Gorgeous to behold, slow to reveal its full charm and intelligence, Monarch of the Glen is not just for Britcom fanatics. Adapted and updated from the so-called "Highland" novels of Compton MacKenzie (author of Sylvia Scarlett), Monarch concerns the crisis of Archie MacDonald (Alistair Mackenzie), a London restaurateur all set (with his girlfriend Justine, played by Anna Wilson-Jones) to open a hip new eatery when he is interrupted by an emergency call from his home in the Scottish Highlands. There is no emergency, as it turns out, just a gambit by Archie's mother, Molly (the radiant Susan Hampshire), to effect a reconciliation between her son and his cantankerous, relentlessly bitter father, Hector (Richard Briers). The reason: Archie, much to his surprise, must legally assume Hector's longtime role as Laird of Glenbogle, the MacDonalds' 400-year-old, financially strapped 40,000-acre estate. Despite their lengthy estrangement, Hector needs Archie to save the family's honor and assets.
The eight episodes in this first season of Monarch of the Glen find the urbane Archie fiercely resisting his obligation at first, then warming to it as Glenbogle's plight becomes more personal--not just an issue of hereditary leadership but of new attachments to the series' endearing, mildly eccentric characters. Among them is Lexie (Dawn Steele), the estate's sexy, street-smart cook; shy Duncan (Hamish Clark), an underachieving, kilt-wearing handyman; leftist land-reformer Katrina (Lorraine Pilkington), warily circling Duncan as a romantic interest; and avuncular, lovably laconic groundskeeper Golly (Alexander Morton).
Monarch takes a couple of delightful episodes to introduce these good people and establish story particulars and conflicts. But depth and emotional resonance arrive by the third episode (the MacDonalds have their share of repressed, unspoken old agonies) and remain through the last episode's cliffhanger ending. If that's not enough, the spectacular Highlands scenery is pure eye candy: castles, glimmering lakes, misty hills. One never wants to leave, or to see Monarch end. --Tom Keogh
