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'm really enjoying Ruth Jones' portrayal. I always thought Mrs Bennet far more honest and caring than Mr Bennet when it came to the girls' futures.

In relation to diversity of representation of screen by the BBC, you may like to read this report:

thematic-review-of-portrayal-and-representation.pdf

I found it very interesting. On page 38 it makes the following point:

However, productions should consider their choices carefully when it comes to colour-blind casting. In depicting an anachronistic historical world in which people of colour are able to rise to the top of society as scientists, artists, courtiers and Lords of the Realm, there may be the unintended consequence of erasing the past exclusion and oppression of ethnic minorities and breeding complacency about their former opportunities. According to Omari Newton, a black Montreal-based theatre actor, director and writer, Colour-blind casting is rooted in systemic racism. It is a form of erasure. It is the theatrical equivalent of ignorantly telling your black friend, ‘I don’t see colour’, when they try to engage you in a conversation about race. It is passively dehumanising in the way that it dismisses the racism that is embedded in the very fabric of how colonised countries were founded. We’re not in the business of issuing blanket recommendations on this topic, because each production will differ and the pros and cons will vary. What needs to be avoided is ethnic diversity which looks forced and tick box, and we found our interviewees of colour as emphatic on this point as those who were white.

I haven't (yet) watched the program, so I can't comment on how this one does it specifically. But I think the best diversity is shown by diversity of actual BBC output (eg making a program about/set in India/Japan/Poland etc). I think that a program that tries to pretend that it is normal to have, say, a black priest in a village in 1870, AND that all the 'good' characters would be nice to them, and all the 'bad' characters nasty, without firmly basing this on historical research, does everyone a disservice.

Presumably then we need more programming that explains the exclusion and oppression of ethnic minorities during the relevant period.

Make sure the public isn’t silly enough to base its historical understanding on an 2025 adaptation of a novel published in 2020.

I'm with you about Whitrow. He was a great Mr B. And Darcy is totally wrong, and Mr G is definitely Jeff!
I like this Lizzie and Jane though - both a bit less perfect than in some adaptations!

Behind but absolutely loving this but finding the portrayal of Mrs Bennett quite callous which I never thought she was.

I like her mischievous self-serving attitude.

I’m loving it so far (haven’t read the book). The scene where Mary is sobbing in the doorway at the party, and comforted by Mrs Gardiner, was very poignant - we’ve all seen/read the scene in P&P where Mr Bennett asks her to stop playing and allow the other young ladies a go, and probably sniggered at silly Mary for boring everyone senseless with her dreary music and dodgy voice. But to flip it and show the devastated young woman who was just trying to be more like her sisters hit home for me.

Not for me, watched for about 5 mins but the poor grammar put me off - a sure sign of bad writing and lack of editing. So many books are ruined by this now but one would expect an extra round of proofreading when a book is going to be adapted for TV. Standards of English are so poor these days, and it DOES matter, particularly in a period drama.

I loved Indira,s character

I thought the dresses were dreadful too - they looked cheap and poorly made. They were not those colours in the book, and I don't think any young girl at that time, even Mary who was not socially adept, would have worn that crimson colour! The phrase "scarlet woman" springs to mind!
I don't think the series so far does justice to the book either - it misses out huge sections, and Mary did not go to her Aunt Gardiner's as a governess for the children - she was invited as an niece, not an employee. I'm reading the book at present and will finish it before I watch any more of the series. I'm quite disappointed really.

I find that really interesting. Thanks for the link pp!

My family are mixed race..what I'm wondering is, if in fidelity to historical records to accurately reflect the histories of colonial enslavement etc, then are PoC then limited to being typecast, and/or losing out on roles that they might act well in?- like an optometrist in TOBS/Regency England, who might arguably at the time have been English, white, upperworking or middle-class (? Not sure on the class!)

I honestly don't know...this is a TV adaptation of a spin off book of a side character in a fictional novel who is not even in the original JA iirc, it's JHs imagination to create a world around the mention Mary's spectacles, so maybe creative license is ok? Idk

...I totally understand that history should never trivialise/ignore the suffering of millions of people; it's maybe a debate which has no conclusion, but if we are 'colour-faithful' in casting, (I have made that term up, as opposed to colour-blind casting) do living people in the here and now risk still being side lined and losing parts purely on ethnicity?

No flaming please. I am just wondering, idk what the best answer is.

And yes, the hair dye on LB and JB is awful and some of the dresses are clearly raided from the cbeebies panto rail. and Darcy can get in the pond and stay there

The Lizzie Bennet didn't seem to have fine dark eyes, but I cannot remember whether Miss Jane Austen described them as dark, or not.

On the positive side, as I've binged the first five episodes, there is a scene where Mr. Gardiner is observing two young women and to his credit, he never lets his face falter into the tiniest smile, as far as I can detect, but keeps the puzzled expression all through.

I saw Richard Coyle who plays Mr G as Atticus Finch in the stage version of TKAMB. He was absolutely brilliant.

Indira Varma is such a fabulous actress.

Coming back to this thread now that I’ve read the book - which I enjoyed. However the plot has been quite mangled so I’m not sure reading the book gives me an advantage. The dresses are such a plot point in the book, the fact that they’re not beautiful/well fitting does, I think, let them down.

(teeny weeny half spoiler)

I reckon there is capacity for a “wet clothes” scene though, à la Firth 1996 :)

I thought the poor necklines and trims must have been deliberate. I never normally notice that kind of thing!

I think they mean that people called Ann Baxter and John Sparrow would not be Asian. I might be wrong.

This is an absolutely charming mini series.

Perhaps the BBC is trying to soothe us through world events with this and Small Prophets.

Presumably she auditioned rather than being approached?

I agree and also think the same about Mark Darcy.

Have only just read the thread so far dispite starting it.

Have watched the first 5, as I think the remaining 5 will be online tonight?

I actually quite enjoyed the first 2 episodes, but in some ways it was a bit clunking getting in the situations that would be so negative for Mary.

And I do think there is a lot of over acting going on!

I hoped the move to London would expand her horizons, but they dont seem to have. And in fact makes her like her sisters as being focused on finding a man, and that because this hasn't gone well she adopts interests, rather than having a genuine interst. Or am I being too harsh.

I think is some ways it is impossible now for any tv drama not to be influenced by previous ones.

I remember being really surprised by an early radio version of the first Poirot novel, and it was intriguing because it was uninformed by what became the cliches. And in parts was quite moving. And felt sorry they have all been made comedic.

And this is what tv has done to Austen (IMO!)

Similarly I re-watched and really enjoyed the tv version of Bleak House with Gillian Anderson. But on one level saw that the protrayal of the characters have now become the norm for tv. (Also I think this series was so dedicated to conveying a period of time that it became the cause of any number of send ups.)

Tangent she also played Kiran (Caroline Bingley role) in Bride and Prejudice 🥻

Caroline Bingle is so snipey both in personality and looks. The actress is brilliant at it. I don't know how she managed pop eyes and a snipey nose because she doesn't look that way in real life.

CB is a brilliant character in general

I would have thought she had to have known about it, ie her agent says 'this has come up do you want to audition'

Someone has to approach her and think shes right for the part