What in the heck!? No sooner does the CW announce a modern Great Expectations-based series, than ABC follows suit with one of their own! They're developing a GE-based primetime drama called Legacy.
Well, Hollywood, all this attention is very flattering to Mr. Dickens . . . but you do realize he wrote other books, right?
Sounds a bit like CBS inspired by BBC's Sherlock. And this makes at least four new GE adaptations, right?
Posted by: Marian | October 10, 2012 at 11:52 PM
The networks are always imitating each other.
And I don't know what you're thinking. Of course he didn't write other books. Certainly not any good ones. Nope. Not even of any kind.
Posted by: Christy | October 11, 2012 at 12:19 PM
Wow! I hope they bring up more of his works! I love GE so I'm really excited but I'd also love to see more! Never can have too much Dickens! :)
Posted by: Selenia | October 11, 2012 at 10:58 PM
How can there be FOUR Great Expectations all of a sudden and no A Tale of Two Cities film since forever?!
I guess it could be worse, though...I mean, on the bicentennial I had one person ask me if Dickens was currently in office and another ask if he was that guy who wrote Huckleberry Finn...
Posted by: Zeb | October 11, 2012 at 10:58 PM
I agree with Zeb! This is exactly what I have been thinking. There hasn't been a recent adaption (the last one was in 1989!) of A Tale of Two Cities and yet they keep remaking other Dickensian works. :(
Posted by: Nevra Liz | October 12, 2012 at 09:43 AM
I know someone who works in Hollywood -- here's what happens: someone pitches an idea, but the studio doesn't like the script, so they take the idea and have their own writers write it up -- the original creator of the idea has no control over what is done with it, and can't protect it from theft. That's why there are always similar TV shows / movie themes coming out at the same time -- an idea was pitched to two studios, both of them took it and did their own version. Someone obviously shopped around a modern GE adaptation, and two different television stations "took" the idea and gave it their own work-up; this is why we also have two versions of "Beauty & the Beast." Basically, being a writer in Hollywood stinks -- if you have a good idea, someone will steal it. (I'm sure the same thing happened regarding the two costume drama adaptations -- a script got shopped around, and the BBC/Film company wrote their own.)
Ditto on all the complaining about no remakes of A Tale of Two Cities. THAT is something that should be done!
Posted by: Charity | October 19, 2012 at 09:45 AM