Forsytes, meet the Forsytes.  They're an old Victorian family.   From the town of London, they could scare Catherine de Medici.

Broadcast April 7, 2002

Scenes in a grand Victorian mansion and at a sumptuous dinner party introduce the main characters. At the mansion we meet Old Jolyon Forsyte and his son, Young Jolyon, who leaves his wife and young daughter June for the governess, Helene, and is estranged from his father as a result. At the dinner party we meet Old Jolyon’s sisters (the aunts Ann, Hester, and Juley); his brother James, a fusspot solicitor who is married to the calm and capable Emily, and their two offspring; Soames, a partner with his father in the family law firm who has not yet met a suitable wife, much to his aunts’ distress; and Winifred. The dinner is being given in Winifred’s honour, to introduce her fiance, the charming but feckless Montague Dartie. Winifred marries Monty without the usual generous settlement from her father, who is persuaded by the clear-headed Soames that he would not be a wise investment.

The action jumps on 9 years, to Bournemouth, where Soames is spending time on business. At an evening concert Soames falls in love at first sight with the beautiful, if remote, Irene Heron who is sitting on the balcony opposite him. He courts her doggedly; in a chat with her stepmother early on she ascertains he is not married and he ascertains that Irene has no money. Soames accompanies them to an art exhibition (where he buys a picture admired by Irene, not as a gift for her but to show that he can acquire things he wants), and then calls round for tea and Chopin, beautifully played by Irene, and proposes but is refused. Soames does not give up, however, and invites Irene and her stepmother to meet his family.

Irene is a hit with the family; everyone agrees she is very beautiful, and the teenage June is bewitched by her. There is a slight scandal amongst the aunts when Winifred, flouting mourning convention that Irene is still observing following the death of her father a year previously, overcomes her feeble objections to dancing by whirling her onto the dancefloor. Monty then breaks in to partner Winifred, leaving an uncomfortable but desperate Soames to dance with Irene. Winifred says the aunts would be even more scandalised if they knew that she was expecting a baby.

At a tea dance some months later Soames joins Irene and attempts to propose again but she prevents him from doing so. Frustrated and spurred on by other happy courting couples at the dance, Soames seizes Irene’s arm and kisses it hungrily. This appals Irene, and Soames, who is shocked by what he has done. Irene’s stepmother is also appalled--by Irene’s continued refusal of such a good match. She forces Irene to walk home from the dance in the pouring rain to emphasise that they have no money and expresses her annoyance that Irene keeps turning down a good offer, to which Irene protests, "But I do not love him." "But you could,"says her stepmother, who ends by saying that she will not support Irene for another year.

Irene seeks out Soames the next day, as he is leaving Bournemouth for good, and says that if he will agree to let her go if the marriage is not a success, her answer will be different if he were to propose again. Soames insists the marriage would be a success and does propose; once he is accepted he leans in stiffly to kiss Irene, but meets only her cheek.

Meanwhile, Winifred has had a baby daughter, Imogen, and has been given a choker of pearls from Monty to mark the occasion. She is delighted, despite wondering how they can afford them.

Old Jolyon is increasingly missing his son and has taken to frequenting the shabby part of town where he lives, occasionally spotting the family. Young Jolyon and Helene have a son, Jolly, and another child on the way. Young Jolyon has to go in supplication to James and Soames, as family trustees, to request money to buy a larger house for his family. He is turned down, clearly on moral grounds.

A couple of years later, Young Jolyon’s wife then dies. He proposes to Helene. It is clear that this family is happy, despite their lack of property.

However, things are not so blissful at Montpelier Square, where Soames and Irene are living more comfortably. Irene is bored and obviously not in love with Soames, although he is plainly still besotted with her. She flinches when he tries to touch her, and their love-making is short and loveless on her part. She douches immediately afterwards to prevent conception, whilst Soames lies ignorant of this, bemused and confused in bed. At dinner at home one evening later on, Irene says that she is not sleeping well and wants a separate bedroom. Soames is furious; this does not accord with his view of how a wife should behave.

June has grown up and has fallen in love with an impetuous architect, Philip Bosinney. She is a happy, free spirit and is desperate to marry him. Her grandfather rules this out, however, on the grounds that he has no income. At a tea party to introduce him to the family, June is eager for Bosinney and her best friend Irene to like each other. She is also keen to promote his talents to her rich male relatives in the hope that Bosinney might get a commission to kick-start his career and enable them to marry. Irene is cool but friendly to Bosinney. It is obvious that June does not like Soames and feels sorry for her friend being married to him.

Bosinney is bewitched by Irene, however. At the Forsytes’ regular church attendance he sits opposite her catching her eye, withdrawing his hand from June’s, whilst Irene is flinching away from Soames, who tries to touch her hair possessively.

• The first time Irene plays the piano for him. The look of almost pure rapture on his face while he listens, (steam rising here...making it difficult to type) and then the disappointment as he walks over to her and looks over her shoulder at the music and she recoils from him.

• The longing glance from one side of the concert hall to the other after Soames meets Irene for the first time. Wow! The twitching muscle on the side of his face, the burning eyes...

• Where he gazes longingly after Irene after the waltz--and the panting helps.

2. The "There Are So Many Scenes in Which I Wish I Was Gina McKee, But We've Managed to Whittle It Down to Two" Award:

• The scene where she finally accepts his marriage proposal ("Miss Heron, will you be mine?"-- aieeeee!! ) and then Soames leans in to kiss her. The embarrassment and shyness of Soames was so painful...are we thinking maybe it was his first kiss? And then Irene turns her face and he kisses her cheek--awww.

• And oh my god! The waltzing scene where they dance together--he was looking deep into her eyes with this small but particularly dopey grin on his face. Oh to be that close and in his arms. It was just pure magic. The look on his face when he looked after her as she walked away--whoever said smouldering was so right!  (Note to producers of Damian's next job: we like dancing--a lot!)

3. Favourite Line:

• Aunt Ann's line: "If anyone should carry on the family name it's Soames," to which Sarah's response is "Too right--shame to let those red-headed genes go to waste."

• Soames to Irene: "You are charming beyond words.... " though it's a tad sinister too, as he'd just been rejected.

4. The "It Shouldn't Have Been Funny But I Couldn't Help Laughing" Award:

• The look of sheer horror on Soames' face after he smooches Irene's arm in the very public tea rooms. It was "Oh my god, what the hell have I done?"... just the idea of Damian rehearsing that scene and how to express that almost (forgive me) constipated look on his face had Lorena in fits... priceless!

• The moment where Mrs. Heron invites him to join them both at the gallery the next day--the smirk and the raised eyebrows Bar found hilarious.

• And noisily pouring his water into the glass whilst Irene is douching--what?!?

5. Best Silent Acting From Damian:

• A scene between Soames and his father where Soames manages to bring James around to his way of thinking without saying a single word, just making his point by raising his eyebrows and looking in that certain way that only Damian can do.

There was a late bid for the sex scene from Bar ("Hahahahahaha. Wasn't he quiet though, not one grunt and he was the one supposed to be having fun."); however, to Sarah's relief, she opted for:

• Where he is surreptitiously gleaning seduction tips from the couple at the dance (he's so inept, our hearts did go out to him), and steeling himself to pounce on Irene, especially the sideways glance before he grabs her arm--hilarious.

6. Most Menacing Moment (Lots to Choose From):

• The deathly look Soames gave Irene over dinner when she suggested the "separate bedrooms" idea..."I don't know exactly what your idea of wifely duties are." No matter how sexy he is, we shuddered... There's masterful and then there's just plain menacing.

• Soames stroking Irene's hair in the church--so possessive (though in another situation we would personally LOVE that).

• Swaggering up the stairs behind her with intent in every step...

Screencap by Bar.  Irene photos and family photo courtesy of HURSTblondie.  June/Bosinney photo courtesy of Granada Television.