Some thoughts (written for another forum)

I received this from Amazon UK with slipcase, quite a gorgeous slipcase indeed. I don't know what the process is called but it glows when the light catches it. I'm very glad I got the UK release instead of the US. (I'm in Illinois.) The redesign of the title logo for the US market is horrible, not worthy of the programme content.

I was quite pleased by the adaptation of such an epic novel in only 7 hours. I adored the book, having read it twice since discovering its existence. Many actors in the series are among my favourites including the brilliant Eddie Marsan, dynamically beautiful Charlotte Riley (might have been cool if husband Tom Hardy had played Vinculus), Marc Warren and Bertie Carvel. Enzo Cilenti's Childermass was a revelation; he was mentioned by fellow fans as deserving of a spin-off series, which sounds to me a terrific idea. Unfortunately the British viewing audience were not enamoured of the tale, causing the series to perform quite disappointingly for BBC. The sad result is that such dramas of this fantasy flavour will likely be more difficult to bring to production there for many years.