ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

TownRootGuy This show is just a lot of fun. Sure, they have some serious moments but the overall tone is pretty light. If nothing else you get to see Giles be a rich prat.Another perk is that one of the best and quirkiest characters is played by the guy who created Downton Abbey.This show has great music, an excellent cast, a freakin' castle, some very nice, non-castley, eye candy AND if you speak English and can piece together sentences from every 5th or 6th word, you just might get some chuckles.Seriously, turn on captioning if it's available. I spend a lot of time wondering wtf was just said. I've seen this series 3 times and I have no idea what they're saying half the time.This is a very good show that I can watch every 5 years.

pmoh777 This review doesn't contain a plot spoiler, just a comment about cast changes.I was watching Alastair Mackenzie in a Hallmark movie today and was reminded of how I missed (long for) Monarch of the Glen. As others have noted it was a great package: the beautiful scenery, the quirky characters, the variety of stories, the acting, the refreshing lack of violence and sex, the comedy-drama aspect, and the pleasure of watching these nice people. I plan to see it again soon, though the loss of many of the original characters by the time the show ends is a bit irritating. Also some of the story lines did not turn out the way I expected. Nevertheless, this is one of my goto comfort shows. Just watching the scenery alone is worth the time you spend viewing this.

pbellarbutus Few TV series I have seen started off in such a promising fashion, Monarch of the Glen had it all--excellent actors, great scenery, pathos and hilarity.About half way through the series Richard Briers left the show and in my opinion the hilarity ended there. Julian Fellowes, Susan Hampshire and Alastair McKenzie were not able to keep the show on it's original course, but the writing seemed to change after the departure of Briers, and in my opinion not for the better.With the departure of Alastair McKenzie the writing really fell apart and the show descended into a rather dull 'soap' of silly affairs and even sillier pairings, and even the beautiful scenery could not save it.While this short review is critical of the last half of the series, I still think this is an excellent series at least until two or three episodes after the "death" of "Hector". A pity, as Briers and Fellowes were a riot!

CarmelaG I recently discovered this series through Netflix, and I have found it completely enjoyable. The writing is very consistently good, the characters appealing (their quirks and foibles make them even more so), and the scenery of the Scottish highlands is just lovely.The show takes you inside of a charming world that the characters inhabit. You see them wrestling with and resolving conflicts with others and among themselves in ways that are always sweet in the end, but never sickly sweet or trite. Not all of them are likable. Hector, the father, will drive you crazy, but then he comes through on important points, like loyalty and a devotion to tradition. Archie seems indecisive, but he is also very loving and loyal. And Lexie is a great character who is driven by a sense of justice, and always wanting to do the right thing. Molly and Golly are steadfast, loving - one almost too kind, and the other very stern. And Duncan too is both funny and very true, very devoted to his friends.The show also achieves the near impossible, managing to communicate a lot of sexual tension without ever becoming overly explicit - well done. It's a bit like Northern Exposure or Gilmore Girls in its appeal, but in my opinion it is much better than both of those.I could pick at it a bit and say where it might have gone wrong. But I don't want to, because I just don't think television gets much better than this. Highly, highly recommended for people who like excellent writing that combines drama with humor, shows people usually finding their way back to do the decent thing, and treats characters and viewers with dignity.