''The Ginger Tree'' is a 1989 four-part

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TV adaptation of the

Oswald Wynd Oswald Morris Wynd (1913–1998) was a Scottish writer. He is best known for his novel ''The Ginger Tree'', which was adapted into a BBC televised mini-series in 1989. Wynd was born 4 July 1913 in Tokyo of parents who had left their native Pe ...

1977 novel of the same name. It was adapted by

Christopher Hampton Sir Christopher James Hampton ( Horta, Azores, 26 January 1946) is a British playwright, screenwriter, translator and film director. He is best known for his play ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' based on the novel of the same name and the film ...

and directed by Anthony Garner and Morimasa Matsumoto. It aired on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

from 26 November to 17 December 1989, and starred Samantha Bond,

Daisuke Ryu Daisuke Ryu (Japanese: 隆大介, Korean: 장명남, Jang Myeong-nam, hanja: 張明男; 14 January 1957 – 11 April 2021) was a Japanese actor of Korean descent. He won the Japanese "best new actor" Blue Ribbon Award for his performance as the ...

, and Adrian Rawlins. It was the first High Definition serial to be made for the BBC, although it wasn't broadcast in HD or given an HD release. The series was broadcast in the U.S. on the PBS series '' Masterpiece Theatre'' in 1990. It was produced in 1035 line HD using the Sony HDD 1000 VTR. The series won the 1990 BAFTA for Best Video Lighting (by Clive Thomas). It was also nominated for Best Video Cameraman (Ron Green), Best Design (Michael Young), Best Costume Design (Michael Burdle), and Best VTR Editor (Stan Pow).

Plot

In 1903, Mary McKenzie travels to Manchuria to join her fiancé. After her marriage, she finds her husband is indifferent to her and her needs and she falls in love with a married Japanese nobleman. She bears him a son and is subsequently forced to leave China for Japan. She must carve out a life for herself in Japanese society as both a Westerner and a woman.

Cast

* Samantha Bond as Mary MacKenzie *

as Count Kentaro Kurihama * Adrian Rawlins as Captain Richard Collingsworth *

Fumi Dan (born June 5, 1954) is a Japanese actress. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 17th Japan Academy Prize for her role in ''Bloom in the Moonlight''. Her father is the novelist Kazuo Dan and she herself has won awards for her ess ...

as Baroness Aiko Onnodera *

Joanna McCallum Joanna McCallum (born 27 June 1950) is an English theatre, film and television actress. Early years and personal life She is the daughter of English actress Googie Withers and Australian actor John McCallum, and was educated at St Catheri ...

as Alicia Bassett-Hill * Michael Grandage as Nick *

Cécile Paoli Cécile Paoli is a French actress who is also well known on British television from the series '' Sharpe'', '' Bergerac'', and ''Holby City''. She starred as Françoise in a four-part television BBC mini-series in 1980 of the H.E. Bates novel, F ...

as Isabelle de Chamonpierre * Shigeru Muroi as Minagawa * Hironori Wada as Taro (3 Months Old) * Noriko Aida as Misao *

Mari Shirato (born December 24, 1958 in Iizuka, Fukuoka, Japan) is a Japanese actress. She won the award for Best Actress at the 6th Yokohama Film Festival for ''Mermaid Legend''. Filmography *''Mermaid Legend is a 1984 Japanese film directed by Toshihar ...

as Countess Kurihama *

Nicholas Le Prevost Nicholas Le Prevost (born 18 March 1947) is an English actor. Early life Le Prevost was born in Wiltshire. He was educated at Shaftesbury Grammar School, Shaftesbury, Dorset from 1957 to 1961 and at Kingswood School, Bath from 1961 to 1964. A ...

as Sir Claude MacDonald * Saike Koike as Komoro * Carol Starks as Margaret Blair

Production

After Scots actress Hannah Gordon had read the play on Scottish radio, she attempted to have the book adapted by the BBC. There were three Hollywood options that failed to be realized. Retired actress Juliet Gitterman took an interest in the book and raised money for its production. After a number of false starts, the project was completed. ''The Ginger Tree'', a co-production of the BBC and the NHK network of Japan, was the first High Definition serial to be made for the BBC, although it has never been broadcast in HD by the BBC nor given an HD release. It was produced in 1035 line HD using the Sony HDD 1000 VTR.

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote of the series "Despite several fine performances, ''The Ginger Tree'' turns out to be unabsorbing. The East-meets-West aspects of the story are handled intelligently. The on-location effects are often splendid. But the overall production is plodding and curiously sluggish.". Howard Rosenberg, writing for the ''Los Angeles Times'', agreed and wrote the series "is a slow-evolving come-on with a disappointing payoff." While he praised the first two episodes, the production, and Samantha Bond's performance, he wrote of the final episodes: "As Mary gains assurance, the drop-off in intensity is dramatic. There is simply never any doubt where this part of the story is taking you or how it will arrive there. It's an unsatisfying resolution to a drama that begins so promisingly."

Media releases

The complete series on DVD in a 2-disc set was released by Simply Media on 25 April 2016.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ginger Tree, The (Tv Series) 1989 British television series debuts 1989 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series BBC television dramas 1980s British television miniseries Television shows based on British novels Period television series English-language television shows Television shows set in England Television shows set in Japan Television series set in the 1900s Japan in non-Japanese culture