Saturday 31 December 2016

Poldarked's Highlights of 2016


As 2016 draws to a close we've been looking back at some of our highlights of the year. Here are our top five in no particular order:
  • Our exclusive photos from the filming, MCM Comic Con, Monte Carlo Film Festival and BFI preview screening. 
  • Reaching 1.2 million hits on Poldarked.com! Thank you to everyone who helped us achieve this.You are stars! We enjoy all the artwork, photo edits and witty comments you share with us and love being a part of the Poldark fandom.

Here's wishing you all a very Happy New Year xxx





Tuesday 27 December 2016

Director Ed Bazalgette Talks 'Poldark'

Aidan Turner, Poldark, Ed Bazalgatte
Ed Bazalgette directing Aidan Turner in Poldark


Ed Bazalgette directed the first four episodes of Poldark series one. In an interview with Radio Times  he talks about the challenge in getting a new series off the ground and, of course, about the famous scything scene.

Radio Times: You directed the opening episodes of Endeavour, Poldark and Doctor Who spin-off Class. What particular challenges or freedoms are there for a director in getting a brand-new series off the ground?
Ed Bazalgette: In directing opening episodes, you get to set the look and tone of a new series. Like everything in TV it’s a collaborative process but you’re right in the middle of it all – it’s a lot more responsibility but allows you more creative licence. Of course the process is different in each instance and the key for me is finding my own entry point into the story. Once you find that, things start to flow. With Poldark, it was seeing the landscape as a character: understanding how the wild and unpredictable nature of Cornwall – the climate, the terrain, the sea – had informed the way Winston Graham had created his characters in the novels and seeing how Debbie Horsfield had threaded that idea through her scripts. Once I had that, so much fell into place – I loved all the jokes about “there goes Ross, galloping off on his horse...again”. It kept the sense of place front and centre throughout those opening episodes where we were establishing our world. 
And coming in at the start gives you the opportunity to spend more time with the writer. Debbie Horsfield on Poldark,
You are also pivotal in the casting, one of the best parts of the process. You’re at the start of prep, a million decisions to be made – there’s so much on your plate. But hearing the script come to life, each actor bringing their own interpretation, interrogating each line, never fails to inspire me. It’s like shining light on a brilliant diamond, constantly seeing the script from a fresh angle, in a new light. You get this real sense of momentum building. It’s thrilling.

Radio Times: Directing Poldark series one, you were responsible for Aidan Turner’s famous topless scything scene, which put many of our readers, and the ladies in our office, into a lather. Anything you’d like to say about that? 
Ed Bazalgette: Ha! I love it when a plan comes together! Debbie had written this wonderfully sensuous scene: she describes Demelza watching Ross from a distance, hidden in the long grass, seeing her boss very differently after the events of the previous night – so it was all Demelza’s point of view! This scene that came to define Poldark, that got everyone talking about Aidan, was actually written from Demelza’s perspective. 
Aidan’s physique isn’t what I remember from the shoot. When we first recce’d the field it was perfect. Come the day of filming, cow parsley had shot up everywhere, Eleanor [Tomlinson] kept disappearing in it, we had to constantly increase the camera height to allow us to see Aidan and Phil [Davis] over the grass, and I wanted the late afternoon light so we were racing to get it shot before the sun set. And of course we did – I think it’s safe to say we got the scene...


Related links:




Friday 23 December 2016

Searches for 'Poldark' Up 339%!

Spectacular! Searches for Poldark on eBay.co.uk were up 339% when Aidan Turner appeared in the BBC's And Then There Were None last Christmas says Exchange Wire. Unfortunately, we don't have the actual figures to see what this really means but, for now, let's enjoy the fun of that percentage.  Of course, having watched Aidan's terrific performance in And Then There Were None I can only think,,,

...are we surprised?
































Related Links:
Poldarked: And Then There Were None - Spoiler Free Review
Poldarked: Titbits from 'And Then There Were None': The House

Wednesday 7 December 2016

Poldark S2 Finale in Australia

Poldark Series 2, Finale, viewing figures, audience, Aidan Turner, Eleanor Tomlinson, Australia, ABC
One has to feel sorry for any drama that has its final episode pushed back by a week so some other event can be shown on TV and that's just what happened to Poldark Series 2 in Australia one Sunday where viewers, tuning in to ABC to learn of Ross and Demelza's fate, were faced with a Crowded House concert and one more week of waiting.

Rather splendidly, when the finale was eventually shown last Sunday, Australian's tuned in in their thousands and episode 10 returned the strongest audience numbers of the season: a cracking 536,000 in the five city metropolitan area according to TVTonight. This is not enough to match the figures for the first series which ranged between 649k (the premiere) and 567k but is a good improvement on the second season's opening of 479k and, interestingly, reflects the finale's performance in the UK too.

Well done Poldark!

Thanks to @vera67 for her help with this post.

Related links
Poldarked: 'Poldark' Series Finale Viewing Figures










Thursday 1 December 2016

'Poldark' Nominated for Satellite Award 2016

Aidan Turner, Satellite Awards, IPA, Eleanor Tomlinson, Poldark
Aidan Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson filming Poldark
Good news!  Poldark has been nominated for a Satellite Award for best television drama series 2016. The Satellite Awards honour outstanding achievements in the fields of cinema, TV and new media. They are awarded annually by the International Press Academy, a global association made up of journalists from all types of media. The IPA will announce the winners at a ceremony on 19 February, 2017 at Century City in Los Angeles.

The other contenders for best television drama are:
American Crime
The Fall
Better Call Saul
The Crown
Mr. Robot
The Americans
The Affair

Aidan Turner, Satellite Awards, IPA, And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie
Aidan Turner in And Then There Were None
Aidan Turner fans will also be delighted to see Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None receive a nomination in the  Miniseries/Motion Picture Made for Television category. And Then There Were None, like Poldark, is a Mammoth Screen production, filmed partly in Cornwall.


Here's wishing Poldark and And Then There Were None all the very best for the Satellite Awards!