`TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH' DEMANDS PATIENCE, FOR STORY IF NOT JOURNEY.Byline: David Kronke Television Critic `To the Ends of the Earth To the Ends of the Earth is a trilogy of novels by William Golding, consisting of Rites of Passage (1980), Close Quarters (1987), and Fire Down Below (1989). ,'' a ``Masterpiece Theatre'' production based on three William Golding Noun 1. William Golding - English novelist (1911-1993) Golding, Sir William Gerald Golding novels, has it all. It is, variously, a boy's yarn, a costume drama, a comedy of manners comedy of manners Witty, ironic form of drama that satirizes the manners and fashions of a particular social class or set. Comedies of manners were usually written by sophisticated authors for members of their own social class, and they typically are concerned with social , a romantic melodrama, a black comedy and even a disaster flick. Naturally, uniting all these disparate elements is a tricky game, and this miniseries falters at times in maintaining tonal consistency. At times, it proceeds glacially; at others, briskly if goofily. And yet at other points, it offers compelling drama. Sometimes, you'll roll your eyes; others, you'll be hooked. Long, strange trip ``To the Ends of the Earth'' refers to the trek taken by the characters: from England to Australia, and of course it's no cakewalk. It begins in early 1814, when the aristocratic Edmund Talbot (Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 1977) is a British actor, best known for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama, Hawking, for which he was nominated as Best Actor at the 2005 British Academy Television Awards. , whose real name is as weirdly poetic as some of the characters herein) boards a rickety rick·et·y adj. rick·et·i·er, rick·et·i·est 1. Likely to break or fall apart; shaky. 2. Feeble with age; infirm. 3. Of, having, or resembling rickets. ship that will take him to a high position down under. In not-so-short order, he experiences a moment of passion, witnesses the ritual humiliation of a passenger, prepares for possible battle with an enemy French boat, falls in love with a young woman aboard a ship that passes in the night and nearly faces down doom with an errant ice floe. Those sharing passage with Edmund include Prettiman, a verbose Wordy; long winded. The term is often used as a switch to display the status of some operation. For example, a /v might mean "verbose mode." radical (Sam Neill); a pragmatic if luckless governess (Victoria Hamilton); a troubled parson (Daniel Evans); blustery blus·ter v. blus·tered, blus·ter·ing, blus·ters v.intr. 1. To blow in loud, violent gusts, as the wind during a storm. 2. a. To speak in a loudly arrogant or bullying manner. artist Brocklebank (Richard McCabe); and his voluptuous daughter, Zenobia (Paula Jennings), as well as the ship's arrogant captain (Jared Harris) and a defensive lieutenant (Jamie Sives) who becomes an unlikely ally. Under the influence The passage is long and brutal -- Edmund writes in his journal that he's bored, and, at times, we can relate; other times, results are grisly -- and much time is spent downing the ship's alcohol, the one thing on board in ample supply. But when danger lurks, anything can happen 7/8 when the ship prepares for battle, the captain tells the hapless Edmund, ``If you're alive after a minute, you'll be a hero!'' So it goes with ``To the Ends of the Earth's'' drama, which is not unlike San Francisco's weather: If you don't like what you're seeing, wait 10 minutes; something better might come along. David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke@dailynews.com TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH - Two and one half stars What: ``Masterpiece Theatre'' adaptation of William Golding's trilogy about a fateful 19th-century voyage from England to Australia. Where: KCET KCET Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (Japan) KCET Kamaraj College of Engineering and Technology . When: 9 tonight; continuing Sundays through Nov. 5. In a nutshell: Uneven yet watchable watch·a·ble adj. 1. Capable of being watched; viewable: watchable wildlife. 2. Good enough to watch: "The fastest modem ... . CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Edmund Talbot (Benedict Cumberbatch, left) and Capt. Anderson (Jared Harris) are aboard a ship headed from England to Australia in KCET's ``To the Ends of the Earth.'' |
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