The first episode of the new BBC/FX Great Expectations is now available on Hulu. The Independent opines that, paradoxically, "the desire to sex up Victoriana" is "all very predictable." The Hollywood Reporter states, "What could have been a daring spin on a classic is transformed instead into a dreary slog," and CNN says, "The story ... grinds along sluggishly." According to The Evening Standard, "It’s not so much a dramatisation of Great Expectation[s], as a hollowing out of it in order to accommodate a very different story and almost unrecognisable characters." (Relatedly, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst has an interesting piece at LitHub, with the marvelous title "The Wizardry of Boz," taking a look at how the various adaptations of Dickens have shaped our view of his work.)
But the piece that most got my attention was writer/producer Steven Knight's interview with TV Insider, in which Knight said, "[Dickens] can never go all the way into those dark places. So that’s what I tried to do." You can read my Twitter rant on that quote here. The gist of it is that I'm sick and tired of people claiming to have added qualities to Dickens that are already there, and that Dickens could out-dark Knight with one hand tied behind his back. Just because he wasn't explicit or gruesome doesn't mean he was too timid to explore or create haunting pictures of the grim side of life.
Anyway, I'll probably be watching Episode 1 (there will be six total) tonight or tomorrow, and will share my thoughts here. I have to admit, after some of what I've been reading (and after the same team's Christmas Carol adaptation), my expectations are not great.
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