Death Comes to Pemberley

SarahBM

Hi, just wondering if anyone else had watched the BBC adaptation of the PD James novel, Death Comes to Pemberley.

I loved it. As adaptations go, I thought the Beeb got it right, as they usually do with period drama in fairness.
The got Darcy and Elizabeth spot on with the casting of Matthew Rhys and Anna Maxwell Martin.

Just wondering what everyone else thought.

_Whimsical_

I watched it and while I liked aspects of it and liked the casting I thought overall it was a disappointment.For me it lacked the finesse,wit and charm I expect from Jane Austen, obviously it wasn't written by her but I couldn't shake my expectations.

Elizabeth went from a clever live wire to a permanently worried looking housewive, Mr Darcy was still a pompous cold fish despite seeming to have been redeemed in the book,Mrs Bennet and Lydia were even more overblown charicitures of themselves. It relied on the murder story to give it momentum rather than the dialogue I guess. I felt it had nothing to do with Pride and Prejudice and was just Midsummers Murder in costume. Grand for lazy post Christmas nights but I wouldn't have bothered with episode 2 any other time of the year.

Roger_007

SarahBM wrote: »

Hi, just wondering if anyone else had watched the BBC adaptation of the PD James novel, Death Comes to Pemberley.

I loved it. As adaptations go, I thought the Beeb got it right, as they usually do with period drama in fairness.
The got Darcy and Elizabeth spot on with the casting of Matthew Rhys and Anna Maxwell Martin.

Just wondering what everyone else thought.

I watched all 3 parts. Overall it was good on setting, period feel etc. but the plot had more holes than a string vest. Then end was farcical. I think they were just trying to outdo Downton. They did; it was worse than Downton. They should consign the Darcy's to fiction history.

SarahBM

Awh did you really think it was that bad?

What plot holes are you talking about? Have you read the book?

FloatingVoter

Watched the full three hours. Wasted time. My only consolation was I didn't read the book. An ending that a primary school child would get a pass mark for due to lack of imagination. Drippy characters. I only held out in the hopes that the ending would be dark The likes of Rebecca Front showing up as an extra. Dismal.

Sheela

While I did enjoy it, I would say that the way the Col Fitzwilliam character was portrayed didn't seem to me to ring true with his character in P&P.

Thought Matthew Rhys was very good, considering he had to live up to Colin Firth and a lesser extent Matthew Macfaddyen.

Also would agree that Rebecca Front, who I adore, was merely a cameo figure. Good to see Kevin Eldon in a dramatic role.

Manach

Rather liked it. The locations and costumes were superb and the cast seem to gel well. However the plot was fairly thin and there the finale was rather telegraphed. Still if there was a follow-on (unlikely I know), I'd watch it.