Customer Reviews

William and Mary: Seasons 1 & 2

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a midwife, I have no time to watch television - but I watched this series, every minute of it - and loved it. It was alternately warm, funny, silly, ridiculous, predictable, not predictable, and wonderful! In addition, with the exception of one very short segment, it portrayed the life of a midwife extraordinarily well. The writing was terrific, and the juxtaposition of Mary's work as a midwife, and William's work as an undertaker, especially in episodes 6 and 7(or was it 7 and 8?!)was brilliant. The acting is great and the characters (okay, Mary's mother is a little overdone!) engaging. The development of the relationship between William and Mary is outstanding, and her portrayal of midwifery noteworthy. I made time to see every episode, and it was well worth it each time -relaxing, fun and touching. My partner liked it, too - when it was all over, he asked if now I would sit and watch 12 episodes of something like "The Terminator" with him - of course, the answer was no! - but he actually was the one who would often say to me, "So, do you want to watch the next William and Mary tonight?"

This is a charming series about the ups and downs of a pair of single parents who meet through a dating service and manage to make things work despite many misunderstandings, aborted plans, eccentric relatives, unusual professions, and teenage problems. However, lest you get the wrong idea, this is not a British version of The Brady Bunch, thank God. It is a well-written, funny, poignant and fast-moving saga of people trying to get together and make a go of their relationship. In the process they have to deal with, among others, a wacked-out and really irritating mother (the bride's), a decent but rather clueless ex-boyfriend, a not-so-decent and intrusive ex-husband (maybe), four teenagers of varying irritation quotients and their own professional problems. My only criticism of the series is that there are a seemingly endless number of childbirth scenes (the heroine being a midwife and all) which get a bit repetitive after a while. Otherwise, a very entertaining and endearing series with excellent performances by all, especially Martin Clunes. Highly recommended.

If you're tired of detectives, lawyers, policemen, and neurotic housewives,
you'll find William & Mary totally refreshing and delightful! We laughed and
we cried, and we absolutely Loved the characters - what more can you ask?

I discovered this series by accident at the library and have loved it! Quirky, fast paced, and fun. This drama has the feel of real life. The love story is brilliant and the teenagers believable (I currently have teenage kids).
The view into their professional lives and how they treat others and how that effects their personalities, stresses and their relationship is also realistic and moving. I am a Family Physician-I have delivered babies and I have worked at a hospice. "William and Mary" does a good job weaving these settings into the story.
Fun to watch, my husband got hooked too. He usually won't watch movies with me, but now he asks that I don't watch an episode without him! Best find in years!

After seeing this series via rental, am purchasing it. Have never done this before. Yes, there are questions left, but really are for the writers: there is clarity about William's [deceased] wife in just a few lines, enough said. But not a clue about what Mary saw in the father of her children or in her last boyfriend [would hate to think she always makes poor choices since that would be an inditement of William, and we can't have that]; or why she would [working single mother that she is] have paid a dating service 700 pounds. As the writing is excellent I know the answers could have been worked into the script. The characters grow [including up], evolve, are "real" without being dysfunctional. There is comedy, but the comedy of life rather than pratfall slapstick, which the Brits can do in embarrassing abundance. To describe William as a "lonely undertaker" does no service or credit to the role. Makes him seem one-dimensional and wierd. The acting is superb.

One of the most poignant, wonderful series I have seen in years. Why it didn't run more seasons is puzzling...was it too provocative? Too "real?" Too controversial?

It is a brilliant reflection of today's city life, and the characters are developed beautifully. One feels that s/he truly knows William and Mary (and their respective families), and cares about their lives and what happens to them. I was fully invested in their story after the first two episodes, as was my partner, an engineer who usually likes to watch science fiction.

Almost every human-life situation imaginable is addressed (single motherhood; mixed race marriages/children; being cornered into a job you weren't counting on doing; the overburdened social security system; birth/death; raising teenagers; having a nutty mom; suicide; first-time sex; absent dads; midwifery; the funeral business; transvestites, etc. etc. etc.) with poise and sensitivity, many times by showing it instead of saying it, or directly addressing it. It just is what is.

It addresses moral dilemmas, also, often leading to solutions, or a lesson learned. These were very believable dilemmas, pertinent to today's society, and for that very reason it was intriguing to see how the characters (whom one's grown to love!) dealt with the myriad challenges that life ever guarantees.

It's a show that appeals to both men and women, and I'll bet that it won't fail in completely delighting 99% of viewers. It is too adult for younger teens (I'd say parent take a look first, anyway), but for absolutely all others, it's unbeatable: engaging and touching.

Well-written. Terrific cast. They feel like your own neighbors. Lots of gentle comedy, the drama isn't too preachy, not too much blood ( as many British shows do seem to have). No typical trite misunderstandings- when something odd happens, it is mentioned and dealt with in a real way. We wanted to parcel the viewing into weekly segments, but it was too good for that and we ended up watching 2 or 3 per evening which meant it was over waaaay too soon! Compelling enough for the whole family to watch- over age 12 at a guess. I'll say it: I love Martin Clunes! (Ever since Men Behaving Badly) He is perfect in this. The music is well done. (Listen for one of my favourite Travis songs.) The only problem is that it ended too soon. The mix of midwife and undertaker is so natural and nicely dealt with, you never feel as if it is some crazy stilted situation. It is believable, like normal life, only better. Some very big subjects but they let you make up your own mind, no American-style lib v conserve mind control here.

This show easily could be called "The Best Show You've never heard of". Modern, endearing, this light drama is a modern dramatic version of Brady Bunch mixed with Six Feet Under. William, an "everyman" type is a widower with two daughters and a housekeeper who owns and operates a funeral home. Mary, a divorcee, has two teen sons and is a midwife. William instantly falls for her when he picks her out in a video dating line-up... and the rest is history. Each episode is an engaging look and life and death... a story surrounding a deceased and a story about a birth.... mixed in with modern family dating hazards, a struggle to make the relationship work... finding time for each other, and dealing with the kids. Many can be emotional, but never dark... a wonderful tribute to the circle of life. Clunes, as William, is engaging, and genuine, and plays much more of an upbeat character than his other series, Doc Martin, also recommended. Graham, as Mary, plays a driven career woman, an advocate for her patients, yet fearful to fall in love again. Her mother is another central character, who is always butting in one way or another. A "must see" for everyone who enjoys a modern drama with great acting and story lines. I will forewarn this is not for young viewing as some of the death plots (a baby, teens) may be a bit scary, and there are birthing scenes, and bedroom scenes. Nothing overt, but they do exist.

The characters are fresh, the plots creative; I wouldn't call this another sitcom. It is long, about 559 minutes and I would like to have seen more. The main characters are not Hollywood beautiful, they're ordinary, but incredibly talented. William is an undertaker, but the show has no undertaker jokes. What a concept! See this.

Martin Clunes' William and Mary is an outstanding DVD experience and, therefore, deserves five stars. The storyline is interesting, the scripts are very well written and very entertaining, and the acting is really outstanding. However, buyer beware that after watching season one and season two, I now know that the complete William and Mary is a three-season storyline compilation--This purchase only includes season one and season two--which is OK because it is what I purchased, but, season three (with the final episodes) is apparently only available for purchase outside of the USA market. So, my family and I got hooked on something really good, but we are debating whether or not I would have made this purchase in the first place, now knowing we may never see the season three conclusion of the story. If this should change, i.e., season three becomes available, I will update my review.
JRA