I should have done more reading yesterday, but I'll admit that I was hijacked by my television for most of the evening. First, I enjoyed the Vikings loss (as only a Packers fan could) to New Orleans, and then Masterpiece Theatre ran the first part of its new production of Emma. I don't know that it will become my favorite Austen adaptation, but I already feel quite warmly toward it, as I saw an hour of it last year when I was in Great Britain. If I could have stayed there four weeks to catch all four hours, I would have!
I'm also enjoying it because it's a joy to watch Jonny Lee Miller knock the part of Mr. Knightley out of the park. Jeremy Northam was a good Mr. Knightley too, but Miller's bringing a bit more humor and a very appealing down-to-earth aspect to the role. Good stuff:
His double take at 1:40 makes me laugh every time. The dialogue here with Emma sarcastically asserting that a woman with a pretty face and not much wit will be "right at the back of the queue" with men is also spectacular. Kudos to screenwriter Sandy Welch, who also wrote the fantastic BBC adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South.
I think most PBS stations will re-run the program tonight after prime time if you missed it; otherwise, do check it out on DVD. Some people say there have been too many new Austen adaptations in recent years, but I am not one of them.
I adore Jeremy Northam. I recorded this version of Emma last night but I am not sure I'll be able to handle a different Mr. Knightley. But we'll see.
Posted by: Becky | 25 January 2010 at 10:33 AM
Wait, the other thing I wanted to say was, I enjoyed the Vikings loss WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY READING A BOOK! I always read during televised football games! You just need something not that challenging, in this case The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. (I have tried to read while attending actual football games in person, but that didn't go over very well.)
Posted by: Becky | 25 January 2010 at 10:36 AM
Sigh. Jeremy Northam IS getting old (like, my age). The bright side of the Vikings loss is that their billionaire owner won't have quite as much power to get a new stadium rammed through our can't-pay-for-bridge-maintenance state legislature (which also cut local state aid, meaning local budgets for libraries tanked).
Posted by: Sarah | 25 January 2010 at 12:55 PM
Becky,
JN made a lovely Mr. Knightley, but I think you'll be charmed by JLM too. Good for you on reading a book while the Vikings lost! A lot of the game actually overlapped with Emma, so I flipped back and forth for a while, and we ate supper while we watched the Vikings. But most of the year the Packers games were so depressing I read books while watching those too.
I'm not surprised you tried to read while AT a football game. Maybe practice will just make perfect on that. :)
Sarah,
Don't think of it as "getting old," think of it as "becoming the perfect age for Jeremy Northam." I hope you don't get a new stadium--ask the (big fat loser) Milwaukee Brewers and the Milwaukee taxpayers how their new stadium is working out.
Posted by: Citizen Reader | 25 January 2010 at 03:30 PM
I love Jeremy. But Jonny Lee Miller? Mmmmmmmm. I had to DVD this so I could watch all three parts on the same night, with no interruptions. I'm waiting with baited breath.
Packers? Well, at least we agree that hatin' on the Vikings is a good thing. Go Bears.
Hahahahaha. I tried to post this and the site said it could not process this data. Discrimination!!!
Posted by: Rachael | 25 January 2010 at 05:00 PM
Rachael,
Sorry the site gave you grief once again. I can't figure out if it's Typepad or the service I host through. Ah, technology. Making everything simultaneously easier and more ridiculously hard.
I think we can agree to dislike the Vikings, although when a new season starts we will have to go to our separate Packers/Bears corners...
I love Jeremy too. I was always pretty meh about Jonny (although I always did think he could do better than Angelina Jolie, to whom he was married) but he won me over here, I'll admit it. He doesn't smolder like Jeremy but I do love a Regency man who can be a bit sarcastic.
Posted by: Citizen Reader | 25 January 2010 at 06:11 PM
Bonnie and I also enjoyed Emma tremendously. I see why Emma falls for Knightley this time, which I did not get before. Bonnie is the football fan in our family, and she too was happy to see the Vikings but for different reasons. The last Viking I remember is Fran Tarkington.
Posted by: Rick | 03 February 2010 at 06:20 AM
Rick,
I'm so glad you like this version. What makes me mad is that PBS is cutting some scenes from the production to make it fit, but of course the entire thing in its uncut glory can be found on YouTube, and I'd suggest you watch it there if you ever get the chance. There's even more great scenes between Emma and Mr. Knightley!
Normally, I'm not so anti-Viking, and I did used to love Favre and do think most of his problems with the Packers were the fault of management, not him. But still...I'm just little enough to be pleased I don't have to watch him play a super bowl with another team.
Posted by: Citizen Reader | 03 February 2010 at 10:28 AM