To think we don't really need another adaptation of Pride and Prejudice?

[squoosh]

According to the Radio Times the Poldark producers are planning an adaptation of P&P. Now God knows I love a bit of Austen, but there was the 1995 TV series and the 2005 film. And that's just in the last 25 years. And there was a stilted early 1980s version and that awful 1940-something film starring Laurence Olivier. And probably some other versions I've never even heard of. We've even had zombie P&P.

Jane herself must be rolling her eyes thinking 'have you NO imagination?'

There are so many other books that have been languishing patiently waiting for their moment in the spotlight. Let one of them be the prom queen for once!

Which book would you like to see adapted for the screen? I'd love to see a proper version of The Woman in White. I'd heard it was in the works but can't find anything on it.

P.S for all I'm complaining about yet another Pride and Prejudice that's not to say I wouldn't watch it. I just like to moan.

shatnerswig
the ITV Marple stuff is unadulterated crap in comparison with the BBC Joan Hickson versions

Agree completely. Although on the subject of Agatha Christie (or any other Golden Age writer I suppose), I've always found it disappointing that filmed versions are so cutesy. They go mad about sets and clothes and miss what made the decent crime literature of that age good, which is the nuggets of social commentary and darkness. Murder isn't cute. There's a lot of passion and tension in those books and it vanishes when adapted for the screen for the most part.

The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall is at least as good, if not better, than Jane Eyre

Totally agree.

It has long been my opinion that Charlotte Bronte was nowhere near as talented as Emily and Anne. Just she was more driven in her goals.

The actress who played Jane in the 1995 p&p was pregnant and once you realise that, you see the bump all the time and it's quite disconcerting in a "Never mind Lydia running off with Wickham, Mrs Bennet, look at the state of Jane! " sort of way

The recent BBC adaptations of Agatha Christie have definitely focused on the dark side of her books rather than the heritage vintagey vibe that ITV favoured. I agree that Joan Hickson was THE best Marple but there is a slightly creaky 1980s look about those shows too.

Which reminds me, after I read Brat Farrar I went online to see if a TV version had been made only to find there had but they'd set in the 1980s! Horror of horrors.

Is "adaptation" another word for "fan fiction" with professional acclaimed writers.

I thought the BBC version of A Tenant of Wildfell Hall was pretty good and wouldn't have thought it was ready for a remake yet. But ditto P&P. The 1995 version wasn't quite perfect, but it was probably as close as we'll ever get.

In fact much as I love Jane Austen, I don't think I would do any more. Persuasion is my favourite and the version with Amanda Root is another almost perfect adaptation.

The BBC Middlemarch of a few years ago was great. Rewatched it quite recently. I've never seen a good Adam Bede though. Is there one?

I'd vote for Les Mis, A Tale of Two Cities, the The Fountain Overflows trilogy by Rebecca West and The Last Chronicle of Barsetshire. The Barchester Towers series back in the early 80s was great (and was my first introduction to the much missed Alan Rickman). It was such a shame they stopped after the first 2 books. Dr Thorne of course was done last year, but it would have been great to do all 6 together, as they did with the Pallisers in the 1970s.

Loved Brat Farrar as a child. Great book.

Did we need ANY adaptation?

How did I miss that, Morris?

and also

[delight]

Dear New P&P Producers, can we please have this man as Darcy, pretty please

"Is "adaptation" another word for "fan fiction" with professional acclaimed writers."

Ummm, no. Death Comes to Pemberley or Longbourn could perhaps be thought of like that.

Evil Yet Hot Footman from Downton Abbey cannot be Darcy! He could be Sexy Fugitive Footman from Longbourn though.

JaneJeffer noooo

It's amazing how differently people see Darcy isn't it? He's nothing like the version in my head!

I'd love to see a good version of The Eyre Affair. Following the recentish radio adaptation, I think a TV version of the last three books in the Forsyte Saga could work well - the previous versions stopped short of those three, presumably because the focus mostly moved away from the Forsytes.

A new version of Cold Comfort Farm could work well, also.

I can't watch the Joan Hickson Marples or indeed any eighties detective stuff including Morse.

I just cringe at the production values. Having said that, the glossy Marples as shallow as fuck and the stunt casting (this year's fave comedian etc) is irritating as hell.

The Agatha Christie this Christmas past was slightly too dark for my liking though so I guess they're crowd pleasing. Maybe we just don't want proper acting and nuance in our country house murders.

Don't forget Bridget Jones's Diary, another sort-of remake.

Oh and Bride and Prejudice.

Dr Thorne of course was done last year, but it would have been great to do all 6 together, as they did with the Pallisers in the 1970s.

They repeated The Pallisers in the afternoons a few years ago. I'd forgotten how many episodes there were.

That adaptation of Dr Thorne was bloody awful - in spite of Ian McShane and Tom Hollander. I was so disappointed.

I'd love to see Framley Parsonage and Last Chronicle done well.

I would love to see Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham adapted. Mother London by Michael Moorcock would be good too, a big sprawling London epic and Angel by Elizabeth Taylor, I think that they made a film of Angel a few years back but it wasn't very good. I remember really enjoying The Way We Live Now which was a Trollope adaptation, it was so refreshing to watch a costume drama that wasn't Austen or Dickens.

There was a recent adaptation of Making of a Marchioness called Making of a Lady which wasn't bad, but it skipped most of the interesting romance bits for the a dodgy plot with the Ayah :)

I HATE the idea of describing something as 'darker' makes it better or more authentic or whatever. I mean reading the book it is possible to understand the implications of stuff without making it all kitchen sinky or strurm and drang.

The only one I can think of which was improved this way was the 1999 film of Persuasion which drew out the slave trade bit touched on in the novel and make Fanny Price an interesting character (she IS interesting inwardly, but impossible to portray that way probably).

But yep there are SOO many other books they could adapt, and not just from the c19.

And they STILL haven't adapted lovely Villette with my namesake! Previously it was probably too hard to build c19 Brussels but these days with cgi it would be dead easy. And if they want dark, they can make it as dark as you like.

Also we are LONG overdue Wimsey adaptations and I can't work out why they don't do them before Paul Bettany gets too old.

I liked the recent Jonathan Strange tho, and am looking forward to another Woman in White (last one was really strange), so am still in hope.

YANBU. Butchering Austen ought to be a criminal offence.

My favourite book is Persuasion. I read a modern day adaptation called Persuading Annie by an author called Melissa Nathan who wrote excellent books and sadly passed away in her 30s from cancer.

I hate to speak ill of her as her other books were amazing, but Persuading Annie was so terrible I could've cried. Particularly the modern version of the letter at the end. It was an email with, IIRC, lots of "ums" and "ers" in it

And if anyone wants to see true disservice done to Austen in film format, watch Mansfield Park with Embeth Davidtz in it. Fucking terrible. Mary was a lesbian and Fanny said yes to Henry's proposal. Twats.

Everyone ignore CoughLaughFart she had a dig at Scottish people the other day for saying 'wee'

The cinematography is gorgeous, lots of lovely scenes in dappled light. But for me that its main saving grace. And the sets. But Keira Knightley as Lizzy? Nope. I'm sure Austen would have mentioned it if Lizzy was a gurner. And MacFadyen's stuttering in the Big Romantic Scene always jars. Oh and Donald Sutherland's Hollywood teeth always make me

Lol! The main thing that bothered me was that all the actors were so bloody skinny and modern looking! Especially when you compare to the slightly plumper 1995 cast.

Matthew McFayden is lush though. Especially when he says "I love you...[sexy voice] most ardently" . Although I think someone must have told him that Darcy was a bit of a bumbler as I always have to put the subtitles on when he comes on screen.

Ooh..... I vote Idris Elba or Aiden turner for Mr Darcy..