What order should I watch the Brother Cadfael series in?

Cafe Society
1

So I finally broke down and got Netflix, and I was delighted to discover that the Brother Cadfael series is available. But I’ve heard that the films shouldn’t be watched in the same order as the books. So what order should they be watched in?

2

I just use the video box sets as a guide (link is to the first one):

3

Thanks!

4

One thing about the TV programmes - if you’ve read the books don’t expect Cadfael to match your mental image. The plotlines are pretty faithful but Derek Jacobi was never right for the part. There is no way you can see him as a retired seaman/man at arms who has knocked round the Med for years. (I don’t think it just my being stuck with memories of Cl-Cl-Claudius :dubious: )

5

Speaking as something of an authority, I would suggest you watch the first series and discard the rest. This will give you One Corpse Too Many, Monk’s Hood, The Sanctuary Sparrow, and The Leper of St. Giles.

These are the best adaptations, and have the best Hugh Beringar, Sean Pertwee.

The other adaptations vary widely in quality from not too awful to really, really, bloody awful.

Alright, the second series is OK, but they don’t have Hugh Beringar, they have some other guy pretending to be him. The third series is garbage. I can only conclude that the person wring the adaptation hated the source material with a passion.

And Marcus is simply wrong - Derek Jacobi OWNS the part of Cadfael. Yes, he doesn’t look like a soldier or sailor – but then, he hasn’t been one for twenty years. In One Corpse Too Many he comes across a soldier abusing a young person, and disarms him quite convincingly.

6

Even Derek Jacobi himself thought he was wrong for the part, at least at first. But Ellis Peters, the creator of Cadfael told him he would do just fine.

Personally, I think he does a wonderful job. Sure I remember Claudius, but now I picture him as Cadfael too. And Sean Pertwee is a blast. You can just glimpse the Third Doctor’s face peering out from his eyes sometimes. I wonder if that would bother Sean at all if I told him that. Not that he’s in my phone book or anything.