jearnott

It's seven years since this compelling drama graced the screens of the BBC and U. K. television. Since then the series has be broadcast world-wide, screened on Netflix and countless other platforms, gaining countless fans and plaudits, however (at the time of writing 2014) we still wait for a second series. Other less worthy costume dramas (e.g. Sanditon) spawned even worse sequels than the original, but with such a stellar cast and talent behind this production, Taboo deserves more. I gather much of the funding for Taboo came from Tom Hardy himself (and costume dramas ain't cheap).

Let's just pray that a second series will one day be made - it will be well worth the wait.

This unsettling short horror story still remains etched on my memory almost 45 years after it was shown.

Part of the BBC's annual Series of Ghost stories at Christmas and the only one set in contemporary times, the story begins with the removal of one of the Avebury Stones which inconveniently lies in the garden of its new owners, Peter and Katherine, unleashing a supernatural force which affects Katherine, who starts to bleed uncontrollably.

It's a slow burner with a lot of nudity for the time, as Katherine tries to find the source of the bleeding and to stop it, which initially she seems to succeed.

Later the following morning, the stone is removed to reveal a skeleton hidden below, surrounded by daggers and a blade in the rib, roughly in the area of Katherine's bleeding, but by then it is too late. There is no reason given for the bleeding, other than retribution from the dead, as it is later revealed that the skeleton may be that of a witch, but enigmas are sometimes the best way to end a tale.

My father was born in India, part of the Indian Raj and l remember watching this monster of a series, almost 40 years ago. Now it's available to stream and lm just as intrigued. It captures the complex relationship between the British and Indians perfectly - excellent casting and acting. The gawky, naive Daphne Manners falling for the rebellious Hari Kumar and the consequences that result, treading on similar ground to that other cinematic classic 'A Passage to India'. It made stars out of Tim Piggot-Smith and Geraldine James who are supported by stellar thespians like Dame Peggy Ashcroft.

It deservedly won applauds and became 'must watch' television on Sunday Nights in the U. K. Perhaps other nationalities wouldn't understand the threads that bound these two great nations, but it still makes riveting drama.