Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Teresa Palmer, Matthew Goode, Edward Bluemel, Owen Teale, Louise Brealey, Malin Buska, Aiysha Hart, Alex Kingston, Lindsay Duncan, Valarie Pettiford, Trevor Eve, Greg McHugh, Tanya Moodie, Damiel Ezra, Elarica Johnson, Trystan Gravelle, Adetomiwa Edun, Sophia Myles, David Newman, Sorcha Cusack, Chloe Dumas, Gregg Chillin.
“Those who don’t believe in magic, are doomed never to find it”.
So the words of Roald Dahl are to be deemed prophetic, for without magic we are doomed to live in a world of the ordinary and the conventional, we are subject to the tyranny of the dull, the monotonous, and the human ability of predictability, of languishing in fearsome attitude that everything we see is routine, unable to look just out of sight at the wonder, at the respect of those that inhabit our darkest fears and nightmares.
To dismiss the monsters of our childhood, is to deny what lays in the shadows of our minds, to see magic as explained phenomenon is to dictate to our souls that miracles can never exist; such is the narrowing of our minds that we see wonder as something to be feared, and that A Discovery Of Witches in the neighbourhood is just a tall tale put about by the ever constricting thought that there is nothing more important than being human.
To embrace magic in any form is to feel the world as it should be, not one dominated by the ringing till, the sound of continual machine, nor the disregard for the human soul, but one of a deeper understanding that demons, vampires, witches and all manner of creatures once were revered and feared in equal measure; for in the miracle must come magic.
A Discovery of Witches may seem at first sight as though it belongs in the same category as many others who have come before it in recent times, the plethora of serials and films that attempted to make those who inhabit the shadow world seem desirable, romantic, whilst all the time arguably missing the mark on what truly lays out of sight; the strength of the female in adversity, in conquest is overpowered by the damning aspect of the pale and starry eyed idealism. Yet it defies in many ways current convention, and whilst series one does not openly show the way in which the shadow creatures truly can ensnare us, it nevertheless plays well into the ideal created when readers investigate the true mythology, the aspects of what makes them such intriguing and persuasive creatures.
A Discovery of Witches also manages to place Oxford into the realm of discovery, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, the richness of its very existence as a seat of learning, gives the series a tremendous backdrop in which to place the action, the suspense, and the involvement of occasion, whilst never losing sight of the damnation felt by those with something hidden in the blood.
The series also reflects well the current way in which we seek to divide despite having more in common than we admit to, the mirroring of society is palpable, the sense of misunderstanding when we learn that others dare suggest it is against nature to be in anything other than in conventional relationship. It is to this deeper insight that makes the first series of A Discovery Of Witches excellent viewing, and with a cast that includes the ever intriguing Alex Kingston, Louise Brealey, Owen Teale, the superb Trevor Eve, the dominating Teresa Palmer, and Matthew Goode within its ranks, there is little not love and revel in.
A series designed to leave the viewer spellbound, A Discovery Of Witches is excellent television.
Ian D. Hall