That was an excellent one.

Let's be realistic.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

This should be a lot more loved than it seems to be. If you like fantasy stories you will find this to be a very ambitious and well executed. Top shelf acting, sets and ideas. Bravo! Probably not going to be as appealing to some of the Harry Potter fan base because it's a bit more cerebral. Although, I like Harry Potter too. If you like Neil Gaiman's stories you will probably like this.

We were very fortunate to see this on Netflix. I missed it on the BBC shows prodcast on Public Television. It has excellent acting, wonderful music by the BBC Orchestra, and the sets and backgrounds all evoke the early 1800's and a sense of magic. Really enjoyed all the actors with the character of The Gentleman and of corse Mr. Norrell and Jonathan Strange being foremost in their acting. Each hour held our attention from beginning to end. Need more shows like this one.

I stumbled upon this show, not knowing anything about the book or TV series (and honestly, given all the hype that precedes a BBC season of Sherlock or Doctor Who, I find that mystifying - this series was vastly better than any season of either). The production value is movie-quality, the acting superlative - but the writing is what really sets it apart. There are so many moments when this could (and as a world-weary viewer you're expecting it to) descend into the usual predictable clichés - but it never does, not once. Despite being a genre piece, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell surprises you at every turn - both in terms of the story and the characters. Where the lead characters in similar shows would be one-dimensional and static, Strange and Norrell have substantial character arcs (-Strange's voluntary descent into madness near the end is particularly delightful). And each of the supporting actors is interesting and well-developed - Childermass, the Gentleman, and Vinculus are especially captivating, but everyone is great, adding to the textural depth of the show. There's plenty of humour, but also refreshingly adult themes ("adult" in the proper sense, not in the "Game of Thrones" feel-like-you-need-to-take-a-shower-after-each-episode sense) in the background, including a subtle yet distinct feminist subtext to the female characters' stories (at some point you clue in to the metaphorical nature of the Gentleman's nightly abductions of Lady Pole -who is forced to "dance" with him all night long at a fairy ball, and then wakes up exhausted, suicidal, and feeling betrayed by the men in her life...). Norrell's obsessive concern to make magic "respectable" is a satirical poke at uptight, bourgeois English society, and the Raven King's association with rebellion of the oppressed working classes adds a tantalizingly modern and subversive element to the usual fantasy paradigms. The show and especially the last episode do a great job of teasing you with hints about the Raven King, who presumably (and hopefully) will play a more direct role in the next season. Can't wait for it!

This will be spoiler free.I only just finished watching this series over the course of the weekend. As is evident by my rating, I enjoyed it tremendously. I did not know the book existed until I saw it mentioned in the credits, so I watched with no preconceived notions apart from what could be gleaned from the synopsis and cover image. In other words, a period piece set in England with magic playing some part. I did not know whether there would be magic performed, or just talked about. Whether it would be a costume drama, or something more.What a ride it turned out to be. I enjoyed literally every single character, which is unusual for me. For the most part, there tends to be some that just annoy me for one reason or the other. In this case, I even found the character that appeared designed to be annoying to be strangely entertaining. Multiple characters were believably multifaceted and conflicted with regards to their place in the unfolding events. This is something the British seem to be consistently far superior at compared to the Americans' penchant for more caricatured portrayals.I found the setting and world building to be a breath of fresh air. Granted, it touched on some familiar themes, but rarely in a straight forward fashion. I so wish television were filled with shows of this caliber. Sadly, reality will likely remain that a show like this comes around once in a while, gets poor ratings in comparison to shows that are so bland they appeal to everybody, and then time passes until someone is brave enough to try something new once again. We can do little but treasure these rare gems.