Poldark · Season 1 · Episode 1 · 8 March 2015
S1E1 Episode 1
THE MOMENT Poldark's first survey of his ruined Nampara estate - the visual statement of what he has come back to.
Ross Poldark rides home from war to find his estate in ruins, his father dead, and the woman he loved engaged to his cousin. Debbie Horsfield's adaptation of Winston Graham's novel establishes the period, the stakes, and the man in a single confident hour. Turner commands the screen from the opening sequence.
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Poldark Season 1 Episode 1 aired March 8, 2015 on BBC One as the premiere of an 8-episode series that earned 91 percent on Rotten Tomatoes from 23 critics. IMDb audiences scored the series 8.3. The RT consensus called it 'like an epic romance novel come to life, offering a sumptuous visual feast from gorgeous scenery to a charming, handsome lead.' The New York Times called the series 'sweeping, stirring, rousing good stuff.' The premiere establishes the period, the stakes, and the man in a single confident hour: Ross Poldark riding home from the American Revolutionary War to find his estate in ruins, his father dead, and the woman he loved engaged to his cousin. Aidan Turner commands the screen from the opening sequence - the physical performance of controlled frustration that made him the star-making breakout the BBC had been building toward. Debbie Horsfield's adaptation does not waste time on scene-setting exposition; the Cornish landscape does the establishing work.