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.

Arena: Just a Minute

Paul Merton and long-time panelist
Clement Freud, on a different episode

Arena: Just a Minute
BBC4
26 December 2002
Documentary
DVD
B

A television look at the long-running radio show, which I own several episodes of.  We see the history of the series, mixed in with the taping of one episode, as well as interviews with those contestants.  Some of this is almost '60s experimental and it shouldn't hold together as well as it does.  And, yes, Paul has the best lines, like usual.

(I would've reviewed this earlier, but my ex-husband mislabeled it as October '07.)

Tom Jones: Episode 1.5

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling: Episode 1.5
BBC
7 December 1997
Historical Comedy, Romance
DVD
B+

After more drama, Tom and Sophia find their happy ending, and the series ends as well as it started.  This episode is more focused and features more of such characters as Squire Allworthy, Aunt Western, Jenny Jones, and indeed Henry Fielding himself.  It's a nice touch to make the blind judge in Tom's case Fielding's real-life brother, beyond the symbolism of course.  Characters are punished or rewarded as they deserve, with Blifil sniveling and blaming others, and Partridge looking relieved that Mr. Allworthy has finally admitted the injustice done to Tom's supposed father.  (Beesley plays his own father in flashbacks.)  Overall, this adaptation averages out to a B and I recall the 1960s movie paling in comparison.  Also, as a fan of Honour (the character) I was pleased that she gets more to do in this last portion of the story than in the novel, where Fielding just pushes her aside with one admittedly funny farewell letter.

Tom Jones: Episode 1.4

The History of Tom Jones: Episode 1.4
BBC
30 November 1997
Historical Comedy, Romance
DVD
B

Lady Bellaston and Lord Fellamar scheme against Sophia and Tom, so that it's almost a relief (to Sophia and the viewer) when her father shows up and carries her off, even though he's still determined to marry her off to Blifil, who also arrives in town, with Allworthy and Dowling.  Meanwhile Tom arranges for Nightingale to marry Nancy.  This is a darker episode than the others, although still of course with comic relief, mostly from Partridge.  Gang Leader Simon Smith would return for the final episode.

Tom Jones: Episode 1.3

Decadent Lady Bellaston

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling: Episode 1.3
BBC
23 November 1997
Historical Comedy, Romance
DVD
B-

In this episode, we're introduced to Mrs. Miller and her daughter Nancy (Celia Imrie and Kelly Reilly, the former being the future Una Alconbury in the Bridget Jones movies), as well as a highwayman who turns out to be her brother (Roger Lloyd Pack, who would go on to be Barty Crouch in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), cousin in the novel, and her tenant Jack Nightingale (Matt Bardock).  More significantly, we meet Sophia's cousin Lady Bellaston, with a performance by Lindsay Duncan that is definitely the highlight of this episode where characters arrive in London and adjust to city life.  With her friend Lord Fellamar (Peter Capaldi, yes, that Peter Capaldi), she will create much unhappiness for Sophia and Tom, but Duncan does a marvelous job with this villainess.

You'll notice that we've again gone down a notch in the grading.  While there are things I like, including the remarks about London and the increase in nudity (mostly male), I do have to go below a B because of the scene where a drunken Partridge rolls onto Honour and she says no several times, before hitting him.  It's played for laughs, and happens during a riot at the theater, but it leaves a bad taste, especially knowing that the characters will end up together.  Partridge in the novel does some foolish and wrong things, but he never tries to take a woman against her will, and to have a comic relief character attempt it in the miniseries is a misstep dramatically and otherwise.

Tom Jones: Episode 1.2

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling: Episode 1.2
BBC
16 November 1997
Historical Comedy, Romance
DVD
B

This episode introduces Mr. and Mrs. Fitzpatrick (Richard O'Callaghan and Michelle Fairley), and Fielding helpfully tells us that Mrs. F is Sophia's cousin.  They add to the farcical complications, especially when they show up at an inn the same night that Tom goes to bed with "Mrs. Waters," whom Fielding tells us is Jenny Jones, unlike in the book where this is a surprise revelation fairly late.  (But then they'd have to disguise Camille Coduri heavily for viewers not to make that connection.)  Tom also meets his supposed father, Partridge.  I'll note here that, unlike in the novel (where Partridge ends up with Molly Seagrim), the Partridge/Honour ship is set up in this episode, as if he's charmed by her putting on airs.  Kathy Burke is perfect in the role, maybe older than I imagine when I read the book, but managing to be more endearing than annoying.  I also should note that James D'Arcy gives an understated performance as Blifil that nonetheless shows why Sophia hates the very idea of marrying him. 

This episode is just an hour, but that's not why I give it "only" a B, rather than a B+ like the previous episode.  There's a little too much yelling and ranting, especially but not limited to Brian Blessed.  Part Two picks up where the previous one left off, with many of the characters on the road to London, but easily sidetracked, literally and figuratively.

Tim Stern, who was on one episode of Paul Merton, the Series, plays Mr. Harris.  Julian Firth, who had the very different role of Bicky on Jeeves and Wooster, plays Northerton.  And Doreene Blackstock makes her first appearance as Mrs. Fitzpatrick's maid Abigail.

Tom Jones: Episode 1.1

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling: Episode 1.1
BBC
9 November 1997
Historical Comedy, Romance
DVD
B+

This first part of a five-part miniseries runs an hour and a half and covers everything from the finding of the foundling to his departure from his foster father's estate in disgrace.

Regular cast:

• Max Beesley as Tom Jones
• Brian Blessed as Squire Western
• Kathy Burke as Honour
• Camille Coduri as Jenny Jones
• Ron Cook as Benjamin Partridge
• James D'Arcy as Blifil
• Frances de la Tour as Aunt Western
• Christopher Fulford as Mr. Square
• Brian Hibbard as George Seagrim
• Sarah Kestelman as Mrs. Wilkins
• Sylvester McCoy as Mr. Dowling
• Samantha Morton as Sophia Western
• Tessa Peake-Jones as Bridget Allworthy
• Brian Pettifer (who was on one episode of Paul Merton, the Series) as Parson Supple
• Richard Ridings as Reverend Thwackum
• John Sessions (several years after his Whose Line Is It Anyway? appearances) as Henry Fielding
• and Benjamin Whitrow (Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice a couple years earlier) as Squire Allworthy

Also, Laura Harling, who plays Young Sophia, was the younger version of Samantha Morton in Jane Eyre as well.

Simon Burke adapted the Fielding novel and, while not a word for word adaptation of course, it manages to capture the flavour of the classic story.  Having Sessions narrate as Fielding, onscreen in period costume, is a clever touch, helping to not only keep some of the (quite extensive) narration but also give us someone who reacts to the onscreen antics with indulgent amusement.  Sessions, who was stage-hogging and literary on Whose Line, is perfectly cast, although the characters interrupt him far more than Paul Merton, Tony Slattery, and others ever did.

The casting is overall solid, with characters looking straight out of Hogarth and sounding (I imagine) as they would've on the 18th-century stage.  Beesley and Morton don't look like Fielding's descriptions (one thing I particularly remember about Sophia is her lustrous black hair) but they inhabit the characters satisfactorily.  The best performances are those of Whitrow, using his Mr. Bennet sanity and dryness as the least cartoonish character, and of de la Tour, who manages to both plausible as the sister of scenery-devouring Blessed and a very human aunt.

The direction by Metin Hüseyin manages to go back and forth among slapstick, romance, pathos, and what you will.  The scene of Blifil's father falling off a cliff is not in the book, but we've already grown to despise him so much in his few minutes onscreen that it's OK that the fall is drawn out, with a visual punchline that the book he dropped was Statistics on Mortality.  

Music, costumes, everything is well done.  Possibly the best literary adaptation for television that I own.  (And on a level with novel, reviewed here: http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2011/12/tom-jones.html.)  We'll see how the other episodes hold up....

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.

London Underground: Steve Coogan

London Underground: Steve Coogan
BBC
1991
Stand-Up Comedy
VHS
B-

Coogan demonstrates dubbing bad '70s foreign films.

Paul Merton Live at the Palladium

Paul Merton Live at the Palladium
BBC
27 September 1994
Variety
DVD
C+

This almost hour and a half is uneven, although I suppose if you haven't heard Paul's stand-up, or watched Paul Merton, The Series, some of it will feel fresher to you, and a B- or B might be fairer.  The best bit is the lengthy three-man panto of Aladdin, with Paul apparently improvising jokes that not only play on the situation (including Vranch in a bikini!) but call back to earlier bits in the show.  John L. Spencer and Andy Wilson are both listed as director, but neither of them worked on any other of my shows, so I'm not tagging them.

The Young Ones: Dexys Midnight Runners, Jackie Wilson Said

The Young Ones: Dexys Midnight Runners, Jackie Wilson Said

BBC2

30 November 1982

Variety

VHS

C+

This clip has DMR playing in a small room, with lots of close-ups, giving a claustrophobic feel that doesn't suit the band.  (It might've worked for Madness or Squeeze.)  Still a nice song though.  And, yes, the ex was taping a lot of DMR for me, bless him.

London Underground: Richard Vranch, Dana Gould, True Image, Michael Redmond, and Danitra Vance

Vance as That Black Girl on SNL

London Underground: Richard Vranch, Dana Gould, True Image, Michael Redmond, and Danitra Vance
BBC
1990
Stand-Up Comedy
VHS
C

The best comes last this time, with the marvelous Danitra Vance (who was the best of her era on Saturday Night Live and who would die too young, at 40, of cancer), but it is tough slogging, especially through Redmond, whom Smith claims is "the funniest Irishman in Britain."  Note that Vranch accompanies Smith on "the squeezbox."

London Underground: George Wallace, Chris Langham, B-52s, Helen Lederer

London Underground: George Wallace, Chris Langham, B-52s, Helen Lederer
BBC
1990
Stand-Up Comedy
VHS
C

While it's lovely to see and hear a "live" performance from the B-52s, and Chris Langham (who'd done impro on Whose Line Is It Anyway? the same series as Arthur Smith) proves to be a pretty good stand-up, Wallace and Lederer are unfunny.  And, no, music doesn't change the genre from stand-up comedy to variety.