Period Dramas

Period Dramas Part II: Masterpiece Classic 2008 Season
The Austen Collection

Persuasion
8 years ago Anne Elliot, daughter of Sir Walter Elliot, Baronet, fell in love with the handsome young Frederick Wentworth, a poor Naval man. Anne was persuaded by her godmother to break their engagement and Frederick went to sea to nurse his broken heart. Now Frederick has returned to land, a wealthy Captain and he and Anne are thrown together again as Anne's foolish father has spent nearly all their money and is forced to rent their home to Wentworth's sister and brother-in-law, Admiral and Mrs. Croft. Anne's feelings remain unchanged but Wentworth seems to be courting the dashing young Louisa Musgrove. A near tragedy causes Wentworth to rexamine his feelings but it may be too late for Anne is courted by her cousin, Walter Elliot. This is the single worst Jane Austen adaptation and Masterpiece show I have ever seen. They chopped the novel and took out some of the subplot that shapes Anne's decision for her future. They also chopped and moved my favorite chapter, the second to last, which is the most telling and romantic part of the whole novel. Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel. The faded and unapreciated Anne really touched my heart and Frederick Wentworth is a wonderful, but flawed, hero. This production did not do it justice. I liked the 1996 motion picture version better.



Northanger Abbey Catherine Morland is invited to Bath by wealthy family friends where she befriends Isabella Thorpe who shares Catherine's passion for gothic romance novels. She also makes the aquaitance of cute and charming Henry Tilney who invites her to stay at his family's abbey with his sister. Catherine suspects there is a dark secret at the Abbey revolving around Mrs. Tilney's death and thinks she can solve the mystery but instead endangers her friendship with the Tilneys and her romance with Henry. This was the most charming of the Austen adaptations this season. Catherine was appropriately young and innocent and her lurid fantasies come across as amusing. Henry Tilney was a charming young hero. Some people have a lot of complaints about this prodcution but my only one was a really stupid scene with Isabella and a rake. If you're an Austen fan, you should watch this version of Northanger Abbey. The costumes are also a nice bonus and accurate for a change.


Mansfield Park Young Fanny Price leaves her poor family in Portsmouth to live with her wealthy relations the Bertrams. They all treat her as a second class citizens, with the exception of Edmund who looks at Fanny like a little sister. As they grow into adulthood, Fanny pines for the absent minded Edmund who has eyes for the bold Mary Crawford while Mary's brother pursues Fanny. This is my least favorite of the Austen novels (is there anyone who actually likes this book?) and this production was exceptionally bad. It oversimplified the story and basically didn't tell much of a story at all. fanny runs around with her hair wild and free (totally inaccurate) mooning over Edmund who is boring and uninteresting. The ending is very abrupt and unrealistic. Andrew Davies gets a lot of criticism but he didn't write this one and maybe it would have been better if he had. Austen fans should watch the 1999 movie instead.

Miss Austen Regrets A fictional look at the life and loves of Jane Austen. Aside from making Jane Austen out to be a sad drunk, I really enjoyed this story. I liked seeing Miss Austen interact with her young adult niece and hearing her witty advice to her romantic young niece. This is worth a watch for a "what if?" perspective.




Pride and Prejudice Colin Firth = swoon! Since this isn't technically a Masterpiece production and deserves a blog post all of it's own, I'll write about it some other time. All you really need to know is that it is the definintive version and Colin Firth IS Mr. Darcy!


Emma Like Pride and Prejudice, this is a repeat of an A&E production. It tells the story of self-assured, wealthy beauty Emma Woodhouse who thinks mainly of matchmaking and inventing romantic stories about her poor friend, Harriet Smith and neighbor Jane Fairfax. Emma manages to hurt some of her kind friends and neighbors with her scheming and the only person who can make her see the error of her ways is gentleman farmer Mr. Knightly, whose brother is married to Emma's older sister. Mr. Knightly helps Emma to grow up and look into her own heart. This isn't my favorite Austen novel - I find Emma silly and Mr. Knightly bores me, but I enjoyed this production. It's faithful to the novel and Kate Beckinsale does a wonderful job portraying Emma.


Sense & Sensibility
When their father dies, the young Misses Dashwood, their mother and younger sister are turned out of their home by their weak step-brother and his nasty, scheming wife. They move to a cottage in the country and befriend their eccentric relative and his friends. 17 year old Marianne dreams of romance while practical Elinor is secretly in love with Edward Ferrars, her step- sister-in-law's brother, but harbors no romantic illusions about her future. Marianne's dreams seem to come true when the handsome Mr. Willoughby rescues her from an accident and calls on her frequently. Marianne is also persuded by the older Col. Brandon, whom Marianne sees as ancient and boring. Willoughby leaves the country for London with promises to Marianne but no further action. When Elinor and Marianne visit a wealthy friend in London, they run into Willoughby unexpectedly and the meeting is not what Marianne hoped for. The sisters react to their romantic entanglements very differently and I really relate to practical Elinor. I liked this production but I felt the second half was rushed. I also felt that Edward was way too good looking for a minister and Willoughby not good looking enough. I enjoyed the scenery of the seaside and the realistic rainy days. My biggest complaint is the same as everyone else's concern, the opening scene, which I initially feared would spoil the plot. The scene is filmed in shadows and candlelight so not much is revealed but it would be better without it.