n. The Buccaneers - TV Mini-Series (BBC) 1995:  Ronan content: approx  10.5% (5 x 40 min - 1:35%,  2:5%, 3:5%, 4:7.5%, 5:7.5%) Character: Lord Richard, 'dissipated', syphilitic young aristocrat  Cast: Cherie Lunghi  Laura Testvalley, Carla Gugino Nan St George,  Mira SorvinoConchita Closson, Greg Wise Guy Thwaite, James Frain Julius,  Ronan Vibert Lord Richard, Michael Kitchen Sir Helmsley Thwaite,  Connie Booth Miss March, Jenny Agutter Idina Hatton Dir: Philip Saville                Adapted from the Edith Wharton book Availablity: UK/PAL deleted, impossible to find.  Widescreen repeats appx every 3 months on digital UK Drama channel. US/NTSC: continues to be popular: pan-scan 3-tape set available, still produced.

Plot/Comments: The Buccaneers is simply a superb piece of film-making. Unlike other Wharton adaptations such as Scorsese's miserable The Age of Innocence, this mini-series is able to take her last (unfinished) piece of work, expand, and -- dare I say -- improve upon it.  The sparkling, then dark, script fleshes out each character more than in the novel, and some powerhouse performances make for a hugely satisfying viewing experience.

The intertwining story looks at the potentially fairy-tale marriages of a group of young, eligible, New Money, American women to near-bankrupt, Old Money, British titled husbands, and how their expectations are dashed by the limitations of Victorian female society and their mercenary, meat-market matches.      The main strands of the story are held together by stunning performances from newcomer Carla Gugino, and Cheri Lunghi as her governess. Other stand-out performances include Ronan Vibert as the charming, doomed, syphilitic, and incorrigible Lord Richard; Mira Sorvino as his charismatic and ultimately disapointed wife, Conchita; James Frain as the obsessive, neutered Duke of Trevenick; and both patriarchs of the St George and Brightlingsea dynasties.      Unfortunately, there are a few weak performances where the actors seem unable to get to grips with the potential of their parts -- Virginia St George and Lord Seadown in particular.

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There are many brilliant, and often comic touches on the differences between British and American culture, with each character richly portrayed. The series rewards repeat viewing, as new layers of subtle irony and social comment are constantly revealed.       However, the miniseries did not do well in the UK, coming after the enormous success of the rather simpering Pride and Prejudice (with Bridget Jones' Colin Firth). The dark, often bitter storyline, coupled with the highly pressurised, hypocritical 'naughty nineties' Victorian society did not make for the happy historical-romance viewing that it had been advertised as: syphilis and Sunday Roast do not make middle England happy, it seems.

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