J L Monks

Alright, it didn't do well at the time of its original release. But I'd say it set a trend for playful anachronism in period adventure films that has just continued to build and grow over the ensuing 20 years - most have done better financially, but I think few quite have the energy this does. I think the cast put in a good turn and on re-watching reminded how utterly stunning Liv Tyler is whilst she's being suitably aloof in her part.

The occasional flickers of humour and that Mike Myers' trademark silliness are wiped out by a lazy, messy, badly written finale which will leave you wondering why you sat through 3 hours of this. The only lasting redemption is Jeremy Irons' acerbic voiceover intro to each episode - otherwise, view for curiosity but don't expect to care.

A painfully poor adaptation that made me wonder if the writer had read the book, or had just got the gist from general cultural knowledge of a few key points. The centrance premise of this adaptation is flawed - the central characters lives are serene and secure, as is the World about them, not already riven with personal discontent and conflict. The jarring collapse of this perpetual summer when the Martians arrive is the sharp divide that moves the plot along. In this sulky adaptation everyone is miserable and war is already on the horizon with some clumsy Imperial hubris thrown in to telegraph the mood to the audience, so the Martians arriving to immolate Surrey becomes a merciful release. I have read the book so many times since childhood it was almost physically painful to see this opportunity so badly wasted, especially with such a good cast and decent production values. The BBC would do well to have a long look at what the aim of adapting literature is - to share the pleasure of the original writers craft and storytelling, or provide a platform for its own social and cultural anxieties to the detriment of watchable television?

Artistic licence in period settings often works well, but with Frontier the time period has been ignored completely. From the poorly written dialogue and cliché English villains (if the British armed forces were as undisciplined as this, they'd never have got as far) to the hilarious inaccuracy of the costumes and hair, this is a mess. To dwell on the costume design, it's just so bad - clothes centuries later have been used with barely a nod to the period, whilst most female characters are reduced to a ballooning décolletage by absurdly low cut dresses. If you want late Eighteenth century drama that's well produced with decent writing, watch Turn - compelling and pays respect to actual events, which Frontier appears to treat as an inconvenience.