Sense & Sensibility: Episode 3

Sense & Sensibility: Episode 3
BBC One
13 January 2008
Historical Drama, Romance
DVD
C+

In this episode, we see things that didn't appear in the '95 movie (although they were in earlier drafts of Thompson's screenplay) and for the most part happened off-page in the novel.  Two of the scenes involve Brandon: the duel with Willoughby and his visit to "Miss Williams."  The scene of Willoughby showing up during Marianne's illness is changed so that, one, he comes across worse, two, Elinor expresses no sympathy to him, and three, Marianne gets out of her sickbed to eavesdrop!  The main reason for this getting a C+ rather than a B- is that Marianne's falling in love with Brandon, which she does out of sequence with the novel's timeline, is compared to a horse or hawk being tamed, ick!

If you're curious, my review of the book is here http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2011/12/sense-and-sensibility.html
and the '95 movie here http://reviewingeverymovieiown.blogspot.com/2015/04/sense-and-sensibility.html .  I want to add that the humor of both is mostly absent in this adaptation, which is why this is "a historical drama" (as the then recent Mansfield Park was), but Pride & Prejudice was a "historical comedy."

This is the 100th show of mine I've reviewed from the '00s, and yes, we're almost done with the decade.  Unless my collection changes dramatically in the next few days, we will not reach 200.  But, hey, the Oughts outdid the Fifties at least.

Sense & Sensibility: Episode 2

The Steele sisters

Sense & Sensibility: Episode 2
BBC One
6 January 2008
Historical Drama, Romance
DVD
B-

Those who join the cast and will also be in Part Three:

• Leo Bill as Robert Ferrars
• David Glover as Foot
• Daisy Haggard as Miss Steele
• Anna Madeley as Lucy Steele
• Tim McMullan as Mr. Palmer
• and Tabitha Wady as Charlotte Palmer

This episode gives more for both Willoughby and Brandon to do than they had in the '95 version, and arguably in the book.  Even Edward gets his first visit to Barton Cottage restored.  Miss Steele pops back up from the book.  The Palmers on the other hand are short-changed.  Note that Edward being described as shy and diffident doesn't fit this version of Edward.

Sense & Sensibility: Episode 1

Sense & Sensibility: Episode 1
BBC One
1 January 2008
Historical Drama, Romance
DVD
B-


The cast who are introduced in this episode and would return at least once more:

• Linda Bassett as Mrs. Jennings
• Lucy Boynton as Margaret Dashwood
• Dominic Cooper as Willoughby
• Mark Gatiss as John Dashwood
• Caroline Hayes as Eliza
• Rosanna Lavelle as Lady Middleton
• Janet McTeer as Mrs Dashwood
• Hattie Morahan as Elinor Dashwood
• David Morrissey as Colonel Brandon
• Morgan Overton as Little Henry
• Claire Skinner as Fanny Dashwood
• Dan Stevens as Edward Ferrars
• Charity Wakefield as Marianne Dashwood
• and Mark Williams (then well established as Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter movies) as Sir John Middleton

Considering that much of the script, by P & P's Andrew Davies, steals from Emma Thompson's award-winning 1995 screenplay, this is better than you'd expect.  The acting and casting are generally solid, sadly with the notable exception of Colonel Brandon.  (I realize that Alan Rickman's shoes were impossible to fill, but it doesn't help matters that this Col. B actually criticizes Marianne's piano-playing!)  I probably would've gone with a C+, but I do like the dramatic coastal scenery, rather than Barton Cottage being plunked down near reedy swamps.  This episode covers through the reunion of Brandon and Willoughby, different than both the book and the '95 movie, but not bad.

John Alexander directed this and the other two episodes.

Emma

Emma
ITV
16 February 1997
Historical Comedy, Romance
DVD
B

Pride & Prejudice screenwriter Davies also penned this Austen adaptation, which is streamlined (just two hours) but satisfying.  It's well cast, particularly the two leads of Kate Beckinsale as Emma and Mark Strong as Mr. Knightley.  Beckinsale captures Emma in a way that Gwyneth Paltrow (in the big-screen release of a few months earlier) couldn't, from her snobbery to her whimsicality.  Strong is a plain-spoken gentleman, not as handsome as Jeremy Northam of course, but with his own more direct charm.  (When he tells Emma that she's made Harriet too tall in the portrait, this is the Knightley of the book.)  Certainly the Frank/Jane romance is treated better here than in the theatrical release.  My review of that version is available for comparison: http://reviewingeverymovieiown.blogspot.com/2015/04/emma.html, but note that I think both versions are inferior to Clueless:  http://reviewingeverymovieiown.blogspot.com/2015/03/clueless.html.  I would've liked to have seen some characters, such as Emma's sister Isabella, developed more, but there are no plot threads left hanging at least.  Things end not with a wedding but with a harvest festival, in recognition of the lower classes we see throughout the movie, a subtle visual comment that is not called attention to in the script.

Peter Howell was a Magistrate in Jeeves and Wooster and is Mr. Perry here.  Neville Phillips, who was a Member on J & W and Fossett the Footman in P & P, is Thomas here.  Lucy Robinson, who was Mrs. Hurst in P & P, plays another unlikable but more memorable character here, Mrs. Elton.  Nineteen-year-old Samantha Morton, who plays Miss Smith with sweetness and not too much dimness, would take on two very different roles later in the year: Jane Eyre and Sophia Western.

Pride and Prejudice: Episode 1.6

Pride and Prejudice: Episode 1.6
BBC
29 October 1995
Historical Comedy, Romance
DVD
B

The series concludes, feeling a bit rushed rather than a bit slow, but still overall satisfying.  (For instance, I would've liked them to include Lizzy telling her father of all that Mr. Darcy did for Lydia.)  The best scene here is probably the Lizzie vs. Lady Catherine scene, but it's nice to get at least glimpses of nearly everyone.  The overall average is B, worth watching, perhaps worth owning.

Pride and Prejudice: Episode 1.5

Pride and Prejudice: Episode 1.5
BBC
22 October 1995
Historical Comedy, Romance
DVD
B

This covers only six chapters, but it does things like show some of what Mr. Darcy is going through and have Mr. Collins visit the Bennets rather than just send a letter (with Kitty understandably avoiding him).  This is as good a place as any to address that many people find Steadman annoying as Mrs. Bennet, but I think she (like everyone else) is well cast and Mrs. Bennet is annoying in the same way in the book.  Also, it makes a great contrast with Whitrow's understated Mr. Bennet.   Another thing I should mention is that Jane and Lizzy's friendship is very important in this series, arguably even more than in the book, because Lizzy confides some things in Jane onscreen that she does not in print.

Pride and Prejudice: Episode 1.4

Pride and Prejudice: Episode 1.4
BBC
15 October 1995
Historical Comedy, Romance
DVD
B+

I'm bumping this episode up to a B+ because of scenery, and, no, I don't mean Colin Firth in a wet shirt.*  Darbyshire and the Pemberley estate look stunning, and it's believable that Lizzy falls in love with them as much as with the now surprisingly kind and humble Mr. Darcy.  The episode covers nine chapters, starting with Darcy's letter, telling his reasons for breaking up Jane and Bingley and for falling out with Wickham, the latter in part because of Wickham's attempt to elope with Darcy's sister Georgiana (glimpsed in the previous episode and here seen in flashbacks, including when she's supposed to be only eleven; Emilia Fox would get more to do in the next episode, and appear briefly in the conclusion).

Because of the trip to Darbyshire, we see more of the Gardiners (Joanna David and Tim Wylton) than we did in the previous episode, and they would also be in the last two episodes, but less.  Their four children-- played by Jacob Casselden, Julian Erleigh, Marie-Louise Flamank, and Natasha Isaacs-- would return in the next episode.


*When this series originally aired in Britain, it was a major event, must-see telly if you will.  To this day, the wet-shirted Darcy scene is probably the one thing most associated with the mid- to late '90s Austen revival.

Pride and Prejudice: Episode 1.3

Pride and Prejudice: Episode 1.3
BBC
8 October 1995
Historical Comedy, Romance
DVD
B

In this episode, covering fourteen chapters, Jane goes to London and Lizzy goes to Kent, where she re-encounters Mr. Darcy and meets his more amiable cousin Col. Fitzwilliam (Anthony Calf), as well as their not all at amiable aunt and cousin, the de Bourghs.  Jane discovers that Caroline Bingley's friendship for her has faded away, and it appears that Mr. Bingley no longer cares for her. As for Elizabeth, Mr. Collins and the de Bourghs are as she expected, but Mr. Darcy's behaviour is peculiar, leading to a surprising and insulting proposal.  After two and a half episodes set around the Bennets' home of Longbourn, it's nice to get some variety of scenery and characters.

This is the 2500th show I've reviewed.  I doubt we'll make it to 3000, but we'll definitely hit 2600.

Pride and Prejudice: Episode 1.2

Pride and Prejudice: Episode 1.2
BBC
1 October 1995
Historical Comedy, Romance
DVD
B

This episode (which covers eight chapters) introduces Lynn Farleigh as Mrs. Bennet's sister Mrs. Phillips (three more episodes after this one), David Bamber as Mr. Collins (in every episode from now on, although not always as much as in this one), Adrian Lukis as George Wickham (also continuing through the rest of the series), and very briefly (without lines and only in a flashback) Barbara Leigh-Hunt as Lady Catherine de Bourgh (three more much more prominent appearances), Nadia Chambers as Miss Anne de Bourgh (three more episodes), and Harriet Eastcott as Mrs. Jenkinson (one more appearance).  While the other characters all have something to do (for instance, it's fun to watch Mary's reactions, since she has a whole little backstory that you can pick up on that way), this episode is primarily about Lizzy's interactions with the two men she meets, and how they affect her impressions of Mr. Darcy.  (If we hadn't got Firth's point of view in the first episode, we'd wonder why he looks pissed off all the time.)  Mr. Collins's courtship of Lizzy is played for laughs even more than in the book, while Wickham's charming her is at this point shown without subtext, although the astute viewer/reader will wonder why he's telling his life story to a new acquaintance.

Pride and Prejudice: Episode 1.1

Pride and Prejudice: Episode 1.1
BBC
24 September 1995
Historical Comedy, Romance
DVD
B

Other than the leads (mentioned in the synopsis below), the regulars:

• Roger Barclay would be in three more episodes as Capt. Carter;
• So would David Bark-Jones as Lt. Denny;
• Christopher Benjamin would be Sir William Lucas thrice more;
• Anna Chancellor would be Miss Bingley in every episode;
• Judy Chetner appears in two more episodes as an uncredited Lady at Dance;
• David Coastworth appears in all six episodes as the uncredited Gun Keeper;
• Lucy Davis is in almost all the other episodes as Maria Lucas;
• Victoria Hamilton and Paul Moriarty would be in two more episodes as Mrs. and Col. Forster;
• Roy Holder would be Hodge the gardener twice more;
• Kate O'Malley appears in two more episodes as Sarah the maid, but Annabel Taylor would be Maggie the maid only once more.
• Neville Phillips, who was a Member on Jeeves and Wooster, would return once more as Fossett the footman;
• Lucy Robinson would be in all the other episodes as Mrs. Hurst;
• Lucy Scott (yes, there are a lot of Lucys here) would be in nearly every episode as Charlotte Lucas;
• Marlene Sidaway, who was a Pub Landlady on J & W, would make three more appearances as Hill the Housekeeper;
• Christopher Staines would be Lt. Sanderson once more;
• Norma Streader as Lady Lucas would be in two more episodes;
• Annabel Taylor would return as Maggie the maid;
• and Rupert Vansittart would be Mr. Hurst thrice more.

This is a reasonably faithful, if sometimes slow-moving, adaptation of the first dozen chapters of the classic novel, which I reviewed here: http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2011/12/pride-and-prejudice.html.  A mismatched couple (Whitrow and Steadman) have five marriageable daughters (Susannah Harker as Jane, Jennifer Ehle as Lizzy, Lucy Briers as Mary, Molly Maberly as Kitty, and Julia Sawalha as Lydia), so when young, handsome, rich, and eligible bachelors Mr. Bingley (Crispin Bonham-Carter) and Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth in the role that defined him) arrive in the neighbourhood, they must be "in want of wives."  The basic set-up and characters are established in this episode, although the setting and circumstances will change as the story progresses, and a couple very memorable characters (Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine) have yet to be introduced.  Overall, the casting, costumes, music, acting, etc. are solid and I can't think of anything terribly wrong, just that the magic of the novel is hard to capture in full.

Simon Langton, who directed the '91 J & W episodes, directed every episode of this series.