Monarch of the Glen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Monarch of the Glen | |
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| Genre | Drama/Comedy |
| Running time | approx. 0:50 (per episode, seasons 1-3), approx. 1:00 (per episode, seasons 4-7) |
| Creator(s) | Michael Chaplin |
| Starring | Alastair Mackenzie Dawn Steele Susan Hampshire Lloyd Owen Richard Briers Alexander Morton Hamish Clark Julian Fellowes Martin Compston Lorraine Pilkington Rae Hendrie Tom Baker |
| Country of origin | Scotland |
| Original channel | BBC One |
| Original run | February 22, 2000–October 23, 2005 |
| No. of episodes | 64 |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
- "Monarch of the Glen" is also the name of a painting by Edwin Henry Landseer
Monarch of the Glen was a Scottish television drama, produced by Ecosse Films for BBC Scotland and transmitted on the BBC One network in the UK. The series premiered in 2000, and its seventh and final season was broadcast from September 2005 until October 2005. Transmitted on Sunday evenings, each episode is one hour long. The first two seasons comprised eight episodes each, season three eleven episodes, seasons four and five ten episodes each, plus a special Hogmanay edition transmitted after the end of the fifth season, season six was ten episodes long, and the final season contained six episodes, making sixty-four episodes in total. The series is also shown abroad, running successfully on BBC America and on various PBS affiliates in the United States, ABC in Australia, and several mainland European broadcasters. Boglies — Monarch of the Glen fans from all over the world — often have gatherings at Ardverikie House during the month of May.
The series is loosely based on Compton Mackenzie's Highland Novels, which are set in the same location, but in the 1930s and 1940s. The first book in the series is called The Monarch of the Glen (with a conscious reference to the famous Landseer painting). The television drama has been heavily criticised for its "liberty-taking", particularly as Mackenzie, a co-founder of the Scottish National Party, was satirising the pretences of Scotland's thoroughly anglicised nobility.
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[edit] Plot overview
Archie MacDonald is called back to his Highland home and is told by his eccentric parents Molly and Hector that he is the new Laird of their Scottish estate. Archie has to attempt to rid Glenbogle of its huge debt whilst coping with the housekeeper Lexie, ranger Duncan and ghillie Golly. Archie also has to decide whether he loves local schoolteacher Katrina or his girlfriend Justine, who is running their restaurant in London.
When he appoints a new headranger, Archie has a battle on his hands to win the affections of Katrina. Archie gets more trouble when Stella Moon arrives from Lascelles Bank and aims to close the estate if the debt does not decrease. Hector gets blown up by the loch after an emotional talk with wife Molly, and she finds that Hector's best friend Kilwillie has feelings for her. Duncan and Golly battle it out to win new housekeeper Irene, then Lexie attempts to run away but is followed by Archie and Duncan and after a lot of arguments, Lexie and Archie are married on the hillside in the Glenbogle Estate with only the staff and Molly there.
New neighbour Andrew starts to realise he loves Molly, but Golly also wants Molly's heart. Archie leaves Glenbogle with his sister to climb a mountain in Nepal, leaving Lexie and his half-brother Paul to run the estate. Lexie's dad turns up after 20 years and becomes chauffeur for Dorothy. Meanwhile Paul is dating the blonde lass Amanda MacLeish and when Lexie finds out that Amanda is married, she feels she must tell Paul to avoid any future confusion. Paul takes it badly and tells her to stay out of his business. After the climb, Archie and Lexie leave to New Zealand and Paul becomes Laird of Glenbogle.
Paul finds he loves local farmer Isobel, but when he find that local neighbour Chester likes Isobel, and Chester's PA likes the Laird, Paul has to convince Isobel she's the one for him. Meanwhile Golly's daughter Jess returns to the Glen, and has a relationship with Duncan, before he leaves to be a DJ in Edinburgh. Paul's uncle, Donald, and young chef, Ewan, get up to plenty of mischief on the estate whilst Golly finds that his girlfriend Meg is pregnant.
Isobel leaves for Edinburgh, but Paul finds another love in the shape of Iona Maclean, a local farmer, but when he burns down her croft she has to live in The Big House. Molly gets closer to Golly when she helps raise Golly's new son Cameron, after Meg dies in childbirth. Whilst Ewan aims to win back barmaid Zoë after he kissed Paul's goddaughter Amy. Donald gets up to his usual mischief, whilst Jess misses Duncan, and Kilwillie and the Ghost of Hector return to the glen.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Regular cast
| Actor | Character | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Alastair Mackenzie | Archibald 'Archie' Horatio Hector MacDonald | Series 1-5 |
| Dawn Steele | Alexandra 'Lexie' MacDonald | Series 1-6 |
| Susan Hampshire | Molly MacDonald | Series 1-7 |
| Alexander Morton | 'Golly' MacKenzie | Series 1-7 |
| Hamish Clark | Duncan McKay | Series 1-7 |
| Lloyd Owen | Paul Bowman-MacDonald | Series 4-7 |
| Richard Briers | Hector Naismith MacDonald | Series 1-3 and 7 |
| Lorraine Pilkington | Katrina Finlay | Series 1-4 |
| Rae Hendrie | Jessica 'Jess' MacKenzie | Series 3 and 5-7 |
| Julian Fellowes | Lord Angus Errol Sharon Kilwillie | Series 1-5 and 7 |
| Martin Compston | Ewan Brodie | Series 5-7 |
| Tom Baker | Donald Ulysses MacDonald | Series 6-7 |
| Paul Freeman | Andrew Booth | Series 4-5 |
[edit] Recurring roles
| Actor | Character | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Anna Wilson-Jones | Justine | Series 1 |
| Carole Cassidy | Maureen MacLean | Series 1-2 |
| Simon Slater | Lancelot Fleming | Series 1-2 |
| Paul Goodwin | Alan Smythe | Series 1 |
| Jason O'Mara | Fergal MacClure | Series 2 |
| Alexandra Gilbreath | Stella Moon | Series 3 |
| Jenny Lee | Aunty Elizabeth 'Liz' Logan | Series 3-5 |
| Gavin Mitchell | PC Callum McIntyre | Series 3 and 5-6 |
| Rebecca Lacey | Irene Stuart | Series 4 |
| Angus Lennie | Hamish 'Badger' | Series 4-5 |
| Richenda Carey | Lady Dorothy Trumpington-Bonnet | Series 5 |
| Hermione Gulliford | Hermione Trumpington-Bonnet | Series 5 |
| John Yule | Dougal Raeburn | Series 5-6 |
| Sara Stewart | Amanda MacLeish | Series 5 |
| Simone Lahbib | Isobel Anderson | Series 6 |
| Kari Corbett | Zoë | Series 6-7 |
| Donald Douglas | Dr. Gordon McKendrick | Series 6-7 |
| Karen Westwood | Meg Paterson | Series 6 |
| Lucy Akhurst | Lucy Ford | Series 6 |
| Anthony Head | Chester Grant | Series 6 |
| Rhianna and Katelyn Duff | Cameron MacKenzie | Series 7 |
| Kirsty Mitchell | Iona McLean | Series 7 |
| Antony Strachan | Frank | Series 7 |
| Kellyanne Farquhar | Amy McDougal | Series 7 |
[edit] Special guest stars
| Actor | Character | Series |
|---|---|---|
| Abigail Cruttenden | Lizzie MacDonald (I) | Series 1 |
| Julia Haworth | Janice | Series 1 |
| Phillip Whitchurch | Mr. Brown | Series 2 |
| Serena Gordon | Mary | Series 2 |
| Phil McCall | Tosh McKellen | Series 2 |
| Sam Graham | Reverend Mitchell | Series 2 |
| Benjamin Whitrow | Terry 'Toad' McLean | Series 3 |
| Olga Sosnovska | Marie-Helene | Series 3 |
| James Murray | Jeff Ramsden | Series 3 |
| Phyllida Law | Professor Isobel Hogg | Series 4 |
| Leslie Phillips | Louis Grimshaw | Series 4 |
| Charles Edwards | David Fraser | Series 4 |
| Hugh Ross | Greg MacDonald | Series 5 |
| Saskia Wickham | Lizzie MacDonald (II) | Series 5 |
| Robin Hooper | Ian Body | Series 5 |
| Steven Elder | Alex Faversham | Series 6 |
| Robert Fyfe | Jackie McIntyre | Series 6 |
| James Fleet | Phillip Liel 'Liam' Forester | Series 6 |
| Michael Cochrane | Colonel Ford | Series 6 |
| Matthew Marsh | Viktor Zinchenko | Series 7 |
| Ruth Millar | Catriona Zinchenko | Series 7 |
| Clive Russell | Peter Finlay | Series 7 |
For a detailed list of the Monarch of the Glen cast, please click here; for minor characters, please click here.
[edit] Opening titles
The programme's opening (35 seconds) and closing (40 seconds) titles were the work of Kemistry, a London-based on-screen design company.
Though they became central characters, Lexie, Golly and Duncan were not featured in the opening titles until the second series. Below is a list of the characters that were included in the titles, by series, in order of appearance.
[edit] Series 1
- Hector
- Molly
- Archie
- Katrina
[edit] Series 2
- Hector
- Molly
- Archie
- Katrina
- Golly, Lexie and Duncan (together, beginning on Golly and Lexie, and panning right to Lexie and Duncan)
[edit] Series 3
[edit] Episode 1
As Series 2
[edit] Episodes 2-11
- Hector
- Molly
- Archie
- Lexie
- Golly and Duncan (together)
[edit] Series 4
- Molly
- Archie
- Lexie
- Duncan
- Golly
- Kilwillie
[edit] Series 5
[edit] Episodes 1-6
- Molly
- Archie
- Lexie
- Duncan
- Golly
- Kilwillie (Episode 1 only)
- Paul (Episode 2-)
[edit] Episodes 7-10 (including Hogmanay special)
- Molly
- Lexie
- Paul
- Duncan
- Golly
[edit] Series 6
- Molly (Episodes 1-4, 6 and 10 only)
- Lexie (Episodes 1-4 only)
- Paul
- Duncan (Episodes 1-4 only)
- Golly
- Isobel
- Ewan
- Jess
- Donald (Episode 2-)
[edit] Series 7
- Molly
- Paul
- Golly
- Iona
- Ewan
- Jess
- Amy (Episode 2-)
- Donald (Episodes 1, 3 and 6 only)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- BBC.co.uk - Monarch of the Glen
- Monarch of the Glen at the Internet Movie Database
- Monarch Country
- BBC America Monarch of the Glen website
