Anyone watching The Moonstone?

[Lucydogz]

I was looking forward to this, but it just feels a bit lifeless so far. It also jars that Betteridge is played by a black actor, for no particular reason that I can see, apart from a dose of political correctness.

Ooohh I didn't know about this! I love The Moonstone. Which channel was it on?

Oooh, keeping an eye on this too. I had no idea that this was on. Which channel?

The BBC

I watched about 5 minutes, thought it was horribly clunky and turned it off. I love the Moonstone, but don't want to watch it being butchered!

It got a bit better after 15 minutes but not a patch on the film version with Greg Wise and Lesley Sharpe

Peter Vaughan was wonderful as Betteridge. Really don't know why they have chosen the actor for the BBC version other than for PC reasons

Have just watched a bit of part two which I recorded...absolute tripe. Only decent.thing was the very pretty teacup that was shown being filled with tea when the copper was there.
Cancelled rest of recordings

The black Betteredge just did not work, and neither did the sanitised Miss Clack; both I think the BBC being p.c. And their was too much rewriting of the order of events.

Still, it might lead some viewers to read the book, which is one of the best novels in the language. And if you do, move on to Armadale and No Name which are not as well known as they ought to be.

The Moonstone is my favourite novel ever, and I just love the way Wilkie Collins so amazingly creates such characters as Miss Clack.

I was cautious but keen for the new BBC version. But could not cope with the fairly drastic change of Betteridge as well as the other clunkiness. Why mess with it like this? Why change orders of events and the very essence of critical characters like this? I mean, just why? What is the point of that?

I was baffled and had to turn it off. Okay, a screen adaptation is rarely as good (Remains of the Day and The Quiet American I think are two screen versions that are as exquisite as the books). But I expected better than that.

Watched 3/4 of the first episode and gave up - clunky, awkward, dull and terribly poorly cast.