This laugh out loud series is an absolute treat. Each episode is like a warm blanket, wrapping you up in gentle 1930s nostalgia. You'll get a sense of the tone of the series from episode 1, so if you enjoy that, you are going to love every single episode of each series. It's gentle viewing, not to be mistaken for simple or unengaging. Each character is fully three dimensional, and all episodes have an interconnectedness without unnecessary plot arcs or contrived drama.
The family are dysfunctionally wonderful, with each of the Durrell children distinctly individual, but all very funny in their mannerisms and speech....and all are the bane of their loving mothers life. They're rude and disrespectful to eachother in a way that is never nasty or uncomfortable to watch, and us viewers get a distinct sense of a loving family at all times. Plus there's the hypochondriac housekeeper whose championing of one of the Durrell children is hilarious.
The dialogue is spot on and flows easily. The interactions between the core and supporting characters are genuine and every time I laughed out loud, it was for something I never saw coming. Nothing is signposted as a 'comedy' moment, which makes it even better.
The period detail is wonderful, the location setting is gorgeous, and it is very much what seems to be a snapshot of life in the '30s, unencumbered by the nanny state. Theres mum giving 12yr old son Gerry a beer or leaving smokes out, weapon-mad son Leslie, always with a rifle ready to shoot something, eldest Larry as a louche writer, and daughter Margot with her non-sexualised obsession with boys. The frank talk between them is both amusing and refreshing... the difficulties of family life aren't trivialised as a grand adventure because, as we get to know them, we see their struggles and heartaches. I can't single out a single actor for particular praise because each is so thoughtfully cast and perfect for the characters they inhabit. Including the supporting characters.
Family life centres around the kitchen of their rented home which always has an array of animals in situ. And thankfully the approaching event of WWII does not intrude until towards the end of the final series, and its heartbreaking as their life in Corfu is forced to come to an end, and Gerry has to dismantle his little zoo.
I adore this series, and its definitely one to rewatch.