Search - House of Eliott - Series Three on DVD

For the Modern Woman

A. J Terry | 07/26/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"On viewing Series 3, I was struck by how well the producers targeted all three series to the late 20th-century-middle-class-working-woman-viewer. The House of Elliott is all about work problems: Establishing a career with insufficient formal credentials, working in a man's world, finding out who you can trust in business, working with people you dislike who are nonetheless valuable contributors to the business, supervising people who dislike each other, being hit on by male coworkers and business associates, juggling your demanding career with the often conflicting demands of a husband's or boyfriend's, juggling motherhood and work, and dealing creatively with work emergencies. In Series 3, lower-class working conditions, and socialism as a potential solution, are major new themes.

There is also more emphasis on the demands of motherhood (Bea and Tilly have babies) and on previously minor characters, especially on the home lives of House of Elliott employees. The pace is frenetic compared to the first two series, with lots of multiple plot lines and quick shifts back and forth between them, unnecessarily dramatic camera angles, dropped situations, and overall too much going on. All the characters make major life and in some cases personality shifts. Tilly becomes clinically depressed. Bea's new boyfriend Daniel rapidly evolves from an arrogant, callous, resentful, self-centered, exploitative jerk (he's even a gigolo) to a sensitive, caring guy who makes major sacrifices for Evie. Evie's rejected boyfriend Miles apparently turns from being a sweet, caring, sensitive, generous guy to a shark trying to take over the House of Elliott. Is this really a science fiction series where their brains got swapped in the night?

Every single one of the plots ends up as a cliffhanger. Will Tilly and Norm become employed again? Will Agnes leave the House of Elliott to become a full-time music hall singer? Will Jack succeed in his new career as a socialist politician, and will Bea be able to cope with being a politician's wife? Will Donald be happy with all the sacrifices he has made for Bea? Will Miles end up running the House of Elliott? And many more . . . but most of all, will the new rift between Bea and Evie (who throughout this show have always been closer to each other than to any husband or boyfriend) ever heal?

Stay tuned for Series 4: Except, as far as I can tell, there wasn't one. Nonetheless, fans of Series 1 and 2 will certainly want to watch Series 3.

Oh, and the clothes are great."

House of Eliott - Series Three

Katherine Bonenti | San Francisco | 09/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a beautiful series and I would continue to buy any sequels that come out. It's worth owning just to look at all of the beautiful costumes and is a must for anyone who loves fashion. Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard are every bit as gorgeous, charming and utterly feminine as they were in series one and two. What a wonderful escape to watch these two lovely sisters evolve and grow in their respective lives. Contary to what I read in some of the other reviews, I had no sound problems at all with the set that I bought and considered both sound and visuals to be first rate. At the conclusion, matters are left unresolved and I don't think there is a series four. But there is a book and a book-on-tape (narrated by Stella Gonet who played Bea) entitled "A House at War" by Elizabeth O'Leary. There are some inconsistencies in it, but it is worth reading or listening to and it brings a sense of closure to "The House of Eliott.""

A Fabulous Finish!

M. Sobota | Mount Pleasant, South Carolina United States | 06/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When this series popped up under "my recommendations" on my Amazon.com home page, I nearly fell out of my chair. I taped every episode of the series when it aired on A & E 15 years ago (hard to believe) when I was in Junior High! Being unable to find the series in its entirety, I contacted the BBC in London for information on whether it was ever expected to be released as a box set, but received word that there were no plans to release it. So I resorted to buying a DVD dubber and transfering all of the episodes to DVD myself. Kudos to Amazon.com for bringing the remaing episodes of this wonderful series to everyone as soon as it is released! Even though I have all of the episodes, I have purchased all 3 series and am excited about the prospect of viewing the episodes without all of those cheesy commercials that I taped with the episodes.

This series is just fun to watch. The costumes and sets are beautiful, and the actors perfectly inhabit their roles until they become as familiar as friends. Definitely a favorite that I will continue to enjoy for years to come."

Series ran out of steam

sbtier | Arlington, MA | 07/28/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I loved the first two series, but the third is very different. For a story about a fashion house, there is strangely little about fashion in this series. There is far too much about Jack's failed directing career, Jack's failed journalism career and Jack's political career. There are a few good little subplots about Tilly, Agnes, and the others from the workroom that I actually enjoyed more than the plots regarding Evie and Beatrice, which seemed to be retreads from the first two series. The grand finale of the showing of the latest collection was a big letdown compared to the other series.

The production values for this series were also noticably lower, especially the sound. Be prepared to keep your hand on the remote to make frequent adjustments and do rewinds a few times to hear the lower-volume conversations."