Le miserables

[Doobydoobydooyeh]

Anyone watching? Not quite the same without the songs!

scribbly -similar conversation in our house except it ended:

Also enjoyed Derek Jacobi very much. “Ooh It’s Derek Jacobi!” I shouted at the dds. “Who?”

The guy who narrates In the Night Garden.

The joys of kids.

Just caught up with it this evening, loving it so far. It looks incredible. Another Les Mis virgin here so nothing to compare it with, but I adore Andrew Davies and his War and Peace had me gripped. Expecting more of the same with this adaptation.

I liked it. Thank goodness, as I was apprehensive after reading some interviews with Andrew Davies being less than complimentary about the musical. Which I love. I was afraid he'd go too far in the opposite direction but so far so good.

I have read the book (brick), once properly and once skimming over the huge chunks of diversions, and not too worried about each and every detail being included. Some artistic licence to fit it into 8 episodes is bound to happen. Even some translations do this. So long as the motives of the characters are shown which they were.

David Oyelowo is a brilliant Javert! Fantastic cast all round and it looks gorgeous. Beautiful choice of colours and lighting. Music was stirring. Very good so far.

Only complaint is that we have to wait a week for another episode. Think I'm too used to binging on Netflix A 90 min episode to kick it off would've been great.

Did anyone catch the programme on BBC4 straight after that looks at the making of Les Mis and Andrew Davies as an adapter. It was a fascinating insight. He is 82 years old and still working on massive pieces.

He loves to get to the core of these novels and what makes people tick- sex and money!

Davis is such a brilliant writer. Does anyone remember ‘A very Peculiar Practice’?

Just read he is adapting ‘A Suitable Boy’.

I do! My DF loved that!

Davies ceratinly likes long books!

Well, I have seen the musical but was still baffled by the appearance of Cosette at the end with absolutely NO prior mention of a pregnancy or childbirth. That actually spoilt it a bit for me - it was so ridiculous that this baby wouldn't have warranted a mention at any point. There is no way Felix wouldn't have known about her, so why did we not see any discussion of this?

I thought that too. He would have seen Fantaine in pregnancy surely.

I remember A Very Peculiar Practice! It was very great, and seemed quite groundbreaking at the time if I remember rightly

In the novel Hugo makes no mention of a pregnancy, childbirth or baby until after Felix has left, where he just writes "the poor girl had a child", so Davies has stuck to the book in that respect (though I definitely heard a baby crying during the scene where Fantine and Felix are in bed together right before he leaves).

Hugo then goes on to state that Felix became a "fat provincial attorney, always, however, a man of pleasure".

I think the point Hugo is making about Felix is that he does know about Cosette, but he just doesn't see her as his problem. He has been brought up in this bubble of privilege and is so self absorbed that it doesn't cross his mind that Fantine is being left with this huge responsibility and the difficulty he is leaving her in. He knows nothing of Fantine's world (she was a foundling) and how she doesn't have the safety net that he has, and he doesn't care enough to find out.

Hugo is making a very clear statement on privilege and the place of women in society.

Didn’t Felix pass the baby in its crib and the nurse at the foot of the stairs on his way up to see Fantine?

He did but it wasn't acknowledged...

I enjoyed it. I've never read the book but I've seen the musical and the film musical many times - I first saw the musical when it was in preview and sang the songs endlessly for months afterwards! I was glad I already knew the bones of the story as it made it easier to follow (I have dreadful facial recognition and it can make plots very hard to follow because I can't tell who is who). I enjoyed getting some backstory about Jean Valjean's imprisonment and I thought the scene with the bishop was well managed. Also liked seeing Fantine's backstory, and the way the three of them were treated by the three young men, basically as playthings to keep them amused during their time in Paris, made Fantine's predicament very realistic - you could almost feel her horror as she realised she'd been left alone with a child and no means of support. I'm looking forward to the next episode.

Hmm, what's the scene where Fantine hands cosette over to the Thernadiers like in the book? Because it took her all of 2 minutes to make the decision just now!

And Dominic W has reverted to his natural accent.

"Monsiuer le mare you'll wear a different chain!"

Wrong spelling of mayor!

"Lovely ladies...".

Ohhh the teeth

Feel sick now

God this is hard to watch.

Oh that teeth bit was horrible.

"Who am I? 246 OH ONNNNNE!"

im enjoying it but have no clue about films/shows etc so am finding this thread confusing

think its best if i just stick to the tv

Oh I’m actually finding this adaptation quite tense! And I know the story a bit as well, so it’s no shock! Poor Fantine

I think they're doing it very well. Glad I know the story as it is complicated.