When an adorable young couple inherits the farm, they seem to be plotting again to find their way together. Now, the wives face strange experiences in this isolated region of England as they begin to uncover some uncomfortable events in the parish community.
I'd seen it all before aside from the final scene, which seemed to introduce someone from the future. Intriguing, I accept, but even though all six episodes are now available on iPlayer, I find I am insufficiently enthralled to ever return. Sorry.
It's shaping up to be a nice six hours of spooky fun and games and there's the Lyke Wake Dirge over the opening credits, which I might petition to have as our new national anthem.
The Living and the Dead is a series of clever, emotionally-charged ghost stories best ingested in the company of those like-minded looking for a fright by the television screen's flicker.
In less capable hands, the many ideas in this sumptuously shot series would completely devolve into an unwieldy pastiche, but Pharoah and his directors have clear visions for each detour, which the series leads handle with aplomb.
