Parade's End, with its all-star cast, top-pedigree adaptation by Sir Tom Stoppard and the rich treasures of Ford Madox Ford's original novels, afforded great pleasure to those viewing the first episode on Friday - they just couldn't hear it, apparently.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall in Parade's End
The Daily Mail reports the complaints of many viewers that, due to the sound mix on the big-budget production, the complex dialogue between stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Rebecca Hall and Stephen Graham, they couldn't work out what was going on.
In the complex tale set on the eve of the First World War, Cumberbatch plays civil servant Christopher Tietjens, while Hall is his bored wife, Sylvia.
The Mail quotes fans complaining variously, "Couldn't hear all of it"... "Bad sound quality, dialogue and story hard to follow"... "Found dialogue hard to follow (sound mix poor?)", with one fan resorting to the subtitles to be able to follow proceedings.
These perceived problems didn't prevent a big audience, however, with the BBC2 drama drawing 3.5 million viewers at its peak.
