Poldark - Season 3- Blu-ray

Movie: After having an affair with the love of his life once, Elizabeth (Heida Reed), Ross Poldark (Aiden Turner) has managed to get his wife Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) to forgive him. But now Elizabeth is having a child and the question is: who is the father? Is it her husband George Warleggan (Jack Farthing), or perhaps Ross? Not wanting to risk his happiness, Ross decides it's time once and for all for the Poldark and Warleggan families to go their separate ways. It's a good plan, but it's on shaky ground, which becomes clear when Demelza's brothers show up and Drake (Harry Richardson) falls in love with Morwenna (Ellise Chappell), the governess to Elizabeth's son Geoffrey Charles (Harry Marcus).

Luck is also not with Dwight (Luke Norris), newly wed to Caroline (Gabriella Wilde): immediately after the wedding ceremony, he must go back to war with France, becoming a prisoner. Ross wants to do everything he can to free his friend- but puts his marriage at risk in the process, as a new man enters Demelza's life, giving her the attention she so craved from Ross.

The third season of the successful re-adaptation of Winston Graham's Poldark novels actually has everything great series entertainment needs: Beautiful landscapes, attractive - but also convincing acting - actors, plenty of romance, drama and adventure. Even if the stories are often very conventional, not to say clichéd, the series works really well because of its excellent production. So it's little wonder that it's still a ratings hit in its third year, especially in the UK, and has also picked up some major awards.

Even though Ross and Demelza are in the center, it is not only about them anymore. The storylines of other characters like Drake and Morwenna or Dwight and Caroline are also well fleshed out. Especially Dwight's fate provides a lot of tension and some goosebump moments this season. Overall, the viewer is taken on an emotional roller coaster ride. Just when you're happy for Ross and Demelza that they seem to have been able to save their love, obstacles are put in their way again. No sooner do Caroline and Dwight get married than they get separated again. Whenever someone finds happiness, the viewer is prepared for fate to show its particularly nasty face. But that's exactly the charm of this series.

Poldark is also in season 3 again a feast for the eyes, in addition still gripping, moving and extremely entertaining. So if you like visually stunning costume dramas with plenty of heartbreak, this is the show for you. And for that, the new episodes get a clear rating: Absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The fascinating landscape shots of Cornwall are shown off to great advantage on the Blu-ray thanks to the coherent colour scheme, the decent picture depth and the very good overall sharpness. But even with darker interior shots, the picture quality can convince. The audio is in a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix, which primarily transports the dialogue powerfully out of the home theater speakers. But also ambient sounds such as the roar of the sea or smaller sound effects provide an atmospheric soundscape. For a current TV production, this is absolutely convincing. Good!

Extras: In addition to an audio commentary on the fifth episode on disc 1, there are other nice extras on the second disc. Joining another audio commentary here are some interviews with the cast (approx. 29:26 min.), a behind-the-scenes look (approx. 8:16 min.), three short features on this season's big romances (approx. 9:20 min.), and still another making of (approx. 6:56 min.). The video extras consist of several short features that are a bit promo-heavy, but offer some moments worth watching for fans. The audio commentaries are lively and insightful, but assume a good command of English as there are unfortunately no subtitles for them.

Conclusion: Poldark proves again in season 3 why this series is so popular: great scenery, lots of romance, intrigue and adventure - and of course lots of good(-looking) actors. What more could you want? The stirring episodes of this third season present themselves on the Blu-ray in very good picture and sound quality. In addition, there are a few extras worth watching and three postcards as a nice goodie. So all in all a clear: Recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp