Watch Monarch of the Glen
- TV-14
- 2000
- 7 Seasons
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7.7 (3,243)
The Scottish drama series Monarch of the Glen was produced by BBC Scotland and originally broadcast on the network BBC One in the U.K. Covering seven seasons between 2000 and 2005 Monarch of the Glen focuses on the characters living and working at a country estate, Glenbogle in a remote region of the Scottish Highlands. Based on the satirical Highland novels of Sir Compton MacKenzie the show became controversial for not depicting the aristocratic characters in the same satirical way as the novels; the television series also updated the stories from their original setting of the 1930s and 40s. Initially a ratings and critical success Monarch of the Glen was cancelled after the majority of the original cast left the show and ratings fell. Monarch of the Glen opens with Archie MacDonald living in London and trying to make a success of a restaurant he has opened with the financial help of his father, the Scottish Laird Hector MacDonald. Informed that his father, played by Richard Briers is dying and he should return to Glenbogle, Archie arrives to find his father well but the estate on the verge of being lost to its spiraling debt. Archie faces a decision on whether he should return to London and save his restaurant or remain in Scotland and return the family estate to former glories. At the climax of the first season Archie decides he will remain in Scotland; eventually marrying the character of Lexie, Archie is constantly seen as being unhappy in Scotland and wishes to travel the world. After actor Alistair MacKenzie decided to leave the show at the end of the fifth season along with the departure of Richard Briers who played Hector the focus switched to a new laird, Paul Bowman-MacDonald. With the estate saved from financial crisis at the end of season five Paul focuses on updating the estate for the 21st century. The show closes with the return of Hector as a ghost who witnesses the tying up of stories at the culmination of season seven.
