20/20 'FORSYTE' PBS DELIVERS SHARP, WELL-OBSERVED ADAPTATION OF GALSWORTHY'S VICTORIAN SOAP OPERA.

Byline: David Kronke TV Critic

WHEN John Galsworthy (1867-1933) released his novel ``The Man of Property'' in 1906, he didn't immediately foresee it becoming part of a series. Its sequel, ``To Let,'' wouldn't hit bookstores for another 15 years.

But once the idea clicked - which is to say, once books featuring the stormy Forsyte family became instant best sellers - there was no stopping him. The final eight books of the nine-volume series gushed out in a 12-year span, ending only with his death.

Galsworthy based Soames Forsyte, the tremulously unfeeling control freak, upon his cousin, and Irene, Soames' wife, a soulful if opportunistic woman capable of running hot and cold quicker than water from a tap, on his wife, who had earlier been married to that stuffed-shirt cousin. So one may reasonably assume that Galsworthy family gatherings were as testy as those depicted in ``The Forsyte Saga,'' ``Masterpiece Theatre's'' eight-hour adaptation of ``Man of Property'' and ``To Let'' (productions of the rest of the books are also planned).

In 1967, the BBC had phenomenal success with its first adaptation of ``The Forsyte Saga.'' Churches were said to cancel their Sunday night services so parishioners could watch the series. So returning to the scene of such a triumph represents a tricky endeavor, indeed.

The new version is visually handsome, if a tad earnest - Galsworthy's satire appears only intermittently, in bon mots such as ``The loss of a husband is nothing compared to the loss of a good butler'' - but elevates itself above the usual melodrama thanks to cogent characterizations and solid performances. It essays a couple of generations of discord in a family of high social standing - infidelities, scandal and scandal-quashing, reconciliation, death, paranoia and rampant pettiness - with an unerringly tasteful eye.

At times, one might wish for the emotional stakes to seem a little higher, but Damian Lewis, who brought a stirring quiet heroism to his character Major Winters in ``Band of Brothers,'' is similarly stoic and understated essaying a much more pathetic character, Soames.

He's instantly smitten with Irene (Gina McKee), a luminous beauty of no social standing, and despite her disdain for him - where she sees an artist's soul in a painting, he sees something to hang in a barren hallway - she agrees to marry him nonetheless. Big mistake.

Soames' estranged cousin's daughter - yes, relationships get mighty tangled - introduces Irene to her fiance, Philip Bosinney (Ioan Gruffudd), a struggling architect. Soames hires Bosinney to build a country home for Irene, with whom he hopes to rekindle - or, more accurately, begin - their romance. Their lovemaking is listless; she assiduously avoids getting pregnant and even asks for a separate bedroom. Bossiney and Irene exchange the requisite smoldering glances. Big mistake.

Meanwhile, Soames' sister is similarly trapped in a faltering marriage with a faithless gambler (Ben Miles); his cousin Jolyon (Rupert Graves) has become a nonentity because he left his wife for a servant - later, his father will try just before his death to make amends - and Jolyon's daughter begins resenting Irene for stealing her man. Irene and Bossiney's affair ends tragically, and she, having been violently assaulted by Soames, goes into hiding, though it seems she'll end up tearing a wide swath through the Forsytes, having a friendly relationship of one sort or another with nearly every male in the family except her husband.

For all Soames' loathsomeness, Lewis manages to humanize the insensitive lout. McKee can at times seem a little too ephemeral and withdrawn, but conveys the qualities that endear her to those around her. Gruffudd stirs things up with some much-welcome charisma, Graves projects earthy dignity, and Miles, as the ne'er-do-well who never seems to learn his lessons, brings some necessary humor to the production.

This version of ``The Forsyte Saga'' doesn't seem to boast the addictive qualities of the first production, but it's intelligent and involving nonetheless.

THE FORSYTE SAGA - Four stars

What: ``Masterpiece Theatre'' miniseries based on John Galsworthy's novels about a Victorian family's trials, tribulations and melodramas.

Where: KCET.

When: 9 tonight and every Sunday through October.

In a nutshell: Handsomely mounted soap opera.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) Damian Lewis and Gina McKee star in the chronicles of one troubled English family in ``The Forsyte Saga.''