Aristocrats (1999)

As this period drama started out, it held my attention just fine. The core family of sisters were interesting and I cared about what happened to them. You can't ask for more than that. I rank the first three episodes fairly highly.

My interest in the story started to slip during the fourth and fifth installments, and I wasn't even sure why as I watched it. Now that I think back on it, part of the reason might have been that I couldn't understand exactly why one of the sisters suddenly became interested in married men. I mean, I know it happens, but she admits at some point she doesn't love them, so why? Still, it was minor and still stop me watching it.

The sixth and final episode was even more of a disappointment for me. It felt like the entire tone and perspective of the series had shifted. I realize that characters had died and others had aged, so no doubt that played into it. But the aging seemed so sudden that it felt like more years had gone by than what I thought. The shift to focus on the younger generation seemed abrupt. About then I also realized that the reason I had felt my interest slide in the previous episode was that I had lost track of the timeline. Who were they fighting: The American colonies still, Ireland, or someone else? I wasn't well-grounded in the time frame any more.

Anyway, despite the disappointing finale, I do not regret watching it. It was a pretty good period piece and from an interesting angle - not just about wealthy people, but the beautiful ones, the celebrities of their day.