A Christmas Carol

[AlecOrAlonzo]

They're mumbling.

Ffs.

They can hear it three houses away. The telly is up at 11. Still can't hear a damn thing.

Is this what pay my tv licence fee for?!

They really didn't have to make him that reprehensible

Well, the original one was reprehensible. What is interesting about this version is that they suggest a cause, and a credible one at that.

It’s taken them two hours to get to the end of stave 2. I have no idea how they are going to get through the remaining 3/5 of the book and redeem Scrooge in only one further hour.

I really, really hope that my year 10s aren’t watching it.

It picked up for me once Ali Baba arrived.
Lovely camels.

A cause is suggested in the original, too!

Dickens generally thought many of the wealthy were reprehensible , because of their wealth!

But it should be Belle dumping him and Fan dying that cause bitterness, in addition to the love of money.

Bravo xmas

Did Ignorance and Want appear yet?? Cut from most adaptations for being too dark : surely should be in this?

I think what people often miss about Dickens is his love for children and childhood, and his anger at child poverty. That should be at the heart of a grittier interpretation and it would be nice if women weren't still sidelined or altered to sexual objects. Woke my arse.

Just seen gaspodes post xmas : sorry, I was just being my pedantic self! Light ribbing, not meant to cause annoyance...

Piggy, I know, as was mine to rib you back. No need to apologise.

Ignorance and Want have not appeared yet.

I'd like to see Plain Jane Superbrain pop up in the last episode, maybe the ghost of Christmas future.....

Only watched the first one but really enjoyed so far. English teacher here, unbothered by the lack of actual Dickens text. It’s a reimagining and it works. The idea of what purgatory would be was both well done and troubling and I’m really enjoying Crachit who is neither written as a snivelling wave slave, terrified of losing his job, nor as a cocky pillock who’s giving his boss hell but just as an average, pissed off clerical worker.

Also, don’t teacher ACC anymore but if I did I would 100% show this in class.

I hated it. I think I'm too old.

Really looking forward to the Mark Gatiss MR James tonight though.

I think you would get a number of parental complaints malta !!

They've also adapted it too far away from the original, not good for people doing it for GCSE.

I think it's brilliant for people doing the book for GCSE. They can't go the lazy route and watch this instead of reading the original, and it makes for a fantastic classroom discussion comparing and contrasting.

I suspect you aren't older than I am, Macnabber, and I like it and am looking forward to the rest.

Also an English teacher. I’m really enjoying it (though I think the swearing is rather unnecessary!)

Didn't like it. Far to different from the book. What is it with the BBC. Taking well know well written books, plays and turning them on there heads just because they can. Thinking of War of the Worlds. I actually liked it as a production. But WOTW it was not.

It's very dark.

We aren't having issues with the sound or mumbling. Infact Dh said that he can definitely hear it all - after we'd read in Twitter - and his hearing is notoriously bad when it comes to tv dialogue.

17y dd is frustrates that it's not true enough to the real text and that they are trying to portray Scrooge as being a much nastier type of man than he was, and Introducing new themes into the book. Like they think they can improve the original book itself.

Just discovered it this afternoon and watched the first two episodes, I really enjoyed it. Now annoyed I have to wait for the third and the time difference (Aus) means I am unlikely to get to it before Boxing Day

Equan DD (Yr11) is doing ACC and has been comparing and contrasting.
It’s been a very long time since I read it (old gimmer) and I’ve enjoyed the conversations we’ve had.

Why the need to change the names of key characters?!

And yes - the swearing just isn't needed. It's not something that normally bothers me but it feels unnecessary.

Yes, it differs from the original but it adds to the story rather than taking away from it. Has anyone read The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys? It is the story of the first Mrs Rochester from Jane Eyre and I think this version of A Christmas Carol is the same. Perhaps a tweak of the title would have helped people who are disappointed with the re-interpretation.

I note they have only changed the female characters' names...

But Wide Sargasso Sea is a) written by a good author (unlike a lot of the godawful Jane Austen rewrites) and is told from a different perspective, as you point out.

I'm sorry, but I just don't get how making wholesale changes to names, jobs, motivations etc adds anything to the texture of the piece.

Missed a b) out there!

My year 11 DS declared it rubbish after one episode I'm afraid. he is not of the Netflix/ Peaky Blinders etc persuasion and just didn't like it.

We did both cheer when a line of Dickens appeared 40 mins in to episode 1!

I'm quite enjoying Peaky Fuckin' Christmas.