

Sanditon is the final, albeit unfinished, novel by Jane Austen.

It’s a seaside resort on the South coast of England, and Tom Parker (Kris Marshall) – who first arrives in search of a doctor after he injures his ankle after a coach crash, but also wants to build a hotel and all the other kit and caboodle to go with it.

Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams) bumps into Tom, and his wife, Mary (Kate Ashfield – Shaun Of The Dead), as their coach takes a tumble and she’s immediately smitten by the man and entranced by a potential change in lifestyle, wanting to work for him, so jumps on board and heads off to the CGI’d old town.

Tom uses words like “as keen as mustard” and “as right as ninepence”; Anne Reid (Years And Years) is his fuddy-duddy mother, Lady Denham, who likes to drink a glass of seawater each morning, all men are ‘enchanted’ to meet Charlotte, and in fact, it’s another period drama where ALL women need a man to validate their exisence.

Whenever anyone enter a dance ball, they must be announced so loudly that it stops everyone else actually… y’know, dancing; plus everyone goes bathing in the sea in the buff… well, the men do, but the women wear outfits that cover them up more than their regular clothes(!)

However, I was amused by Arthur (Turlough Convery), who says “the more I drink, the better I feel”, and how he feels groggy when he wakes up, but a few glasses of wine makes him ‘right as rain’. I can imagine that feeling 🙂

Overall, Sanditon is a very old-time period drama, and the sort of thing that fans of such shows will enjoy but, for me, it looks nice, but it’s way too twee.

Also, the trailer has someone saying the line “He will find you, and he will kill you”… but this is NOT Taken with Liam Neeson(!)

Sanditon begins tonight on ITV at 9pm, and is available to pre-order on DVD, ahead of its release on November 18th.After each episode is broadcast, they’ll be on the ITV Hub.

Sanditon – Series Trailer – ITV

Episode 1 Score: 1/10

Directors: Oliver Blackburn, Lisa Clarke, Charles Sturridge

Producer: Georgina Lowe

Adaptation: Andrew Davies

Cast:

Charlotte Heywood: Rose Williams

Tom Parker: Kris Marshall

Mary Parker: Kate Ashfield

Sidney Parker: Theo James

Lady Denham: Anne Reid

Arthur Parker: Turlough Convery

Julia Beaufort: Kayleigh-Paige Rees

Diana Parker: Alexandra Roach

Miss Georgiana Lambe: Crystal Clarke

Esther Denham: Charlotte Spencer

Lord Babbington: Mark Stanley

Mr Crowe: Matthew Needham

Mrs. Griffiths: Elizabeth Berrington

Sir Edward Denham: Jack Fox

Phillida Beaufort: Mollie Holder

Clara Brereton: Lily Sacofsky

Young Stringer: Leo Suter

Mr. Hankins: The Actor Kevin Eldon

Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021. DVDfever.co.uk