Gentleman Jack

While it is fun, and has moments of heart, it also has moments that seem to flirt with period drama parody.

This show should be great, what with its sterling pedigree and beguiling protagonist, but hits too many things from the wrong angle, as though the prestige TV machine that made it went on the fritz partway through.

“Gentleman Jack” is British period drama, and it’s also a lot of fun.

An imperfect but enjoyable production, driven mainly by the satisfying brass of its heroine, played by Suranne Jones.

Terrifically entertaining period drama. [29 Apr - 12 May 2019, p.11]

Gentleman Jack girds itself with a more positive, palatable attitude. The pity is that Anne Lister, a truly audacious, difficult, and groundbreaking woman, ends up with a biographical portrait that’s anything but.

The storytelling style can be frustrating in its narrow imagination. Still, there’s Jones--a true original with a vivid arrival.

It’s one of the most engaging dramas to come along so far this year.

Not everything about the series works ... But certainly watch Gentleman Jack. Watch it for an interesting depiction of 19th-century Yorkshire society ... Watch it for Jones’ forceful, vivacious, smart-as-hell portrayal.

On the whole ... the deliberately clashing elements of Gentleman Jack are the things that make it work.

A rollicking eight-episode series ... Jones’s performance is a marvel, exuding vitality, charisma and sexual confidence. But she also brings Anne an empathy, humanity and glimpses of vulnerability.

The trouble with “Gentleman Jack” is that for all its confidence in scenes of Anne issuing blistering comeuppances to unworthy men and gorgeous declarations of love to hesitant woman, it’s unsure how to go about everything else. With a full hour to fill per episode, the show makes glancing attempts to flesh out the remaining characters that never quite connect.

[A] smashing tale alive with heart and wit.

Between Wainwright’s crisp, fair-minded scripts and star Suranne Jones’ flawless performance, it’s tempting to believe that Anne Lister was the most fascinating person of the 19th century.

The actors ... are really left to infuse the interactions with their own energy and inflections, leading to really outstanding and engrossing results.

There is an unexpected playfulness to the series, due not only to Lister's sardonic wit but Wainwright's own cheekiness and willing to experiment.