Speaking of shaking up the classics, what used to be called "Masterpiece Theatre" is now "Masterpiece Classic" and will be hosted by Gillian Anderson. If you read this blog, you probably already know that they are airing "The Complete Jane Austen" this winter, including some new BBC and ITV film adaptations as well as some old favorites. But you may have forgotten that it starts this week! Here's the lineup (Check your local PBS affiliate for times. They are generally Sunday evenings at 9 in my viewing area):
Jan 13 - Persuasion - Sally Hawkins appears as Anne Elliot, a woman destined for spinsterhood after a proposal eight years earlier. Then her spurned suitor reappears.
Jan 20 - Northanger Abbey - In a medieval house that appeals to her most lurid fantasies, romance addict Catherine Moreland (Felicity Jones) begins a relationship with the younger son of the estate.
Jan 27 - Mansfield Park - After being sent to live at Mansfield Park, Fanny Price (Billie Piper) navigates a labyrinth of intrigues and affairs among its occupants.
Feb 3 - Miss Austen Regrets - Courtship she knew well; only the last act eluded her. A film biography that dramatizes Jane Austen’s lost loves.
Feb 10, 17, 24 (3 part miniseries) - Pride and Prejudice - Colin Firth is Mr. Darcy and Jennifer Ehle is Elizabeth Bennet in the definitive adaptation of the most-loved of all Austen novels.
Mar 23 - Emma - Kate Beckinsale stars in the title role as the tireless matchmaker who professes no interest in matrimony for herself, only for her orphaned protégée, Harriet Smith (Samantha Morton).
Mar 30 & Apr 6 - Sense and Sensibility - Though poor, levelheaded Elinor Dashwood (Hattie Morahan) and her impulsive sister Marianne (Charity Wakefield) attract a trio of promising gentlemen.
PBS's Remotely Connected blog will be featuring guest writers to review and discuss these films, including Laurel Ann of Austenprose writing about Miss Austen Regrets, and yours truly writing about Emma. I haven't looked forward to winter, or television-watching, this much in a LONG time!
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