To not enjoy the "Bridgertonisation" of a lot of period dramas?

[weeddigger]

I Love Emily Dickinson's poetry and so I tried watching Dickinson on apple TV and its just so crap really, they turn this amazing writer into a very shallow, trope of feisty teen saying "dude" and "sick" while the women around her look on aghast and sniff their smelling salts i.e. they try to make Emily seem something by making all the other female characters nothing.

Ok so I admit I may be being unreasonable, that perhaps it isn't aimed at me but it just seems so flimsy, all style and no substance, the dialogue and so on. Sometimes mixing up time periods, using modern music and conventions can really work but other times it just seems like a lazy, formulaic way to try and appeal to the lowest common denominator.

I was looking at the new production of The Buccaneers that is going to be on Apple TV soon but that looks much the same. I suppose things like Bridgeton have influenced these things as well as Marie-Antoinette by Sophia Coppola which I enjoyed at the time but I do find myself wishing for a bit more old school BBC vibes in these productions now and again. I watched things like old productions of Middlemarch on dvd with my Mum growing up and thought they were so well done, and kept some semblance of the era.

I'm a huge fan of good historical drama but really loathe it when the script people have absolutely no ear for historical usage; I don't mean it should all be "forsooth!" and "Zounds!" but just that they should avoid having characters speak words/phrases/idioms that one glance at a good historical dictionary would reveal not to have entered the language until much later. Am still recovering from a very high budget series set in the early 16th century in which everybody was saying "Okay!"

I suppose so many great period dramas have been made over the past 30 years or so, they're just mixing things up a bit. And Bridgerton was such a runaway success that it's inevitable other producers are going to try and capitalise on its popularity with younger audiences. But YANBU it all feels a bit superficial. The horror that was the Netflix adaptation of Persuasion is still living rent free in my brain. Same with the most recent adaptation of Anne of Green Gables. I tell myself that my adaptations of these book already exist so what harm does it do for these to exist. I'm just not their target audience.

The Bridgerton vibe will start to feel a bit hackneyed pretty soon though if it's being replicated everywhere else.

I was so excited about The Buccaneers until I saw the trailer - I feel like you OP - I loved the book but I don't really want a modern take on it. The BBC did an adaptation that's on Britbox - I might just re watch that.

Completely agree...Netflix version of Persuasion was woeful, Anne with an E, but I'm probably not the target audience.

I agree! also thought Bridgerton was terrible.

I did think Bridgerton when I saw the Buccaneers trailer. I quite liked the breaking of the 4th wall in Gentleman Jack. It gave a different take without having to change much else.

I got 5 minutes into the recent Netflix Persuasion (it happens to be my much cherished favorite Austen novel) and ran screaming for the hills. Or rather for my DVD of the movie version with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds and Corin Redgrave and Sophie Thompson (1995) which is beautifully done and very moving.

@CanIPetThatDawg I do know what you mean and I love The Favourite for example and The Great but it is the superficiality that really bothers me. Of course I accept that they probably aren't aimed at me even if I am still kind of in their demographic but even then don't these new views deserve better also?

Gentleman Jack was soooo good! So I really don't think I am being a fuddy duddy about it its just it so often comes out a bit crap. I think I read that Gentleman Jack has been scrapped too for some unknown reason. Perhaps the BBC just do these things much better than anyone else?

Completely with you OP. For me I enjoy period dramas because they do feel like a window to the past and an escape from the fast complexity of the age we live in now. I suppose it depends on the audience - some people are just after a good story and a bit of fluff. My slight concern is some people don't realise that these are very loosely based on historical times. But surely not?

On a side note, I thought Wolf Hall was a great historical adaptation, in spite of being based on a historical novel - it seemed truer to the Tudor age than many of the sexed up takes on classic novels.

Recommend Lark Rise to Candleford, Cranford and North & South for the vibes you’re after (sorry for use of “vibes” 😆). And can’t go wrong with Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility.

@FortheBeautyoftheEarth Wolf Hall was epic! I may have to rewatch that myself. Will we ever see a production of the other books I wonder, I hope so!

Has anyone watch the Essex Serpent on Apple TV was that any good? It might be my last ditch attempt before I bin my subscription!

@Bernadinetta Oh yeah I quite fancy all of those shows, thanks for reminding me!

Yes I’d recommend the Essex Serpent, it’s definitely not a Bridgerton type. Very atmospheric.

For me, it comes down to the quality of the production. I don't hate the concept. I loved Bridgerton, particularly Queen Charlotte. The Great is one of my favourite shows of all time. Persuasion was a bit of a dogs dinner (though I loved Mary, so not entirely a waste)

But it is just a trend and I'm sure there will be a swing back soon. There are lots and lots of faith costume dramas out there to enjoy in the meantime.

My slight concern is some people don't realise that these are very loosely based on historical times.

The Great with Elle Fanning and Bridgerton’s Queen Charlotte literally say that they are very loosely based on history. It is said in the very beginning of both shows. I recall this being spoken about with Queen Charlotte and those who had actually watched the first episode pointing out the disclaimer before the show actually starts. Watching The Great, it was said during the credits every episode (at least from what I saw when I streamed it.)

If people can’t realise the difference between fact and fiction even with disclaimers, surely nothing is going to help them.

YANBU. But it’s been going on for a while now - I’m thinking of Downton Abbey where characters said things like, “That’s the understatement of the century!” when people didn’t speak like that in the 1920s.

I do love a good costume drama but I wish they’d be historically accurate.

@whathatwhat Oh good! I will start on that tonight!

@TheKeatingFive Yeah I do know that but for me I didn't like Bridgerton and I think I am just a bit gutted that The Buccaneers looks to be similar as I was looking forward to that. I do like when they use a more diverse cast and innovation is fine it just feels a bit samey and without any substance at the moment. I think I did say up thread though that I did like The Great a lot.

What I find more bothersome is the creeping Americanisation of historical storytelling set in Britain. There was a recent period drama on Netflix (I cannot remember what it was called) and these British actors were speaking in a way that made it obvious the script had been written in American English and not properly edited or checked, and you'd think the actors would have said "this isn't British English grammar or word choice" instead of parroting this stuff and looking like idiots, but these serious errors never should have got that far.

But Bridgerton (which I managed about four mins of before I turned it off, so simpering, awful and computer generated was it), was resoundingly popular, so now the idiots who commission things for TV think that kind of rubbish is what everyone wants to watch.

Actually even worse than that are the American ones set in "historic" Ireland. I try and forget they exist.

I know what you mean, but equally more straight dramas do still exist, this is just another option.

I enjoy Bridgerton well enough but it's definitely "period drama for dummies", it feels like it's explaining really basic concepts like "women can't work" to people that have never watched a historical drama before. But it can be executed well, but just like everything else, it isn't always.

The Great is really good, and Harlots was another one I really enjoyed. And I'm looking forward to the Buccaneers.

I'm annoyed Harlots isn't on the iplayer. I only got to see the first series.

I’d question why British entertainment isn’t creating such shows themselves.

That is on Apple Tv and I haven't seen it, is it good?