Princess Daisy Details

Princess Daisy, classic Judith Krantz, it's long, but on a rainy afternoon - great stuff.

80's American Glamour

This was a book I'd read one summer as a teenager in the 80s (a perfect novel for this purpose!) and then watched this TV mini-series at the time. Having recently revisited it I found that, unsurpisingly, it had lost much of it's appeal with the passage of time - but it remains a brilliant example of eighties glossy tv drama.

If you remember it from its orignial broadcast it will be worth the nostalgia trip but I predict you will find it all a bit tedious and disappointing. Neither Judith Krantz or 80's American tv were known for their subtlety and being a combination of both makes the whole thing rather crass and simplistic - basic story is, polo-playing member of Russian Imperial family (Keach) marries American actress (Wagner) and she gives birth to twin girls, Daisy and Danielle, but Danielle suffers from lack of oxygen at birth which results in brain damage. Keach tells Wagner that Danielle died but she later finds out this isnt true and takes her daughters back to America. Daisy still has contact with her father, but not Danielle, and visits him where she meets her very odd and dysfunctional half-brother Ram (Everett) - and no, Im not making this character's name up. Ram, who is somewhat obsessed by Daisy, is a bit of a control-freak - and clearly nuts - so of course is put in charge of Daisy's financial affairs after her father's death (which predictably turns out to be a disaster) leaving Daisy penniless and having to support Danielle. This unfortunate turn of events means that Daisy must show us her metal by achieving financial independence and, of course, earning love in the process.

The story is somewhat predictable, tacky and at times quite distasteful, and Daisy is so consistently naive that you wonder if she can really be any less 'brain-damaged' than her poor sister, but there are a couple of bizarre highlights (not always for good reasons), namely a rather uncomfortable turn by Ringo Starr and real-life wife Barbara Bach, and a gloriously over the top performance by Rupert Everett.

In short, if it's 'Dynasty' style American drama you are after there are worse ways of putting in a rainy afternoon...but Shirley Conran's 'Lace' is a better watch...