Historical Dramas top E1 Entertainment's December releases

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Two PBS releases top E1's December schedule, with both of them available on December 8. The Cinder Path, originally seen on "Masterpiece Theatre," is based on the best-selling novel by Dame Catherine Cookson, author of nearly 100 historical novels which have sold more than 123 million copies. This lavish adaptation features Tom Bell as Edward MacFell, a violent and tyrannical man who operates a large farm but treats his family and hired help with casual brutality. One day he pushes someone too far and is killed. His son Charlie (Lloyd Owen) witnessed the murder, but refuses to tell who did it. Another witness (Antony Byrne) sees it as the perfect opportunity for blackmail. There is, of course, a woman with scandalous reputation (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and a sister (Maria Miles) who gets in the way of her love in this historical romance that runs 152 minutes and has a suggested retail price of $19.98.

Then there's Buddenbrooks, adapted from the work of Nobel laureate Thomas Mann. In this tale, one of the most widely read German novels in the world, we meet four generations of a German merchant family, with the focus on the third: the capable Thomas, his high-living brother Christian, and his rebellious sister Tony. They set in motion forces that will slowly destroy the family. A critic for The New York Times wrote that "Buddenbrooks demonstrates powerfully how television can be taken seriously once in a while." Run time is 10 hours and 38 minutes, with a suggested retail price of $39.98.

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