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When the first series of Land Girls aired on BBC1 daytime in summer 2009, it was a real missed opportunity, filled with melodrama, clichéd characters and a ridiculously sanitised vision of life in the Land Army. It returned yesterday for a second series, and I tuned in, hoping that it could live up to its potential, but, infuriatingly, it was as problematic as ever.
I’m no expert on World War Two, but I’m sure that the life of a land girl wasn’t as easy as it seems to be here. There’s never any real sense that the girls on the farm are sacrificing anything; in this first episode, there were a few shots of them making hay in a leisurely fashion, and a suggestion that they have to get up earlier than everyone else sometimes to collect the eggs from the hens. Bea can spend time arranging romantic picnics and trysts in the hay loft with Billy; farmer Finch never seems to do anything but scheme. The makers have chosen ludicrous plot twists and melodrama over giving a realistic snapshot of the life of a land girl, which could have been infinitely more interesting.
The other main problem is that the characters mostly feel like walking stereotypes. There’s the loveable, jolly farmer who’s out to cheat the system. The system is represented by the local busybody who carries out audits on the farm and sticks to the rules, and the heartless lady of the manor. New characters this series include the slightly slaggy East End girl, and the lady of the manor’s layabout sister. There are some welcome developments: since she’s no longer the obstacle to the greatest love story in the history of the universe, Lady Hoxley has been granted a bit of a heart, while I suspect I’d get on exceptionally well with her sister.
Really, what little life most of these characters do have comes from the actors. Mark Benton plays Farmer Finch about as broadly as you’d expect, and most of the supporting cast are stuck with little to do but play stereotypes. But Sophie Ward was consistently compelling as Lady Hoxley, and the writers do seem to have realised that. Raquel Cassidy is clearly having fun as her sister, and I hope they make more use of her character over the next four episodes. One of the few characters I true believed in the first series, perennially sweet and patriotic Joyce, worked mostly because of the luminous Becci Gemmell, and Seline Hizli as new girl Connie has enough presence to overcome the problems of her character. I was also consistently impressed by Jo Woodcock, who has managed to develop Bea from naive teenager to rational mother and wife, and the return of William’s grandfather should create some interesting tension.
Despite all my problems with Land Girls, I find myself unable to stay away. Maybe it’s the acting, or maybe it’s the fact that it’s a time period that I enjoy watching on film. Or maybe it’s for the small moments that they do get it right, like the look of horror on Billy’s face as he realises he’s been called up. They’ll probably ruin it somehow, but, just there, for a second, Land Girls was everything that it could and should be. And that’s why, despite everything, I’ll keep watching to the bitter end.
The second series of Land Girls continues throughout this week at 2.15pm on BBC1.
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