"Berkeley Square" is an Edwardian period TV 10x50 minute miniseries which examines the lives of three young women, all nursery maids for wealthy families in London's Berkeley Square. The series revolves around the trio of neighboring young women, their nannies and associated co-staff (butlers, footmen, etc.) and the members of the families which employ them. Themes include murder, illicit affairs, affairs of the heart, a baby switching, and a whole lot of nursemaid issues with an ample assortment of side plots all very nicely woven together. This multiplicity of stories follows a nice arc building ample depth into the characters, developing plenty of tension on a range of levels, and sorting everything out, albeit rather quickly, such that all is well at the end with a only couple of unhappy exceptions. "Berkeley Square" is very much a soap opera (circa 1902) as it focuses on women and women's issues with restrained melodrama though it is much more thoughtfully produced than the usual commercial soap. Lacking the mood and polish of a "Brideshead Revisited" with some of the intricacies of an "Upstairs-Downstairs", this series has some obvious production deficits, though they are easily overlooked. All in all, "Berkeley Square" is an acceptable TV product which should make for a pleasant watch for women, lovers of soaps, and others into early 20th century English drama. Note - the DVD I watched had no CC's or subtitles making some of the dialogue difficult to understand. (B)
Review of Berkeley Square
