Being at university, I never saw The Jewel in the Crown when it was originally broadcast, between 9th January and 3rd April 1984.
I was aware, nevertheless, of the critical plaudits. ‘It’s important television,’ the newspapers assured us. ‘A model of what the medium can do.’
Without ado, it scooped up Emmy Awards, Baftas and Golden Globes. Late last year, I finally got round to watching all 14 hours, and it is wretchedly bad, at least 12 hours too long, structurally hopeless. Characters we’ve been expected to care about drop
