People are excited to see The Waltons back this year, even though the original series debuted almost 50 years ago. Why? Because that kind of loving family drama – or drama – is no longer on television. But before The Waltons hit television, there was The Larkins. A family from the English countryside had gone through good and all the bad times together.
A newer version of the series based on the NE Bates novel series has arrived on Acorn TV.
Sydney “Pop” Larkin (Bradley Walsh) was a farmer and garbage dealer in rural Kent; 1958. The tail propeller he flew at home would complement the plane he had been tweaking for some of the time.
Pop and his wife Ma Larkin aka (Joanna Scanlan) does have a large family, and the youngest of six want to move to the city; he allows his 11-year-old son, Montgomery (Liam Middleton), to drive the truck to Littlechurch.
When the town bon vivant Alec Norman (Tony Gardner) complains that a truck is blocking his sports car, Montgomery comes back to him when he tries to move the truck. Dirty Alec hits the boy on the head, much to the chagrin of a priest.
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Pop then learns from a neighbour and family friend, Brigadier General (Chris Dosanj), that the city plans to appoint Alec to the ceremonial post of greyhound master. When Ma learned from Alec’s wife that he was the correct “level of personality” for the role, Ma decided that Pop should be ready for the role too.
Meanwhile, Ma and Pop have to grapple with the news that their eldest daughter Mariette (Sabrina Bartlett), wants to study in France because she feels the need to be alone for a while. His parents thought it was because he couldn’t find a son to settle in the city.
However, she can stay a little longer after meeting the handsome Tom Fisher (Stephen Hagen) new in town. He also helps his sister Primrose (Lydia Page), who is heartbroken by a carnival worker who becomes romantically involved with her while the carnival is in town.
Pop helps a neighbour, a widow named Edith Pilchester (Amelia Bulmore):
When a speculator came and persuaded him to sell his house to him. He didn’t want to sell, so Pop allowed him to sign the form. And then told the new owner he owned the land around him. And wouldn’t allow him access “except by helicopter”.
What Simon Nye and Abigail Wilson accomplished in adapting Bates. The novel for this iteration of The Larkins is quite refreshing for this era of television. They manage to keep the show as a benevolent. And the affectionate story with an ongoing story centred around an episodic plot. And these episodic plots are more of a sketch because there are often two or three episodes per episode.
It doesn’t matter if the plot isn’t as crucial as a greyhound master or something like Mariette goes to France; All plots show how the Larkins get together as a family. And how they overcome the ups and downs, big and small businesses together. It’s incredible how good this mood will play in 2021-22.
What helps is game performance. Especially from the Walsh, Scanlan, and the Bartlett. You can almost see through the joy in their eyes when they embody this rather excellent character.
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At some point, they may go through more anxious times, but the way they emulate their character leads us to believe that they will hold their heads up in the face of this issue. At the same time, they are rooted in reality, which makes the characters believable even though they sometimes seem too good to be accurate.
During the season, we also met Larkins:
And the citizens they interact with, the world Bates created and adapted for Nye and Wilson, has a lot to look forward to. At some point, stepping into The Larkins will be like visiting an old friend. And something is soothing about shows like that these days. Larkins is part of the benevolent British comfort television, a great antidote to most of today’s dramas.