Time Magazine: A Choice Import
Posted at 1:08 PM (PST) on Sunday, January 15, 2006

6 Choice Imports To Catch
TV is an American cash crop, but these shows make the case for free trade

By James Poniewozik
Sunday, Jan. 15, 2006
Time Online

BLEAK HOUSE PBS, SUNDAYS, 9 P.M. E.T.

Even at eight hours, this adaptation of Charles Dickens' tale of an interminable inheritance case is quite nimble a feat for writer Andrew Davies. The Masterpiece Theatre coproduction captures the novel's satire, melodrama and horror-movie suspense without undercutting any of those disparate tones. Gillian Anderson is haunting as Lady Dedlock, a claimant tormented by the mystery of a long-lost lover. But the emotional heart of the story is Esther (Anna Maxwell Martin), the sensible orphan caught up in the suit. This is law drama such as Boston Legal's David E. Kelley can only dream about.