The Other Bennet Sister starts tonight on BBC1 8pm

[IwantToRetire]

Seemingly unremarkable and often overlooked, Mary Bennet longs to win her family’s approval.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002qkp3

Is this going to be a spoof or some sort of spin off ?

2nd episode tonight at 8:30

Couldn't see a thread so hope this isn't a duplicate!

I didn't really know the two young men who played Mr. Hayward and Mr. Ryder. Not bad.

They're good! I like that Mary has a keen eye for a nice forearm, and also Mr Ryder's form in breeches as he leaned across the carriage... 😉

I’m watching now and finding how the Bennett’s treat Mary very upsetting, particularly Mrs Bennet, nasty baggage

This has already been discussed up thread.

Not only was the % of POC between 1% are the beginning of the century to about 3% at the end of the century, like it or not England was not just a classist but a racist society.

Although there were some well known POC in arts and entertainment, but in terms of socialising even if their employment was of a status of those in this drama not likely.

And even in the real life story of Belle, acknowledge as the daughter of a member of the landed gentry she was not allowed to socialise as though an equal member of society.

And hate to say it, but doubt people who are already bigoted about class would use the services of an optician who was POC.

But along with other unlikely representation of society at that time, it is obviously in line with an alternative version of events.

Thank you, @IwantToRetire , I did see this upthread. I was responding to that poster who was querying my motivation for the point I made. You are absolutely right about status and inclusivity, although others appear to dismiss this.

I think somehow having a break between the first 5 episode and the second 5 somehow lowered my expectations.

And just became using scenarios from various JA novels, the Lakes, the misunderstandings, ie less clever than it thought it was.

But really I am just sad that the final moments were not more about Mary being an independent woman earning her own income, but becoming part of a couple.

So not as alternative as it is made out to be, but just another soppy romance!

However a new series about Miss Bingley racing across europe in pursuit of a man could be really exciting. No JA examples to create a pastiche of!

Does a POC have to be playing a POC?
I assumed the optician was just being played by an actor rather than supposed to be a character of colour.

Yes, @IwantToRetire I would have liked Mary to forge her own independent path, perhaps as a writer, like JA?

Oh, I really enjoyed this. Just lovely Sunday night fun. I definitely got a Bridgerton vibe with the slight alt-reality look and feel, particularly the styling of the Bennet sisters. Enjoyed some fresh twists on old characters eg Charlotte Lucas as a hard-faced schemer. The actress looks a lot like a young Olivia Williams. And Ella B is very Sophie Thompson who of course was Mary Musgrave (another younger sister who is not kindly treated by JA) in Persuasion. While the overall direction of travel was predictable as hell, I like that it explored Romanticism as a serious intellectual current of the time, and that the Wickham had quite different and not Wickham-ish motives.

I too noticed how terrible Mary’s new dresses were but assumed that was deliberate to emphasise her lack of style. Aunt G could have given her better advice but I guess Aunt G was all about letting her become herself, hideous crimson dresses and all.

Thoroughly enjoyed all 10 episodes! Wow, this series was a winner - the BBC got this right!

Sad it’s over, most endearing thing I’ve seen in a while

I’m on episode 9 and chuckling at climbing Scarfeld in their fancy hats!

Charlotte Lucas is a hard-faced schemer in P&P!

If anyone is interested and reasonably near to Cardiff - Dyffryn Gardens, one of the locations used in the filming of The Other Bennet Sister has an exhibition of costumes until the end of August. The ball early on (episode 1 or 2?) was filmed in the house (which has been closed to the public since pre covid), and the "secret garden" poetry reading was filmed there too. The gardens were sadly neglected for a long a time and were just starting to get back on track when covid shut everything down 🤦 but the National Trust team have been working hard since then and the place is well worth a visit if you like a garden.

Also very nearby, St Fagans National Museum of History - the gardens and the inside of the Castle also featured in the series.

No, I do not work for the welsh tourist board 😂 I just somehow managed to visit both of those places last summer while filming for some period drama for the BBC was going on, and I got invested. I mean, one of my daytrips was somewhat ruined because everything was off limits, what else was I meant to do?

Just finished. Delightful.

Oh come on, "Many" is a huge stretch.
Even the link YOU linked to estimated 20-40,000 almost all visiting temporarily over a period of 250 YEARS! That works out as approximately 80-160 people a year out of a population of about 12 million! Or, to put it another way, 0.00001% of the population. And, again, as YOUR OWN link specifically says, they would have been primarily based in London, not rural Hertfordshire!

I've got no issue with colour blind casting as in bridgerton, when they aren't making any professions of historical authenticity and the music, heavy make up, language etc is also a stylistic "interpretation" of the period.

I'm also fully in support of diverse casts in setting where that might be authentic - harlots was a potential example, as would anything set, for example, in the London shipping industry/piracy at that time, or a young rake doing his European tour, or the abolition movement

(those are just vaguely regency examples, obviously the scope is huge throughout history, I'm certainly not saying Britain was exclusively white until 1950).

But let's not pretend that people of colour, particularly in JA's very set social milieu of rural gentry, was common, to the point where it wouldn't be commented on, because it's just not true.

I haven't read the book, so it's really interesting to learn that certain plot elements were omitted. I certainly think a good part of the first two episodes could have been condensed to show Mary staying in the Collins household. Nearly everyone watching would be familiar with the set-up, surely.
I was willing Mary to refuse Tom at the end, for the very reasons she was pissed off with him for vanishing when he assumed she'd accept the better offer.

I don't bink the casting on Bridgerton is colour blind @onceandneveragain in fact I would say it's the opposite.

I do think it's most likely colour blind in this show.

I think the story of Francis Barber, a former slave from Jamaica who became Dr Johnson’s valet, secretary and ultimately heir would make a fantastic drama. I don’t know why someone doesn’t do it.

Miss Bingley doing warm up ready for the climb😂

So not as alternative as it is made out to be, but just another soppy romance!

That's generally how JA novels turned out though.

How did they make Tanya Reynolds look so ugly? I'm sure she wasn't in Delicious

Reminded me of Mr Bean 😂

That was funny! I also liked it when she secretly ate the buttercup!

Oh yes!