MovieChat Forums > Lark Rise to Candleford (2008) Discussion > Who are your most and least favorite mai...

Who are your most and least favorite main characters and why?


I'm only into season 2, so that's what I'm basing my opinions on.

Likes:
I absolutely adore Queenie. She's big-hearted, wise, down-to-earth. I like Ruby, too. There's just something about her that makes me feel so sad for her and yet she's comical, too. Alf is another one. I sure hope he doesn't end up with Laura - he deserves so much better than her.

Dislikes:
Twister is at the top of my list for characters that I can't stand. He's a useless drunk who has mooched off of Queenie for over 40 years. Although he can be funny at times, that doesn't put food on the table or make him less of a burden on Queenie.

It's a toss-up for second place of my dislikes: Laura or Minnie. Laura is just so full of herself. And she's just so arrogant at times that I want to slap her. I hate the way she talks, too... her accent. Why doesn't she speak the way her parents do (especially her father)? After living with them for 17 or 18 years, she should have picked up the way they speak.

As for Minnie, she's a stupid little twit who doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut. She's an interfering little dunce. She also doesn't know when to leave other peoples' property alone. Dorcas was way too lenient with Minnie when she ruined the wedding dress.

Emma and Robert Timmins are tied for my next least favorite characters. Him because of his pride, her because she's constantly bitching at him about it. (But I think he's quite good-looking!)

I'm pissed at Dorcas for the way she's treated Mr. Dowland. What did she expect? That he'd abstain from sex until he married? Everyone has a past and it was none of her business what his was.

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Dorcas is my homegal... she's like a bitchy Mary Poppins and I love her for it!... but incredibly lovely at the same time. XD She's definitely my most adored character in the series. She's a meddlesome one but I can't help digging her independent spirit.

Following closely behind Dorcas would have to be the Pratt sisters. They're just such a comical duo. I just love the fact that they are always dressed identically... except the times when they're fighting or at odds with each other. It works beautifully because they couldn't be more different souls deep down. Their facial expressions are perhaps one of the most classic things in the series; when the camera lingers for a few seconds on one of their grins or smirks, the screwing up of their nose or a disgusted scowl, it has me in fits of giggles! They're so much about pomp and pageantry and protecting their reputation and that of their business that they put on such an aureate facade in order to hide the fact that they're truly rather broken and lost. They hold each other up in so many ways, so those moments when you see them caught off guard or their walls are broken down for even a little while are really refreshing.

Next would be Queenie & Twister. As much as Twister's bludging annoys the hell out of many viewers and it does get tiring having to watch him continually take Queenie for granted... but he reminds me of an old Dickensian fool and I can't help chortling like crazy at his antics. However, it does pain me to see poor Queenie hurting as a result of his constant irresponsibility and silliness. I can't help but love Queenie and her wise-woman ways though. She seems to have a remedy for everything and some of her predictions are scarily accurate. She's so at peace with the world that everyone seems to flock to her for her grandmotherly advice. She's a real gem of a character. I really only started warming to Queenie and Twister near the end of the 1st series - they didn't appear overly special to me at the beginning, but they both really grew on me.

Thomas Brown would probably have to be next in line for me. I don't have anything overly philosophical to explain what actually appeals to me about that character at all, other than that I find him incredibly interesting to watch. Maybe it's his journey that has been the most fascinating element about him. His entire world was his faith, and it still is, but watching him having to make room in his life for a relationship and then marriage was great to watch. I must say his hesitant way of speaking and that hitching in his voice is rather adorable too.

... and I'll give an honourable mention to dear Minnie! I know she's another one that a fair few viewers can't stand, but she makes me laugh with her complete naivety and ignorant comments. Sure, she speaks out of turn and makes a complete mess of things but she has learned a great deal in her time with Miss Lane. I think, along with Sydney and Laura in a way, that it was yet another instance of Dorcas taking a kid under her wing. Even when she offered to mind Emma's baby to give her a break, she was giving into that nurturing instinct as she has so far pushed the idea of motherhood aside for various reasons, including her career. Quite a contemporary dilemma there Dorcas! I did really enjoy those instances, as well as those little moments of realisation and self-doubt when Dorcas is questioning her position in different ways... ie: going to consult Ruby & Pearl about getting fitted for some 'more feminine' attire so that she may be seen as something other than 'Miss Lane: Postmistress'. Those times when she's attempting to get in touch with or suppress her inner-Dorcas (as opposed to flourishing as business/property-owner and postmistress) are so fun to watch.

(how did I get back to talking about Dorcas again instead of Minnie!?) Oh well, just goes to show why she's the centre of the town and the true lead in my eyes - I know it's meant to be Laura's story, but so much is centred around Dorcas... I'd be interested to know who you all view to be the lead?

As for my least favourites ... this is a difficult one. I want to say Robert Timmins is my least favourite main character because he's so damn pig-headed and stubborn, but he's so obviously set in his ways and so devoted to his craft that he's blind to a lot of changes... but I can't really fault him much more than that... his *pride!* (good drinking game: take a sip every time he says that word... or 'working man!'!) does after all allow him to provide for his family; he's a hard-worker and he does value the needs of his family. So in that sense he's a good man, but there are some things lacking there, and it shows when he clashes with various other characters throughout the series.

So if I had to say someone, it would be Robert. But definitely another who annoys the hell out of me is Lady Adelaide. She's not in a great deal of episodes and when she is, doesn't have a major part to play, but she seems to always be there when the Dorcas/Sir Timothy storyline comes up and with good reason... but god she can be such an incredibly snarky, selfish bitch. Sure, she's gorgeous, but she comes across as overly jealous and manipulative even if she does it so subtly. Oh, and Daniel kinda irritates me as well so I'll put him on the least-favourites list as well.


(sorry that was so long... I could literally talk about this show all day!)

French existential absurdist tragi-comedy rocks! G.Rush

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I just learned a new word from you...

Aureate:
1. Denoting, made of, or having the color of gold.
2. (of language) Highly ornamented or elaborate.

Thank you!




...rolling downhill like a snowball headed for hell...

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I was just thinking tonight how much I like Queeenie, too.

I do like Dorcus! I like Sir Tim as well, And I've got a mad crush on Rboert Timmons. I like little Laura, I think sh'es full of herself but is at an age where she is constantly observing those around her and is really trying to better herself.

Don;t like Queenie's brother. Dawn French IS over the top, as someone else said. I generlaly like Dawn French a lot, but not in this show. The two dressmaker sisters are overdone as well. Good lord their outfits are hideous, WHO woud hire them to make dresses?

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I agree with you on Robert Timmons!! I still had a crush on him in Downton Abbey! Loved his character and Emma's. I liked Dorcas for the most part but she did get on my nerves because she was such a nosy bird! And I loved Queenie! I really loved Sir Timothy, but thought he was a whimp!

Twister got on my last nerve! And those Pratt sisters I hated them so much I wanted to punch the television screen!

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Queenie, Twister, Minnie, Dorcas, Pearl & Ruby. Sorry, but I have no least favorite. I absolutely adore this show and every character in it. Now, if someone had a gun to my head, I'd have to say Queenie. I love her because she is the one who can be counted on to tell it like it t.i.s. She's no fool but still a gentle spirit. Minnie would have to be next, and that's for her ready for the world attitude. She's so honest and truthful about her feelings and I love that.

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Likes:
Queenie: A wonderful human being.

Thomas: He has a good heart and is very devoted to his wife. You know he will never cheat on her, or even lust after another woman.

Margaret: Is so sweet and genrous, I would like to have her as a friend.

The Pratts: Funny, snobbish and vulnerable.

Alf: A very decent guy, any girl would be lucky to have him as a boyfriend.

Fisher: Good looking, honest, intelligent and skilled.

Minnie: She has grown on me. She is stupid beoynd belief, but kind and caring.

Lady Adelaide: A beautiful, kind woman who is neglected by her husband, and has every reason to be jealous.

James Dowland: Handsom, kind and robbed of his son from Dorcas. But why is Queenie struggling to pay the rent? Isn't James supposed to help her?

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Meh's:

Dorcas: She is warm, intelligent, sweet and honest. But far too independent. She needs to let her guard down. Yes, James told a small lie, but haven't we all. And lusting after a married man is revolting.

Robert Timmins: Just shut up with your pride, ok?

Walter Arless: He is a sweet gentleman, and I fully understand why he is almost never home, having that nasty wife. But he should have thought of his children.

Twister: Funny, kind and loves his wife. But he needs to start preparing for when he is old..

Sir Timothy: I do not condone adultery. Or letting your wife know you lust after another woman. Other than that, he is a nice man.

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Hates:

Laura: The head shaking is now so terrible, that I am surprised the actress still has her head attached to her neck. I am watching season 4, and the shaking and eye blinking is worse than it ever was.

I like the fact that she is ordinary looking, this make the series more believable. A pretty girl, by all means, but no more than any other in the village.

Olivia's problem is that she can not act. I have only seen her in Lark Rise, so I have very little to go on, but to me she doesn't seem to be a good actress.

When it comes to Laura Timmins herself, it is clear that many of her unlikeable features comes from having a mother who dislikes her.

Which brings me to
Emma: She was nice in the first two seasons, but now she is downright bitchy. Nothing wrong in receiving help, you know.

Daniel: He is so sleazy and dishonest that I have a hard time believing no one sees him for what he is. At least Queenie should have been able to tell.

Caroline: Handling money is not so easy, but there must be better ways to be a mother than being in prison.


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What bothers me with Lark Rise to Candleford, is that everyone, from the milkmaid to the postmistess, have neatly plucked eye brows, crisp, clean clothes and immaculate hair.

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But if they were all dirty and unkempt, people would have been grossed out and refused to watch the show.

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Queenie is my fave. I love the character and the actress.

I cannot stand Caroline. I'm a big French & Saunders fan, and I love Vicar of Dibley, but Dawn French on her own can be too OTT sometimes and that's how I felt about her in this series. I FFed through most of her scenes.

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I too, love Dawn French in Vicar og Dibley. But in Lark Rise it does seem that she is playing herself, and that is a tad too much to handle.

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LIKES:
Queenie. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a Queenie in their life.

Minnie. I wish I could give that actress TWO Oscars!! She is just wonderful-
she is growing as a person, but keeping that naivete and remarkable natural insight.

Ruby-- trying sooo hard to find herself, and deal with her sisters sadness and inner demons.

DISLIKES:

Twister. I keep trying to like him when he comes through with a 'good deed' every now and then, but he is just a layabout and I could have slapped him over the sold chair.

Emma---PREACH PREACH PREACH, SNARK SNARK SNARK, then get all treacly. Yeech.

Robert-his pride is a pain in the arse.

aaannnd, sometimes Laura, because she vacillates so, and doesn't grab what she knows she wants. and those big round eyes... with the four year old look.

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I like:
Queenie and Twister
Minnie

I dislike
- Watching Dorcas but I like her lines
- Laura with those big round eyes... with the four year old look. Man, so annoying.

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I liked:

Dorcas -- she has an open mind and is a good problem solver when it comes to other people's problems, not so good at solving her own. She's generous and lovely. And has good taste!

Sir Timothy Midwinter -- he's unlike anyone else in the series and I really missed him when he left -- I felt he was honorable for a man in his position and generally did the right thing. He was also very dishy!

Old Zillah -- she had quite a tongue on her! I missed her after the first season -- she was one character who loved Dorcas but could also point out her faults in an indirect manner. And sometimes not so indirect!

I disliked:

Robert and Emma -- I got weary of them, they were often self righteous, especially Robert.

Caroline -- though she had a love of life, she made it so difficult for Alf and her other children. Feckless.

Lady Adelaide -- I never warmed to her but she had a hard time of it,knowing Dorcas was probably the real love of her husband's life. He loved being the squire and the rural life and I was sorry, because of her, he had to leave it all for London. However I don't know how they would have resolved this triangle otherwise.

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I stand up for Laura Timmins. Maybe because I relate to her alot of her joys and sorrows, maybe cuz I thinks she's beautiful, maybe because I love her accent...maybe just because I do. =) And definitley Alf Arless. What a real guy - hard-working, strong ethics, a gentleman, kind, sings, not puffed up, humble, winning smile - everything a real man should be. And Queenie, because she's the kind of woman every young person needs in their lives. I really love this series.

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