Dickensblog

'Dodger' casting news

CBBC, the BBC's children's channel, is going ahead with its Oliver Twist prequel series, with Christopher Eccleston starring as Fagin, Billy Jenkins as the titular Dodger, Saira Choudhry as Nancy, and David Threlfall as the chief of police. More information, including a photo of Jenkins as Dodger, is here and here. 

TCM alert

Oliver! is on again today at 1 p.m. Eastern.

TCM alert

A Tale of Two Cities (1935) will air this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Eastern, as a part of "31 Days of Oscar."

R.I.P, Helen McCrory

The British actress portrayed Kate Dickens in the 2002 docudrama Dickens. She passed away on Friday at the age of 52.

TCM alert

Oliver! airs tomorrow at 8 p.m. Eastern, as part of the channel's "31 Days of Oscar" lineup.

TCM alert

Sorry I'm getting this alert up super late, but Great Expectations (1946) airs at 2 p.m. Eastern, as part of the channel's birthday tribute to director David Lean!

TCM alert

Oliver! will air tonight on the channel at 8 p.m. Eastern. 

'Twist' released in the U.K.

The new Oliver Twist update has been released via British movie channel Sky Cinema, and the early reviews are . . . not great. Take a look here. If you're in the U.K. and have seen Twist, let us know whether you agree with the critics, or enjoyed it!

A tale of four podcasts

I've recently been a guest on various podcasts to talk about Dickens! Here are some links:  

• The Christian Humanist with Michial Farmer (talking about The Gospel in Dickens)
• The Sectarian Review with Danny Anderson (talking about The Gospel in Dickens)
• The Great Books with John J. Miller (talking about A Tale of Two Cities)
• A Cozy Christmas with Art Kilmer, longtime Dickensblog reader and Facebook group member (talking about A Christmas Carol)

And don't miss Art's subsequent episode, where he continued the A Christmas Carol discussion, this time with Gerald Dickens!

In related news, I was on the radio show Chris Fabry Live today to discuss The Gospel in Dickens. I believe that episode will be archived online soon, so I'll post a link if and when it is.

MAJOR TCM alert

Turner Classic Movies is giving us a whole night of Dickens tonight! After kicking things off with A Christmas Carol (1938) at 8 p.m. Eastern, they're showing . . . 

• David Copperfield (1935) at 9:30 p.m.
• Great Expectations (1946) at 12 a.m.
• Oliver Twist (1948) at 2:15 a.m.
• A Tale of Two Cities (1935) at 4:30 a.m.