The BBC's Edwin Drood.

[prendrelemick]

Anybody watching?

I Believe it is one of Dickens' best work. There are some tremendous characters in it and great writing. If he had finished it, it would've been up there with David Copperfield and Oliver Twist.

The BBC has finished it for him, and the first episode was last night. I was impressed over all, with a few reservations - once again modern attitudes are imposed on 19 century characters, and racial issues were introduced that are not from Dickens' pen. Also the murder was committed right in front of us, losing the who done it aspect. (In the book we don't even know he's dead!) This will change the feel of the whole thing, probably simpifying it quite a bit. But will not stop the enjoyment , I hope.

The atmosphere was spot on and the acting from all the players was excellent. especially the Mr Jasper character, who conveyed so much by doing so little.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Yes I watched it and enjoyed it. I'm not familiar with the book but I did wonder about the racial elements so thanks for clearing that up. I didn't realise it was rated so highly. It seemed much darker than a typical Dickens story with no silly characters that you often find. I prefer it that way.

I'm surprised that the who dunnit element has been taken away then. It looks like it's going to turn into a racial point, where everybody going to think it is that immigrant character. Or maybe they are purposefully simplifying it to keep it down to two parts, I don't know?

I agree about the Jasper character he was great, great atmosphere.

I will definitely be watching tonight. I'm ill anyway so a dose of sitting on the sofa watching TV is called for, I'll watch this and another Carry On film.

[prendrelemick]

Spoilers alert!!

Well, that was interesting... Edwin Drood meets Mid-somer murders.

I always wanted Edwin to turn up unharmed so I was pleased about that - even though Dickens - according to his notes - intended a "murder of a nephew by an uncle."

[Emil Miller]

I didn't intend to watch it but was interested to read of the BBC's introducing a racial element into it, presumably as part of its unending and unauthorised social and racial engineering progamme. However, it was done with appropriate discretion and the production values were excellent. It is always disconcerting to see period costumes straight off the tailor's dummy, whereas here they looked authentic. Given the nature of the plot, the acting couldn't be other than melodramatic but it was quite well done nevertheless.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Yes the second part didn't fall into what I thought it might. Overall I thought it had quite a good moody atmosphere and some good acting, though I think I enjoyed the first episode more. It wasn't close to the Great Expectations at Christmas though, but this was a smaller production so you have to take that into account.

I was interested in reading a little more about it following on from Mick's point, as I don't know much about it at all. Here is a piece I've copied from Wikipedia in case someone was interested and knew about as much about it as myself:


Dickens's death leaves the rest of the story unknown; he provided a summary of the story as planned in a letter to his friend and biographer John Forster:


His first fancy for the tale was expressed in a letter in the middle of July. "What should you think of the idea of a story beginning in this way?--Two people, boy and girl, or very young, going apart from one another, pledged to be married after many years—at the end of the book. The interest to arise out of the tracing of their separate ways, and the impossibility of telling what will be done with that impending fate." This was laid aside; but it left a marked trace on the story as afterwards designed, in the position of Edwin Drood and his betrothed. I first heard of the later design in a letter dated "Friday the 6th of August 1869", in which after speaking, with the usual unstinted praise he bestowed always on what moved him in others, of a little tale he had received for his journal, he spoke of the change that had occurred to him for the new tale by himself. "I laid aside the fancy I told you of, and have a very curious and new idea for my new story. Not a communicable idea (or the interest of the book would be gone), but a very strong one, though difficult to work." The story, I learnt immediately afterward, was to be that of the murder of a nephew by his uncle; the originality of which was to consist in the review of the murderer's career by himself at the close, when its temptations were to be dwelt upon as if, not he the culprit, but some other man, were the tempted. The last chapters were to be written in the condemned cell, to which his wickedness, all elaborately elicited from him as if told of another, had brought him. Discovery by the murderer of the utter needlessness of the murder for its object, was to follow hard upon commission of the deed; but all discovery of the murderer was to be baffled till towards the close, when, by means of a gold ring which had resisted the corrosive effects of the lime into which he had thrown the body, not only the person murdered was to be identified but the locality of the crime and the man who committed it. So much was told to me before any of the book was written; and it will be recollected that the ring, taken by Drood to be given to his betrothed only if their engagement went on, was brought away with him from their last interview. Rosa was to marry Tartar, and Crisparkle the sister of Landless, who was himself, I think, to have perished in assisting Tartar finally to unmask and seize the murderer.

Oh and I liked that little horrible kid as well, he was quite good.

[prendrelemick]

The kid, Deputy, was a stand out character in the book, Durdles employed him to throw stones at him and drive him home when he was drunk. I'm glad they didn't write him out.
That last episode was a bit rushed - it had to be I suppose - there were a few problems, like how long was Edwin missing, what happened with the ring, but the twist at the end was a bit of fun. That Captain Drood must've been a bit of a lad, children popping up all over..

[LitNetIsGreat]

Oh right, that explains why he was throwing stones at everyone, little...

Yes it did feel a bit rushed, which is what it also said in the papers apparently. Two hours didn't seem long enough.

I'm enjoying these literary productions shame we haven't got any more on the way, apart from that last episode of Sherlock.