The Village (2013 TV series)
| The Village | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Peter Moffat |
| Written by | Peter Moffat |
| Directed by | Antonia Bird Gillies MacKinnon |
| Starring | John Simm Maxine Peake Nico Mirallegro Bill Jones Juliet Stevenson |
| Composer | Adrian Corker |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | John Griffin George Faber Charles Pattinson Peter Moffat |
| Producer | Emma Burge |
| Production location | Derbyshire |
| Cinematography | David Odd |
| Editors | St. John O'Rorke Anne Sopel |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Company Pictures |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 31 March – 5 May 2013 |
The Village is a BBC TV series written by Peter Moffat. The drama is set in a Derbyshire village in the 20th century. The first series of what Moffat hopes will become a 42-hour TV drama was broadcast in spring 2013 and covered the years 1914 to 1920. A second series has been confirmed for 2014 which will continue the story into the 1920s.[1] Future series would be set in the Second World War, post-war Austerity Britain, and so on.
The Village tells the story of life in a Derbyshire village through the eyes of a central character, Bert Middleton. Bert has been portrayed as a boy by Bill Jones, as a teen by Alfie Stewart, and as an old man by David Ryall. John Simm plays Bert's father John Middleton, an alcoholic Peak District farmer, and Maxine Peake plays Bert's mother, Grace. Peake is a preferred actress of the writer, who has called her "the best actress of her generation", and she has featured in two previous Moffat series, Criminal Justice and Silk.
Writer Peter Moffat has spoken of wanting to create 'a British Heimat', alluding to Edgar Reitz's epic German saga Heimat, which followed one extended family in a region of Rhineland from 1919 to 1982. Unlike Downton Abbey, this version of history is a working-class history—"domestics are expected to face the walls when the master walks by".[2]
The first series was filmed in and around Hayfield, Edale, Glossop, Chapel-en-le-Frith and Charlesworth in the Peak District, and in the grounds of Tatton Park in Cheshire, during October to December 2012.[3][4]
John Simm used local historian Margaret Wombwell's book Milk, Muck and Memories in his research for how the farmers from the period lived, and Moffat researched locally and at the Imperial War Museum.[2]
Main cast
- John Simm as John Middleton
- Maxine Peake as Grace Middleton
- Nico Mirallegro as Joe Middleton
- Bill Jones as Young Bert Middleton
- David Ryall as Old Bert
- Charlie Murphy as Martha Lane
- Juliet Stevenson as Clem Allingham
- Augustus Prew as George Allingham
- Emily Beecham as Caro Allingham
- Rupert Evans as Edmund Allingham
- Kit Jackson as Lord Allingham
- Matt Stokoe as Gerard Eyre
- Stephen Walters as Crispin Ingham
- Ainsley Howard as Norma Greaves
- Annabelle Apsion as Margaret Boden
- Anthony Flanagan as Arnold Hankin
- Chloe Harris as Agnes
- Scott Handy as Robin Lane
- Joe Duttine as Rutter
- Amelia Young as Polly
- Jim Cartwright as Peter the Landlord
- Joe Armstrong as Detective Stephen Bairstow
- Alfie Stewart as Teen Bert Middleton
- Ellie Grainger as Mary Middleton
Episodes
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewing figures (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode 1"[5] | Antonia Bird | Peter Moffat | 31 March 2013 | 8.17[6] | |
|
It is the present day. Bert Middleton is the second oldest man in Britain, and a film is being made about his life and his village. He takes us back to the summer of 1914, when he was twelve years old. Bert and his brother Joe fall in love with the same woman, and Britain declares war on Germany. Joe considers whether he should enlist, and Grace pushes him to seek his freedom. | ||||||
| 2 | "Episode 2"[7] | Antonia Bird | Peter Moffat | 7 April 2013 | 6.85[8] | |
|
It is January 1915; the Middleton farm has fallen on very hard times, and John is drinking heavily as his desperation grows. Bert assumes responsibility for his mother and the survival of his family. A strange incident takes place at the manor house when John is seen chasing Caro out of the woods. Detective Bairstow is called in to investigate and the dark secret in John's past is revealed, leaving John to question whether he can go on. | ||||||
| 3 | "Episode 3"[9] | Antonia Bird | Peter Moffat | 14 April 2013 | 6.37[10] | |
|
It is March 1916, and conscription is introduced for the first time in British history. Call up papers are delivered throughout the village, and soldiers arrive at the Middleton farm to requisition Bert's beloved horse, Big Molly. Opinion is divided when it is revealed that Eyre is a conscientious objector, and as he awaits his tribunal tragic news is received from the front. | ||||||
| 4 | "Episode 4"[11] | Antonia Bird | Peter Moffat | 21 April 2013 | 6.19 | |
|
It is 1st July 1916, the date of the Rondo: an annual wheel barrow race on the cricket field, and unbeknownst to the villagers, the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Rumours sweep around the village that the local Pals Battalion are taking part in a big battle about to be launched in France. Bert decides that winning the Rondo this year is a matter of life or death: if he wins, then Joe will be kept safe. | ||||||
| 5 | "Episode 5"[12] | Gillies MacKinnon | Peter Moffat | 28 April 2013 | TBA | |
|
Joe's brief leave from the Front has come to an end. He has tried hard to conceal his shell shock from the family, but Grace knows that something is badly wrong. When Bert learns that he is unwittingly responsible for his brother's state of mind he takes action, with disastrous consequences for the family. | ||||||
| 6 | "Episode 6"[13] | Gillies MacKinnon | Peter Moffat | 5 May 2013 | TBA | |
|
It is 1920; the war is over, and the village tries to come to terms with its loss. The date of the unveiling of the war memorial draws close and, as the inhabitants debate how best to honour their dead, divisions open up at the heart of the community. | ||||||
Reception
The Village received mainly positive reviews after the first episode; the Independent said "the story was ostensibly small and specific", but "then it opened up, cinematically, to the world beyond with panoramic shots of the English countryside – vast acres of fields, hills and sky. These suddenly striking images gave it an epic quality".[14] The Telegraph remarked on the authenticity of scenes, commending The Village's "refu[sal] to foist contemporary relevance on its audience" and describing it as "the most accomplished new drama of the year so far".[15] The Daily Mail noted the attention to evocative historical detail, such as rabbits and other fresh meat hanging from a butcher's shop window and the servants turning away when a house member walks past,[16] though another article in the same paper quoted Twitter users describing the episode as a "misery-fest".[17]
Notes
- A new recording of I Vow To Thee My Country by Beck Goldsmith is used for the trailer soundtrack.[18]
References
- ^ "BBC One announces second series as The Village moves into the roaring Twenties", BBC Press Office, 28 April 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
- ^ a b Gilbert, Gerard (14 March 2013). "A very British Heimat: Will BBC drama The Village be as epic as the German saga?". Independent. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ "New BBC TV series being filmed in Dark Peak". Artsbeatblog.com. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
- ^ Smith, Roly (April 2013). "The Village". Derbyshire Life. 78 (4): 118–121.
- ^ "Episode 1" at BBC Online
- ^ "Top 30 Programmes / BBC1 / Mar 25 - Mar 31". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB). Retrieved 20 April 2013.
- ^ "Episode 2" at BBC Online
- ^ "Top 30 Programmes / BBC1 / Apr 01 - Apr 07". BARB. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
- ^ "Episode 3" at BBC Online
- ^ "Top 30 Programmes / BBC1 / Apr 08 - Apr 14". BARB. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ^ "Episode 4" at BBC Online
- ^ "Episode 5" at BBC Online
- ^ "Episode 6" at BBC Online
- ^ Akbar, Arifa (1 April 2013). "TV review: The Village gives viewers – finally – a proper, grown-up period drama". The Independent. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
- ^ Lawrence, Ben (31 March 2013). "The Village: the most accomplished new drama of the year so far". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
- ^ Stevens, Christopher (1 April 2013). "Welcome to the fairy tale of the Middletons... no, not those ones: Christopher Stevens reviews last night's TV". Daily Mail. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
- ^ Infante, Francesca; Salkeld, Luke (1 April 2013). "A miserable start for The Village, the BBC's answer to Downton Abbey". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
- ^ "BBC – The Village". TV Ad Music. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.