There's a new adaptation of Emma starting tonight - a few points . . .

[bran]

Firstly, don't we already have enough versions of Emma? There's the Gwynnie Paltrow film, which I quite liked to my surprise, and the TV version with the stuck-up pretty girl (Kate something, her dad was in Porridge). It's a bit soon for another version isn't it?

On the other hand, this one has Jonny Lee Miller in it, whom I have quite fancied for a while now. Tamsin Grieg is in it too, and I find her hypnotically watchable, she's just fantastic and I think will be amazing as Miss Bates.

Lastly, why has there been so much fuss about the BBC not doing any more costume dramas when they are obviously still churning them out? Is this the last one in the pipeline?

I'm quite enjoying it but my taste isn't that refined!! I am starting to quite fancy Johnny Lee Miller all over again though. I think as I get older I start to appreciate the more mature Jane Austen characters a bit more. Well, the male ones anyway.

I thought it was pretty dreadful again and agree so much that it lacks wit and sparkle. It is clumpy and unrefined.

I actually mind Michael Gambon less than some of the others. He's not as fragile and mithering as Mr W ought to be BUT he is better here than as Dumbledore - at least he is able to witter miserably fairly convincingly!

I like Mr Elton and the way he just seems to ooze over the screen every shot he's in.

But I really, really don't like the woman playing Emma. She seems to have only two expressions - cat's bum/lemon sucking face OR mouth wide open fly catching face. And she appears far too modern and knowing and giggly and teenage about everything.

This adaptation is too modern, both in script and in action. As for Emma introducing herself to a strange man (Frank)on horseback, she would of never lowered herself to do so.

I will watch it as I love Jane Austin but this Emma, is all wrong.

I must confess my heart sank when I saw this actress being interviewed on breakfast TV last week and she saying that she had tried to 'make Emma likeable in this adaption'

But the whole point is that Emma has big faults, she is a selfish spoilt child, who seeks joy from interferring in other peoples lives and she finds the stabling fatherly influence in Mr Knightly despite her bad bits.

To gloss over these bad points if Emma's character shows lack of understanding about Austin's work.

I still like Jonny as Mr Knightley, but I'm quite uninterested in just about every other character in it. Harriet, especially, is really annoying me. I know that she is quite innocent and a bit dim in the book, but it's really over-played in this adaptation.

I've always felt that Mr Knightly was a bit wrong in other adaptations. In the book he was quite humourous and approachable, but most adaptations seemed to give him some of Darcy's stern, stand-offish characteristics, perhaps to make the outcome seem more romantic.

Anyone still watching this? Or have you all got fed up?

I've decided that there's something very wrong with Emma's mouth. It seems to be experiencing an entirely different emotion from the rest of her face.

Still love Mr Knightly.

Watched it last night. Rather liked Mrs Elton I must saw. Still think the relationship between Emma and Frank Churchill is rather over done and I don't care for the first person narrator device at all - whatever happened to "showing not telling".

There is definitely something lacking in this version, and I agree that they have made Emma too modern. She is also IMO too gushing.

JLM growing on me and I think he's doing great job, but Emma way too flirty with him and Frank...I realise she's supposed to with the latter, but I hardly think she would be that forward with either.....It just feels too modern. I like my period drama smouldering, controlled and under the surface, not all fluttery eyelashes and teen-speak. Persuasion and P&P will take some beating, I'm afraid.

Agree, she's too old. If there's 16 years between them, it should have been someone like the girl that played Marianne in the last Sense & Sensibility adaptation - she still looked girly enough not to know when she was in love, and naive enough not to know when she was misbehaving and being a snob. This one looks like she should know better....not her fault as an actress, just that the casting's wrong.

It is growing on me, slowly. JLM is fantastic, and I actually thought the scene at the ball was lovely with him and Emma dancing, although I don't remember it being in the book? (them dancing in quite that way, not the ball, obviously)

Harriet is just too stupid and simpering, but Mrs Elton is spot on I think.