Monday, March 23, 2009

Attn: fellow Charles Dicken's fans


I have been a major follower of Masterpiece Theatre since I was a teenager. My mom got me hooked to it. For those of you who are not aware of what Masterpiece Theatre is (it's actually called "Masterpiece Classic" now), it's a program that they have on PBS (for us, channel 79). It's on Sunday nights and they make wonderful and beautiful movies. They are called "made for tv" movies, so they aren't in theaters or anything. Anyways, starting this Sunday night, and continuing every consecutive Sunday for like a month, they are showing one of Charles Dicken's works "Little Dorrit." I have never actually read it or seen it but have read others by him. Here is a little summary of what it will be about:

Amy Dorrit's (Claire Foy) gentle spirit has never been dampened by the confining walls of the Marshalsea Prison she's lived in her whole life. Despite the dark shadow of debtor's prison, Amy lovingly cares for her father William Dorrit (Tom Courtenay), the longest serving inmate. A possibly redemptive light unexpectedly shines in the form of Arthur Clennam (Matthew Macfadyen), who has been left with the intriguing threads of a mystery after his father's death — threads that will intertwine his family and fate with the Dorrits. Clennam's exhaustive search for answers involves murder, fortunes gained and lost, the upper echelons and lowest dregs of society, and most surprising of all, a tender romance. Adapted by Andrew Davies (Bleak House, Pride and Prejudice), Little Dorrit, based on the book by Charles Dickens, is a sprawling story as timely as it is moving.

If you love Pride and Prejudice (with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth) and other English classics, you will probably like this. If your not familiar with Charles Dickens, his stories mostly take place on the dirty street of London but are always full of interesting characters. So it will be a bit more dark and grimy than Austen so be prepared. Anyways, hope you enjoy and if you are interested in learning more, just go to www.pbs.org!

3 comments:

David & Audrey said...

Sonny,
I hear that you might be moving out here to Georgia soon. That would be awesome. Do you know where in Georgia you would be stationed?

Ali said...

Hey, thanks. We love things like this. Don't have T.v. so I'll check into the library. We just watched Bleak House by Charles Dickens. If you haven't seen it, request it from the library! It's really good... and more grimey than Austen, I agree!

Other suggestions (just f.y.i.):

Cranford
Wives and Daughters
David Copperfield
Horatio Hornblower

Let me know if you have any others.

Julie said...

hey!! this is bosh. i updated mom's blog. hahaha. i'll have to teach her how to do it when i'm homeee...anywhoooo...too bad i don't have the actualy tv or i would watch thesseee!!! talk to you lataaa!