TV on DVD

New Worlds miniseries mix of Colonial-era fact, fiction

New Worlds, miniseries
New Worlds, miniseries

What is it? New Worlds, miniseries, four episodes on two discs from Acorn Media

How much? $39.99

When? Now

What new worlds? Well, America. Sort of. There's also "new world" as in "new government" and "new way of thinking about the world."

It's the 1680s and Charles II (Jeremy Northam) is on the throne of England. While the English civil war, the regicide of King Charles I and the commonwealth of Oliver Cromwell are all in the past, religious and ideological tensions are still simmering. Charles II is too autocratic for some tastes and his heir, brother James, is just too Catholic for nervous Protestants.

In the Massachusetts Colony, Ned Hawkins (Joe Dempsie), son of a wealthy landowner, finds himself swept up in the struggles between Colonists, American Indians and the British overlords when he visits the frontier town of Hadley and falls for Hope (Alice Englert), a tough frontierswoman.

Back in England, Beth Fanshawe (Freya Mavor), daughter of a fierce commonwealth supporter (Eve Best), has her life turned upside down when she finds out her real father was a notorious republican and she's kidnapped by an educated, enlightened outlaw named Abe Goffe (Jamie Dornan).

The two threads are connected, and get more so as time goes on as the story jumps back and forth across the Atlantic between the two groups of people, mixing the fictional characters with real historical figures like the king, the Duke of Monmouth (Tom Payne), William Goffe (James Cosmo) and "Hanging Judge" Jeffreys (Pip Carter).

How is it? Well, if you're a fan of romantic historical fiction, you'd probably enjoy it. But while it's set in an often overlooked period of history, it's actually pretty superficial. The good guys are pure, forward-thinking folks. The bad guys are mustache-twirling villains. There's little room for complexity.

It's also full of cliches: the sheltered rich girl who falls for the roguish bad boy and has her eyes opened, the rich boy who gets tangled up with the tough warrior girl and fights for the side of good. And they're not really developed much beyond that. Basically, they're pretty, pouty-mouthed young people like any other series about young romance. They're just dressed differently.

Sensitive folks may want to keep in mind that the series doesn't really hold back on gruesome, gory scenes. Remember, torture was a popular tool at the time.

But the series as a whole is gorgeously shot and at least draws some attention to an important period in American/English history. Though how accurate (or fair to the real-life people it depicts) it is is questionable. And the depiction of what is essentially a 17th-century version of a hippie commune in the English countryside comes across as downright silly.

Are there bonus features? A few. Four short bits cover the characters, set design, history and visual effects involved in the series. There are also a deleted scene and a photo gallery.

New this week: Archie Bunker's Place, Season 1; Barney Miller, Season 8; Bitten, Season 2; The Brokenwood Mysteries, Season 1; House of Cards, Season 3; Married ... With Children, Season 11 and Complete Series; The Michael J. Fox Show, Season 1; Playing House, Season 1; Poldark, Miniseries; Witches of East End, Season 2.

Next week: Adventure Time, Season 5; Batman, Season 2, Part 2; Cedar Cove, Season 2; Little House on the Prairie, Season 6; The Magic School Bus, Season 3; Powers, Season 1; WKRP in Cincinnati, Season 3.

Style on 07/05/2015

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