Death Comes to Pemberley

So many bad reviews that I'm surprised I watched it at all. I agree it was lacking in the costume department. Elizabeth seemed to wear the same dress or nearly the same one daily. A woman of her means should have better clothing. It also lacked in staff housing. No footman, not butler, not lady's maid. They're should have been a chef and a maid for the chef. All those maids in the kitchen should have been busy I'm the house. It wasn't true to the time. That aside I rather enjoyed it. I'm a sucker for period pieces. I loved seeing it all play out. I wanted more when it was all said and done.

Had this pvr'd so didn't get to watch it until recently. The main characters were mis-cast. Rhys as Darcy just didn't work, but he would have made a great Wickham. Matthew Goode should have been cast as Darcy, and not as Wickham. And seriously, who would have thought to cast AMM as Lizzie? Her presence was paper-thin, and had difficulty carrying the role and the dialogue to make Lizzie spring to life and be the object of Darcy's adoration. And by the end of even the first episode, I was seriously tired of seeing her in the same, ugly blue dress. I was beginning to think it was the only one she owned until they came up with the same dress in episode two, but this time in green. And that little bolero jacket, and the pickle-barrel bonnet was just too much for me. For a woman of means, after 6 years of being married to a wealthy man and representing the estate, you would think she had more than two daytime dresses, that she wore everywhere. Did she get them at the church jumble sale or the bottom of the missionary barrel? And Rebecca Font as Mrs. Bennett? Really??? That was just too painful to watch.

Firstly, I hate fanfic. My teeth start grinding after a few paragraphs, even when it's written by PD James.

Secondly, if you're going to do anything with P&P you have to judge your two main casting decisions with a perfection required almost nowhere else. We all know Elizabeth and Darcy so well. So the producers of two productions which have dared to go off piste, Lost in Austen and this one, must have thought long and hard. Gemma Arterton did extremely well in Lost in Austen, a blend of period drama, summer RomCom and Dr Who, and Anna Maxwell Martin, as you might expect, is simply perfect here, in Austen meets the Poirot Christmas Special.

Anna gives us the mature Elizabeth, holding court at her more informal Pemberley, with an older Darcy who has recovered all his manly confidence in personal relationships and yet is even more deeply smitten. They have a son and are clearly wonderful parents. Both characters have changed in exactly the way Austen predicted in her last chapter. Elizabeth has risen in status and now wears the authority of Mistress of Pemberley, rationally softened, like its master. They are unusually sparkly together and very reminiscent of the Netherfield scenes. This is principally down to the extremely good performances from two actors and an their understanding of their characters which goes way beyond the script.

The whole cast is outstanding, the best in a period drama since Emma09 and the mystery is satisfyingly interesting. There's lots of clever 'dialogue' with the original and arch references to earlier productions (it's the 95 Pemberley).

What's not to like?

Can't wait for the next instalment, as Pemberley itself is challenged and their relationship is tested. I do hope the Bingleys, Caroline at least, turn up soon.

Of course, it isn't Austen. If it hurts to think that it is, then imagine it as a 100-year prequel to Downton Abbey, 10 times better acted and 50 times better written.

Okay I know this is a piece of fan fiction, and I did enjoy it. It does keep you guessing til the end and it's worth watching. But....

When you use well known and loved characters from something as famous as Pride and Prejudice, they should at least stay faithful to their original characters. Which it does, mostly, but the portrayal of Elizabeth Bennett was just really off. She's supposed to be beautiful, witty and fun loving, whilst perceptive. In this she comes across as a plain, almost miserable woman. I did not like this portrayal at all and it did ruin it for me a bit.

This would have been a good series if it had not appropriated Jane Austen's characters and settings. I was surprised at the casting of Darcy and Elizabeth, who were both dour and unattractive. The plot was interesting, but rather than being an homage to "Pride And Prejudice", which, like "Gone with the Wind", should remain intact and untouched by those with less imagination. The production was excellent, with beautiful costumes and sets, as always for British period dramas, but the leads playing the Darcy's were too old. Elizabeth looked like a worn out servant of at least 45, when Elizabeth Bennet would have been 27 at most, with wit and sparkle. They could not rise to the performances of Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, who will always be the only Darcy and Lizzy. And why is the beautiful Georgiana so much taller than her own brother, who looks nothing like her? The mystery was a competent one and the performances of the supporting actors well done. But it does no justice to Jane Austen. This series would have been much improved as a period murder mystery with completely fresh characters.