him but later gets pregnant by her boyfriend
-- plus at the same time the press is sniffing
around closer and closer to the true identity of
the lottery winner!
And that is only the surface problems Alison is
facing in the opening season of this British
television hit, "At Home with the Braithwaites."
Played for shock, tears and laughs, the first
season of this series is now available in a boxed
set from Acorn Media. My wife and I watched the
two DVDs (6 episodes) on three consecutive nights
and thoroughly enjoyed them. Of course, the plot
was exaggerated beyond credibility -- but the wish
fantasy of winning a huge lottery makes it too
strong to resist the story of someone who actually
did win, even if that person is fictional.
Davison has the acting skill to give you a really
believable idiot whose face you would love to
punch; while Smart's pouting and feeling sorry for
herself because of all the trouble she herself has
caused makes her at the same time sympathetic (she
never could get her parents to listen) and
repugnant (nothing can excuse her actions, only
explain them). Don't you agree that the British
actors are good at creating such characters that
are at the same time typical and yet completely
individual?
This is the kind of series you invite friends over
to see and have a game of predicting what new
problems will arise in the next episode. And
believe me, it takes great acting to make all of
this palatable. And if you any of you recognize
your own problems in all this, it is because
keeping big secrets to yourself can be dangerous
to your health.
The only bonus features are some selective film
biographies of the main characters. Also, although
the original telecasts are in 16:9 ratio, the
company that supplies Acorn Media has told them
only the full-screen version of the Season 1 is
available. That accounts for some awkward
compositions in some shots. |
