Thursday, February 21, 2013

More and More Masterpiece

     One of my regular patrons came in the other day, carrying the first season of Call the Midwife and saying, "You were so right! This is amazing!"
     I smiled and told her I'm glad she liked it, then my coworker, Karen, chimed in, "Do you watch Downton, too?"
     The patron said, "Yes, of course!"
     My coworker pointed to me and said, "I have this one to blame for my Downton addiction."
     "Me, too," my coworker Olivia now joining the conversation.
     "Yeah, me too," said the patron.
     "I can blame her for my Doctor Who addiction, too," said Olivia.
     Hmmm.... so this is the effect I have on people. That's okay by me. I really love quality television, and I love being able to share it with other people.
     I recently got my friend Laura to watch Lark Rise to Candleford, and as she was nearing the end of the series she said to me, "I don't want it to end! I'm going to need something else to watch when it's over."
     So this post is for all the people I've turned on to Masterpiece and other BBC dramas who are looking for that next thing to watch. I've compiled a list of all my favorites. Some of these I've probably blogged about before. Some of them I haven't. But I thought I'd make it easy for people and make one list for future reference.


My Favorite Austen Adaptations:

  • Sense & Sensibility (2008)  - This film version is absolutely stunning! As much as I like the Emma Thompson version from the 90s, this one is by far my favorite!
  • Emma (2009) - Again, I like the 90s version, but the new adaptation is just so lovely!
  • Northanger Abbey (2007) - This is the only film version that's ever been made of this book, as far as I know, but it's a really wonderful film, so I'm okay with that!
  • Persuasion (1995) - This is one of the rare cases where I prefer the older version to the newest one. The Persuasion that came out in 2007 is really awful, as much as I hate to say it. Masterpiece really let me down with that one. But I love the 1995 version! It's a much better production!


My Favorite Charles Dickens Adaptations:

  • Great Expectations (2012) - This is hands down the best Dickens adaptation I've ever seen! I love it so much!
  • Little Dorritt (2008) - A really close second to the 2012 Great Expectations.
  • Bleak House (2005) - Seriously, they should just put Gillian Anderson in every Dickens adaptation. She's so awesome!
  • The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2012)







Elizabeth Gaskall:

  • Cranford (2007) - I love this mini-series, and I also love Return to Cranford, even though I'm pretty sure Elizabeth Gaskall never wrote a Return to Cranford book.
  • North and South (2004) - Not to be confused with the American North and South mini-series about the civil war.
  • Wives and Daughters (1999)



The Bronte Sisters:

  • Jane Eyre (2006) - Yes, the 2011 film version of Jane Eyre is beautiful and definitely worth watching, but the 2006 Masterpiece mini-series is still my favorite!
  • Wuthering Heights (2009) - The version with Tom Hardy is the only film version of this novel I've ever seen that's really worth your time. (At least in my opinion.)








Miscellaneous:
  • Daniel Deronda (2002)
  • The Way We Live Now (2001)
  • Under the Greenwood Tree (2005)
  • He Knew He Was Right (2004)
  • Call the Midwife (2012)
  • Upstairs Downstairs (2010)




I hope this gives you Masterpiece junkies enough to hold you over in the meantime. As I was looking at the Masterpiece website to refresh my memory for this blog post, I jotted down some mini-series I haven't seen yet that I'm sure will be great! So there will be more recommendations to come, hopefully in the near future.

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