The Durrells

[Ally]

We've now had two series of The Durrells...

See... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5014882/?...

...based on The Corfu Trilogy by Gerald Durrell

I'm loving it but what do you guys think?

[Michael]

I've really enjoyed it. What I call good Sunday night viewing.
Again with TV adaptations it isn't quite the whole truth, far from reality.
Did we watch it for historical content? Nah

[Ivan]

My Family and Other Animals - There was a film made 12 years ago with Imelda Staunton and Matthew Goode which I find superior in every way to this new adaptation. The old film focused mainly on Gerald - his adventures and his perceptions of his family and the people he encountered on Corfu. There were some truly luminous scenes of Gerald in nature - observing insects and animals in their natural habitats - quiet moments of great beauty.

Don't get me wrong - I'm still watching the new version (as most of what comes on PBS via BBC is superior to what the networks produce - which is mostly garbage). I haven't read the books. Perhaps the new version is more faithful (?) - it seems to be focusing most of its attention on the mother and highlighting the comedic aspects of the narrative.

[María]

Ivan wrote: " My Family and Other Animals - There was a film made 12 years ago with Imelda Staunton and Matthew Goode which I find superior in every wa..."

Definitely it is not more faithful to Gerald Durrell's books. My idea when I first heard of the series was that it might be slightly based on The Durrells of Corfu by Michael Haag, but except for two or three essentials -the references to their economic condition and the alcoholism running in the family- I don't think they have picked too much from there either. I have just seen the first season and two or three episodes from the third and I feel that most storylines are pure fiction. And pure fiction in the style of something that you might as well find on the Disney channel, which is not really great :(...

As for the version with Imelda Staunton and Matthew Goode it was quite fine, and so it was the 1987 TV adaptation, which caught the spirit of the trilogy really really well.

[Raymond]

María wrote: "Ivan wrote: " My Family and Other Animals - There was a film made 12 years ago with Imelda Staunton and Matthew Goode which I find superio..."

Ally wrote: "We've now had two series of The Durrells...

See... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5014882/?...

...based on The Corfu Trilogy by Gerald Durrell

I'm loving it bu..."
Hi Ally, I'm very hooked on the Durrell family, the father and family, etc. Read everything that a-way. Thanks R

[Gary]

María wrote: "Ivan wrote: " My Family and Other Animals - There was a film made 12 years ago with Imelda Staunton and Matthew Goode which I find superio..."

Thanks for those observations, Maria. I have not yet seen any of the films/TV adaptations but will look out for the old ones, although I know the new ones are popular, too. I read My Family and Other Animals as a teenager and enjoyed it – I really must catch up with the rest of his books!