Top-Rated Episodes
S1.E5
Martha and Jem are married and move into Miss Matty's home as lodgers. Dr. Harrison learns that Sophy has been sent away to stay with an aunt in Shropshire. When she returns home she contracts ...
S1.E2
After a few months in the village, Dr. Harrison has caught the eye of several of the young ladies. He has focused his attention on the parson's daughter, Sophie Hutton, and hopes to spend some time ...
S1.E4
Railway construction begins. Dr. Harrison speaks to Sophy's father and he agrees that they can step out together. Harrison emphasizes that he cannot ask for her hand until he is better established ...
Are you ready for The Happytime Murders? We are! See which other movies and TV shows we're excited about.
Related News
-
Martin Shaw on saying goodbye to ‘George Gently’ and hello to Emmy consideration
22 June 2018 | Gold Derby -
Will the Emmys continue its British love affair with Starz’s ‘Howards End’ in Best Limited Series?
16 June 2018 | Gold Derby -
Emmys spotlight: ‘George Gently’ goes out with a bang with Acorn TV movie finale
15 June 2018 | Gold Derby
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: Cranford (2007–2010)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Learn more
More Like This
Lark Rise to Candleford
(2008–2011)
Drama
|
Romance
Stars:
Olivia Hallinan,
Sarah Lancashire,
Julia Sawalha
Wives and Daughters
(TV Mini-Series 1999)
Drama
Stars:
Francesca Annis,
Justine Waddell,
Bill Paterson
Little Dorrit
(2008)
Drama
|
Mystery
|
Romance
Stars:
Claire Foy,
Matthew Macfadyen,
Tom Courtenay
North & South
(2004)
Drama
|
Romance
Stars:
Daniela Denby-Ashe,
Richard Armitage,
Tim Pigott-Smith
Sense & Sensibility
(2008)
Drama
|
Romance
Stars:
Dominic Cooper,
Charity Wakefield,
Hattie Morahan
Daniel Deronda
(TV Mini-Series 2002)
Drama
|
History
|
Romance
Stars:
Jodhi May,
Edward Fox,
Amanda Root
Persuasion
(TV Movie 2007)
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Adrian Shergold
Stars:
Sally Hawkins,
Alice Krige,
Anthony Head
Northanger Abbey
(TV Movie 2007)
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Jon Jones
Stars:
Geraldine James,
Michael Judd,
Julia Dearden
Mansfield Park
(TV Movie 2007)
Drama
Director:
Iain B. MacDonald
Stars:
Julia Joyce,
Douglas Hodge,
Maggie O'Neill
Edit
Cast
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
In the 1840s, Cranford is ruled by the ladies. They adore good gossip; and romance and change is in the air, as the unwelcome grasp of the Industrial Revolution rapidly approaches their beloved rural market-town.
Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
See full technical specs »
Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
4 May 2008 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
(total runtime) | (5 parts)Sound Mix:
StereoColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.78 : 1
Edit
The opportunity to watch so many of Britain's great female actors working together in parts that allow them to demonstrate just how good they are is one of the two immensely satisfying aspects of Cranford, the five-part, 291-minute drama imported from Britain by way of Masterpiece Theater. The other is the story itself -- a kind of Austen-like tale of good manners, gossip, punctilious courtesies and extraordinarily detailed production values. Cranford may be a genteel and gentle soap opera, but it glows with warmth, humor and the occasional dramatic crisis.
Cranford is a small English village, tidy and well kept. The time is the early 1840's. The village hasn't changed much over the years. The established ladies of the village plan to keep it that way. For the next 12 months of Cranford we'll see a new, young doctor come to town, the affects of a train line being built closer and closer to the village, romance and marriages, typhoid, death and poverty. We'll see why some think the lower classes should not be taught to read or write, how it really hurts to have your leg amputated, how a woman of a certain age who is not married may well expect to live a lonely life. We'll also see friendships, misunderstandings, the love for a cow and the deep comfort of accepted ways. Keep in mind that the story isn't simply a bucolic tale of a world long gone. We're going to deal with class distinctions, poverty, condescension to women, and customs that can strangle affection. There are several story lines that develop and weave around each other.
At the heart of the story are the women of Cranford, for whom gossip is a way of life. Eileen Atkins plays the elderly Miss Deborah Jenkyns, a severe woman who is not without feelings and who is the acknowledged arbiter of what is proper. Her sister, Miss Mattie Jenkyns, played by Judy Dench, is a bit scatterbrained but a warm and empathetic person. And we have Miss Pole (Imelda Staunton), a lightening transmitter of juicy information; Mrs. Forrester (Julia MacKenzie), a widow who is a bit of a ditherer but good-hearted; and Miss Jamieson (Barbara Flynn), better off than the others which she is careful to display, and more conventional, but prepared to be brought around. There is Mary Smith (Lisa Dillon), who comes to live with the Jenkyns sisters to escape a busybody stepmother and who finds more than she thought she would. Thankfully, she has a good mind and a sense of humor. And there is Lady Ludlow (Francesca Annis), the grand, aging lady in the grand estate nearby who learns to acknowledge that others may be correct, while not seeming to apologize for her class standards. What of the men? They're around, but for the most part they exist simply to provide the framework for the women's stories. Such superior actors as Michael Gambon, Jim Carter and Martin Shaw play them.
When we leave Cranford five hours after we arrived, we've smiled a lot, teared up a few times, and have come to admire these women, their capacity for friendship and their desire to keep the future from arriving too soon. If you hear the term "heartwarming," don't be put off. This program is intelligently written and is acted with extraordinary and underplayed skill.