“Clearly made with an international audience in mind, The Forsytes is about as subtle as a migraine”
The Forsytes, Channel 5
“It was hard to tell from the first episode whether this version will be a binger, because it went very heavy with the exposition stick. That voiceover (and the intensely explanatory dialogue) meant that the first 25 minutes felt a bit ‘A-level study notes’. But after that the signs were promising. It may need to bed in a bit, but a lush costume drama is just the ticket now the nights are drawing in. This has been timed just right.”
Carol Midgley, The Times
“Your opinion of The Forsytes will depend on your expectations. Are you hoping for a majestic revival of The Forsyte Saga which does justice to John Galsworthy’s prose and matches the 1967 drama that gripped the nation? Then I have bad news. In the market for a hilariously cheesy costume drama aimed at Americans, featuring a hero who sports a George Michael, Careless Whisper-inspired blow-dry in 1877? This is the show for you!”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph
“Clearly made with an international audience in mind, The Forsytes is about as subtle as a migraine. However, if this ruthlessly efficient scene-setter hasn’t insulted your intelligence, it may dig its soapy hooks into you. Or it might just tempt you to look at Galsworthy’s source novels to discover why this saga won him the Nobel Prize for Literature.”
Gerard Gilbert, The i
“It’s a shamelessly Mills & Boon reimagining of the early 20th- century trilogy that earned novelist John Galsworthy a Nobel Prize for literature.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail
“There are too many issues squashed into one programme here, and none are given the consideration they deserve. Are Oran et al outliers who could become a majority if better support for young dads was available, or would this be like King Canute shouting at the waves? Should a society aim to support or eradicate unplanned pregnancies? Can it do both? Is ambition the best form of contraception, and which government should we elect if we want to give our young people the ability to form it? So many questions and no answers by the end of the shoddy hour here.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian
“There are, of course, far deeper layers to this complex subject, and it would take much longer than an hour to fully explore them. But Swash, skimming a stone across its surface, does a fine job in highlighting how, actually, quietly positive male role models might well be all around us. We just have to switch our antenna accordingly.”
Nick Duerden, The i
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