Dickensblog

The December 2024 'Christmas Carol' schedule

Time has flown -- I could hardly believe it when I spotted an airing of Scrooge (1951) on this morning's TV schedule! So it's time once again (past time, given that there's already been one airing!) to let you know when and where you can find your favorite Christmas Carol adaptations this year. Keep checking back for updates.

• A Christmas Carol (1910, starring Marc McDermott): This airs as part of Christmas Past (1925), a compilation of silent short films, which will air December 22 on TCM.
• Scrooge (1935, starring Seymour Hicks): Colorized version free on Prime, Tubi, Plex, and Pluto TV, and available for rent on Apple TV. Black and white version free on Xumo Play, available with subscription on PBS Passport, and available with premium subscription on YouTube. Also available (I'm not sure which version) with premium subscription on YouTube TV and the Roku Channel. 
• A Christmas Carol (1938, starring Reginald Owen): Airing on TCM December 8. Available with subscription on Max. Available with premium subscription on Prime, Hulu, YouTube TV, and the Roku Channel. Available with primetime subscription on YouTube. Available for rent on Google Play Movies & TV, Fandango at Home, and Apple TV. 
• The Christmas Carol (1949, starring Taylor Holmes and Vincent Price): Streaming on YouTube. Available with subscription on Peacock.
• Scrooge, a.k.a. A Christmas Carol (1951, starring Alastair Sim): Airing on Movies! TV Network, December 3, 22, and 25. Airing on Fox Movie Channel December 24 and 25. Free on Tubi and Plex. Available with premium subscription on Prime and Sling TV.
• Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962): Available with subscription on Peacock. Available for rent on Prime, Fandango at Home, Apple TV, Google Play Movies & TV, and YouTube.
• Scrooge (1970, starring Albert Finney): Free on Pluto TV, Plex, and Sling TV. Available with subscription on fuboTV, MGM+, and Paramount+. Available with premium subscription on Prime, YouTube TV, Philo, and the Roku Channel. Available for rent on Google Play Movies & TV, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home.
• Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983): Available with subscription on Disney+. Available for rent on Prime, Fandango at Home, Apple TV, Google Play Movies & TV, and YouTube.
• A Christmas Carol (1984, starring George C. Scott): Airing on Flix December 9 and 14. Free on Tubi, Sling TV, Plex, Xumo Play, and the Roku Channel. Available with subscription on Hulu. Available with premium subscription on Disney+. Available for rent on Prime, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home.
• The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992, starring Michael Caine): Available with subscription on Disney+. Available for rent on Prime, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, and Fandango at Home.
• A Christmas Carol (1999, starring Patrick Stewart): Airing on TNT December 5 and 6. Also free on TNT's streaming service for those with cable TV. Available with subscription on Paramount+. Available with premium subscription on Prime, Hulu, Sling TV, YouTube TV, and the Roku Channel. Available for rent on Prime, YouTube, Apple TV, and Google Play Movies & TV.
• Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009, starring Jim Carrey): Airing on Freeform, December 3, 5, 6, 10, 14, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, and 25. Airing on Fox Movie Channel December 25. Available with subscription on Disney+. Available for rent on Prime, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, Sling TV, and Fandango at Home.
• FX's A Christmas Carol (2019, starring Guy Pearce): Airing on Fox Movie Channel December 24 and 25. Free on Fandango at Home. Available with subscription on Hulu and Apple TV. Available with premium subscription on Disney+ and Sling TV. Available for rent on Prime.
•  A Christmas Carol (2020, starring Simon Russell Beale and Michael Nunn): Free on Prime, Fandango at Home, Plex, and Tubi.
• Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022, starring Luke Evans): Available with subscription on Netflix.

As always, if you spot any mistakes or know of any I've missed, please let me know in the comments section!

'The Artful Dodger' gets a second season

Disney+ and Hulu have ordered a second season of the show about the Artful Dodger's adult life as a doctor in Australia. I ended up enjoying the show very much, despite some gross-out moments (as I mentioned in my review of the first episode) and despite the fact that I didn't like its treatment of the grown-up Oliver Twist (based largely on modern distaste for the character, instead of on Dickens's portrait of him as a brave and loyal soul). Those were minor issues in what was on the whole a fun and imaginative show, and I look forward to seeing more of it. 

R.I.P., Timothy West

The beloved British actor played John Dickens in the 2002 miniseries Dickens, Sir Leicester Dedlock in the 2005 Bleak House, and Josiah Bounderby in the 1977 Hard Times. He passed away on Tuesday, November 12, at the age of 90. 

TCM alert

A Tale of Two Cities (1935) airs on the channel at 7:45 this morning.

Thoughts on BBC Radio 4's 'Little Dorrit'

I had high hopes for the new radio dramatization of one of my very favorite Dickens novels. What I got was a mixed bag. The atmosphere is a good blend of cozy and eerie, and I like the device of having a narrating Charles Dickens thinking his way through the story as he tells it. But adapter Mike Walker took it upon himself to take a number of liberties with plot and characters. Amy is too feisty, Arthur too hapless, and astonishingly, the characters of Mr. Meagles and Mr. Merdle have been combined into one man (who says "I say" more often than Foghorn Leghorn), for no reason that I can fathom.

One standout character is Affery; Sarah Thom's portrayal hits all the right notes of affection, timidity, confusion, and prescience. Carl Prekopp's Pancks and Lauren Cornelius's Maggy also come off very well. But so many characters have been cut that it does damage to the story; for instance, Arthur can't win Amy's trust by doing Tip a good turn when there's no Tip to do a good turn to. There's too much time spent on events like a party at Mr. Meagles/Merdle's house (and there isn't even a Mrs. Meagles/Merdle to liven it up!) that could have been used to bring in more characters, at least briefly. 

Note that this is a review of episode 1 only (as I did with Hard Times). Episode 2 is up, but I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. I'm hoping for better pacing and characterization in the upcoming episodes, but I fear that the creative minds have already undermined themselves by stripping the cast down to the bare bones.

R.I.P., Maggie Smith

The great Dame Maggie Smith, who passed away yesterday at the age of 89, is being celebrated all over the world for a plethora of wonderful performances and roles. Here at Dickensblog, let us pause to remember her brilliant work as Aunt Betsey Trotwood in the 1999 TV adaptation of David Copperfield. (The clip is taken from an awards show -- the actual scene starts at 0:11.)

To see one of your favorite actors portray one of your favorite characters is always a special treat, and that was what Smith's portrayal of Aunt Betsey was for me. In the clip below, her confrontation with the Murdstones, Smith runs the gamut of emotions in just over a minute. She's affectionate with David, magnificent in her rage at his tormentors, venomous as she finds and pushes Mr. Murdstone's buttons, and then she perfectly underplays her parting shot at Miss Murdstone. For longtime Dickensians and for newbies alike, it's utterly satisfying.

New Dickensian dramas on BBC Radio 4

On Sunday, September 29, BBC Radio 4 will begin airing a whole season of new Dickens audio dramas:

• A two-part Hard Times, starring David Morrissey, Rachel Harper, Ike Bennett, Shaun Dooley, Janey Orchard, Jan Ravens, Will Close, Arthur Hughes, and Claire Cage;
• A three-part Little Dorrit, starring Jason Watkins, Samuel Barnett, Kitty Archer, Paul Bradley, David Tarkenter, and Claire Price; and
• A three-part Our Mutual Friend, starring Bukky Bakray, Sule Rimi, Issam Al Ghussan, Jeremy Ang Jones, Bettrys Jones, and Delilah Tahiri.

The channel will also be airing special Dickens-themed episodes of its show "Opening Lines," examining each of the three books adapted here. 

Listeners outside the UK should be able to access all shows via the BBC Sounds website and app. Go here to learn more!

TCM alert

Oliver Twist (1948) airs at 3:30 p.m. Eastern today, as part of a day of British productions.

TCM alert

Oliver! (1968) airs on the channel at midnight Eastern tonight, as part of its "First Name Basis" feature (films named after their main character).

TCM alert

A Tale of Two Cities (1935) will air on the channel at 5:45 p.m. Eastern today, as part of a birthday celebration for producer David O. Selznick.