"To Serve Them All My Days" is a 13 episode miniseries which follows the life of a young British WWI shell shocked vet who is retired from military service and sent to a boys school to teach. I watched about half of the series (2 DVDs) and became so bored with the uneventful, marginally interesting, and mediocre production that I gave up on it. Therefore, I can only write about the first 6 hours of this very theatrical film with annoying staginess (eg: players obvious wait for cues, everyone talking loudly, stiff portrayals, etc.), shoddy effects (eg: the absence of suspense and flames during the school fire rescue scene), characters which don't ring true (the wife who is cheerful beyond belief), a flat story (eg: poor story dynamics with events coming and going with little intensity, focus, or fanfare) and more. This TV flick received some very good commentary from critics and public and may well be a worthy watch for many. However, for those expecting the complexities of "Foyle's War" or the character depth of "The Mayor of Casterbridge" or the appointments of a "Daniel Deronda" or the range of emotion of a "The Forsyte Saga", etc. disappointment may await. Try renting one DVD first to see if you find the series engaging before renting more. (B-)
Review of To Serve Them All My Days
