I would certainly say that I do not normally plan my life around the tv. I actually can't stand the thing, and for the last year we didn't even have cable. (I do, however, watch my fair share of dvds and commercial-free internet tv). But, when we moved, we ditched our Shaw cable for Novus (only available in new buildings downtown, I hear). Their internet service is a million times faster and including basic cable we pay much less than we did before...One of the benefits of this is that I now can see Masterpiece Theatre again! One of the few things I love to watch - they're on PBS, also home to the awesome Agatha Christie Marple series... Well, they are certainly answering my viewing wishes with their line up of Jane Austen recreations over the next few weeks.
Some of them I've seen before (and they were great) and some are new to me. I hope the new ones are up to my high standards - I know the books inside out and can spot a deviation a mile away. Last year a trip to Bath, including the roman ruins, the Pump Room and the Jane Austen museum, was one of the many highlights of my trip to the UK. It's sometimes lost, I think, that the books were much more than "just" novels - they really did come from an amazing woman who managed to wrap up social critique, controversial topics and wit into the pages.
They're doing Mansfield Park this Sunday (9pm in Vancouver) as well as rebroadcasting Northanger Abbey (at 4pm), which I missed last week. I can't wait! I missed Persuasion too, but I've seen their version before and it's terrific. Thankfully they didn't redo Pride & Prejudice - the version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle as Darcy and Elizabeth is unbeatable! If you can watch no other, watch that one!! (I loathed the Hollywood version!). I'm interested in the redo of Sense & Sensibility - I actually really loved the version from a while back with Emma Thompson.
All the poochy pants and happy endings I can stand - hooray! :-)
4 comments:
I am so excited about this!!! Maybe we could watch it together! :)
We like the "Midsomer Murders", another English murder mystery seen on TVO (Channel 19 in Ontario)This small town seems to have a lot of mysterious murders!
That sounds like Jessica Fletcher, Mom - I don't know how one woman in a small town could know so many murderers!
Jas - it'd be nice to watch this together - come on over if you like?
Bah! Northanger Abbey was pretty good (but it's the most simplistic of Jane Austen's books), but Mansfield Park was HORRIBLE! It was entertaining enough if it was out of thin air, but it was so off from the book!!! And what was with the non-period hairstyles? Geesh!
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for next week's "Miss Austen Regrets". I hope it's as good as "Becoming Jane" was - it was really good, albeit partially baloney!
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