Monarch of the Glen

, 1851
Monarch of the Glen (with a conscious reference to the famous Landseer painting) is a British television drama, produced by Ecosse Films for BBC Scotland and transmitted on the BBC One network in the UK. The series premiered in 2000, and transmission of its sixth season ran from September 2004 until November 2004. A seventh series has been commissioned for broadcast in 2005. Transmitted on Sunday evenings, each episode is one hour long. The first two seasons comprised of eight episodes each, season three eleven episodes, and seasons four and five ten episodes each, plus a special New Year's Eve edition transmitted after the end of the fifth season. The series is also shown abroad, running successfully on BBC America and on various PBS affiliates in the United States and ABC in Australia.

The series is loosely based Compton Mackenzie's Highland novels, which are set in the same location, but in the 1930s and 40s. The first book in the series is also called The Monarch of the Glen.

Plot overview

The plot of the early series involes young laird Archibald "Archie" MacDonald trying to run the fictional Glenbogle Estate in the Scottish Highlands - the 'Glen' of the series' title. His father, Sir Hector, is not keen on any modern development, and his mother Molly and his (future) wife Alexandra "Lexie" support him. Their neighbour is Hector's best friend, Lord Kilwillie. The ghillies Golly and Duncan also help running the estate. In season three the Lascelles Bank send Stella Moon to help Glenbogle get back on its feet.

In a later episode Hector died after his new puppy, "Useless", retrieved a toy boat filled with several sticks of plastic explosives he had thrown into a river whilst fishing (the puppy was unharmed). In season four Archie married his housekeeper Alexandra "Lexie". The new housekeeper was Irene Stuart.

In the sixth series Archie and Lexie have moved to New Zealand, and Archie 's illegitimate older brother, Paul Bowman, becomes the new laird. At the same time, Hector's disreputable younger brother Donald MacDonald arrives on the estate. Paul's love interest is local farmer and preserve manufacturer Isobel Anderson.