The Rory Gilmore Book Club discussion
Music, Movies, & Miscellany
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Reminder: PBS Presents Jane Austen
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Tomorrow is Persuasion, but Northanger Abbey will be airing on the 20th! Woohoo! I'm excited for all the new ones, but it will be fun to see NA since reading it with all of you. Masterpiece Theatre rocks! Okay, it's now just called "Masterpiece," but it still rocks. LOL
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"Jane Austen fans, enable your television sets with great alacrity"
No, seriously... it's right there in black & white at the top of the page.
Tonight there's actually two different ones showing. Jane Eyre is on earlier, and then Persuasion is on later. At least that's what Mister Tivo is telling me...he wouldn't dare lie to me would he? OMG!
No, no. Mr. Tivo never lies. He's just off by an hour or two sometimes. I watched the Jane Eyre series with my husband over the last two Sundays and it was really good. My husband keeps mentioning how much he enjoyed it. I think he surprised himself. He's all excited with me about the Austen movies now. It's darling.
I'm glad you two mentioned which one was showing tonight. I'd set up a season pass for Masterpiece and had been too lazy to see which it was.
And Michele, great title! Where did you read it?
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I have to warn you all that apparently the adaptive writer for Persuasion and Sense & Sensibility "expanded" it, as he felt the books needed "help." That annoys me. A lot. In fact I started crossing out paragraphs and writing things in the margin of the article like "ICK" and "JERK." LOL Mostly he just wanted to expand all the men in the stories. Um, no. It's a woman's perspective. That is the point. Sheesh.
The article, though, had some great quotes about her writing that I'll include a little later... have to do a couple things now (while it's still light).
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I could see that. I mean, you guys just plain rock.
I hope he hasn't made too many changes. Sense & Sensibility is my favorite.So is the Jane Eyre thing a Masterpiece Theatre too? I didn't see it on my guide thingie. It's not Austen, but I love it. I've yet to see a film version that I thought did justice to the book.
Jane Eyre is Masterpiece Theatre yes, I don't know for sure what really is going on with it all guide wise, and I won't until I check my Tivo tomorrow. I'd do it now but I'm too exhausted, just got back from the airport, and had a ridiculously long day. I will check it out though and report back in the AM!
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Alison, maybe only moderators can do that? You know, to remove offensive posts and stuff?
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I did ask my husband to TIVO the PBS thing tonight when I left for work around six, and I called him at 8:10 (it started at 8 here) and he said, "Yeah. About that. What channel is PBS?" So I missed the first 15 minutes of...Persuasion.
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The best Mr. Rochester ever in my opinion is Orson Welles. Not the best version - not even second best - but the best Rochester for sure. Brooding, imperfect, but with charm and a hint of good looks... oh, and that fantastic full voice. He just really suited it.
Anyway, I highly recommend watching that version of Jane Eyre.
By the way, around here on cable there are like eight different PBS stations to choose from... and the HD one has an entirely different program schedule, so it's a challenge to find what I want/need. Especially as they all seem to be showing different episodes of Masterpiece! So don't be mad at your hubby, Alison!
I wish DVRs here had the same options as the ones I had in the DC area where I could record a series on any station... like I could record GG on any station it was airing without having to find it. Sigh. Too bad.
Yeah, the real TiVo I think has the option of recording a show on any channel it's on. My Comcast DVR only records it on the channel I choose. It's annoying.
So I had subscribed to the Season Pass for Masterpiece Theater, right, and thought the show started at 9 pm for me. I go to turn it on at 9 and not only had it started at 8, but Tivo wasn't recording it! So I checked my Season Passes and it was still listed. So I'm sitting there having another wtf tivo moment when it occurs to me that someone mentioned PBS had changed the show's name from MT to just Masterpiece, and sure enough I had to get a new Season Pass with said new show title. It's really odd because it had recorded Jane Eyre w/o a problem. ugh! Anyhow I discovered that there was also a midnight and 3AM showing so I set it up to record the midnight one and we'll probably watch it tonight. Alison - there may be additional showings throughout the week if you still want to catch the first 10 minutes.
I caught Persuasion last night, and I loved it! I thought it was a great version, but I (sadly) have never actually read it. I thought the ending was a little cramped, like they tried to tie up any loose ends in the last five minutes. I'm sure Austen gave Mr. Elliott's exposure as a lying cad more time and development, but I can't be sure. I can't wait for Northanger Abbey next week. I've never read that one either so I'm interested in seeing it. Oh well, more books to add to the never ending "to read" list.
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I have read Persuasion, but it's been...9 years! How can that be? I'm sure I'll love it anyway.
Thanks so much for posting this! I had just done a search on my DVR for Jane Austen and NA and nothing had shown up. I was so excited to see this post and sure enough, 'Masterpiece,' showed up on my guide list. So I am all set to record. I got Persuasion last night (never read) and am all set for NA next weekend! Fun times!
I NEED DVR/TIVO!!!I missed Persuasion, but nothing will remove me from the couch for NA next Sunday. All you Jane Austen fans, I just found a Jane Austen group on goodreads by the way. It has a schedule of all of the PBS showings. Yay!
Sarah - I HATE my Comcast DVR for many reasons, that being one of them. I so miss my TiVo. The fact I've had to replace my DVR 3x also doesn't help my lack of love for it. digital cable isn't the best choice but it's all I have. Stupid southern directional needs!
We've had a lot of other problems with Comcast recently. If it happens again we're switching to SureWest. The only thing I'll miss about Comcast is the On Demand feature.
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I dunno. I do know that you can buy all of the BBC versions (Colin Firth. Yum) on DVD.
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I dont get PBS!!!!!!!!!! I dont know why!!! The other day Tivo was recording something from PBS and it said No Signal and I freaked out thinking my cable went out and when I turned the channel, everything was working, except for PBS!!
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Beautifully done. So intimate with her frequently piercing your soul by looking so fixedly into the camera. Captivating! I shall be lobbying for this volume for next month's read!
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Michele, before I even read your last post, I was reading message 27 with an English accent in my head (as I did all through Northanger Abbey). Great Austenisms!
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Here's and odd Austen connection. One of my all-time favorite TV shows is a British show called Spooks there and MI-5 here. The first two seasons the actor that played Mr. Darcy in the most recent version of Pride & Prejudice, Matthew Macfadyen, was the lead. Rupert Penry-Jones, who played Wentworth, became the lead when Macfadyen left.
But back to Persuasion. *Sigh.* I just love the intensity of it. It's not the most accurate depiction, but the way they used the subtlety of expressions rather than words was quite lovely. Maybe I'll watch it again tomorrow night. Hee!
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I was a little creeped out by the way she kept looking into the camera.
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Finally got around to finishing Persuasion tonight. I have to say I liked Northanger Abbey much better. I thought the director of Persuasion was trying too many filming gimmicks and it got annoying. I haven't read the novel, was Anne supposed to be very plain? I get that she's more sensible than her sisters but was she supposed to look plain also? And WHO was doing the hair for this movie? The hairstyles when they went to the concert were ridiculous. Can anyone find anything on the internet that shows if they really wore their hair like that back then? Also, I know Mary was supposed to be a silly woman, but I just wanted to slap her. She really got on my nerves. And the guy who played cousin William was so not attractive.I thought Captain Wentworth was very handsome though.
I made the mistake of eating some really divine dark chocolate after dinner, but the good thing is while it's kept me up late, I discovered this thread. How did I miss it before this, pray tell? (Chuao Chinita Nibs label reads, "Dark Chocolate Bar with Caramelized Cacao Nibs and Nutmeg." At $6.00 for the bar, which I gladly paid since my husband is on a business trip and chocolate is the next best thing to a hug, it lives up to it's name.)
I just ran downstairs and TiVo'ed the Masterpiece series. Thanks! I would have been sick if I'd missed much more of it. Now I think I'll have another nibble of that chocolate. What the heck. The damage has already been done ;)
It seems like there is some ambivalence on Masterpeice's interpretation of Persuasion. I personally didn't like it as much as the version from 1995 which is out on DVD now.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114117/
I'm eagerly anticipation tonight's Mansfield Park adaption.
Tonight's Mansfield Park is starring Billie Piper from Doctor Who! I am so excited, I'm recording it on my friends DVR so I can see it later.
KSR, you crack me up! I can rationalize a dieting discretion easily so it's nice to see someone else do it!Eat...And Be Proud!
;-)
Ugg...That should have been titled "Loosely Based on Mansfield Park."
Also starring is Michelle Ryan from the new Bionic Woman show. I had no idea she was British.
So... Mansfield Park... snore.I haven't read this one and I certainly hope it's better than the film. First of all, Fanny's hair style was much too modern. And the language didn't really seem Austen-like either; again, much too modern.
I know it was quite common back then for first cousins to marry but I still found it difficult to root for Fanny and Edmund to get together.
I thought Edmund's realization that he loved Fanny was completely out of the blue, far too sudden, and the ending was very rushed. Maybe this is a result of cutting it down to an hour and a half, but I thought this was the most poorly done part of the movie.
So far my favorite has been Northanger Abbey. It'll be interesting to see what they do with thie next three.
The 1999 theatrical release of Mansfeild Park was much better than this PBS edition. A problem I've been having with most of these PBS movies is that they all seem very rushed, which I guess is what happens when you try to condense novels into 90 minutes.I tried reading it once but didn't make it to the end.
I hated last night's adaption. It was painfully bad. I've read the book twice and seen the 1999 film (which I loved). I thought that the PBS version was so disjointed and hard to follow. I think you're right Arctic, 90 mins is not enough time. I wish they would have broken it into smaller chunks spread over a few weeks.
I have to agree that Mansfield Park was by far the worst adaptation. I thought they made Fanny too young and playful and they completely left out the part when she was shipped back to Portsmouth. And all of a sudden at the very end they made Mrs. Bertram knowledgeable and helpful when she was just basically out of it for the rest of the film. They added the unnecessary hair washing scene at the end for what reason? I did really enjoy Northanger Abbey and I am looking forward to next week's about Austen herself.
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Shannon, that part about her being shipped back to Portsmouth was pivotal bc it built a little sympathy for Henry Crawford. How can the story be told without that? Why was it removed? It makes no sense at all and becomes a different story altogether. Also, I found Aunt Norris far less annoying in the PBS telling of the story. I know we have to sacrifice some backstory, but come on already.Alison, I will have to check out the 1999 version bc IMDB.com revealed that Alessandro Nivola (honorable mention for a fine pair of dimples) plays Henry. Score!
I really didn't get the Aunt Norris character, or why she hated Fanny so much or why she stuck by Maria.
Summer, I totally agree that not sending Fanny back to Portsmouth totally changed the story. It was absurd. You really have to check out the '99 version. Alessandro Nivola is soooo handsome in it. There is something about the cut of the clothes in Austen's era that really suits him.
Huh. I almost watched this, but I got home late and didn't want to start halfway through. Good thing I missed it! I've netflixed the 1999 version and am psyched to see it.Also, for those who have this store, at Mardel (a Christian bookstore that stocks classics and educational supplies too), they have a boxed set of Jane Austen's collected works on clearance for $24.99. I'm going to invite my husband to make my week by getting it. Or, maybe for V-Day or something. It's pretty and hard-backed, and I think it's a great deal. For store locations, here's the link:
http://www.mardel.com/
“The Complete Jane Austen”
Sundays, beginning January 13, 2008
9:00 p.m. ET
– New Adaptations of “Mansfield Park,” “Northanger Abbey,” “Persuasion” and “Sense and Sensibility”; “Emma” with Kate Beckinsale and Emmy-Winning “Pride and Prejudice”; and Biopic “Miss Austen Regrets” –
I tried but failed to put this in the folder "General." It wasn't an option. Not sure what happened there. Anyway...