Pride and Prejudice (BBC)

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.20.2007

PLEASE NOTE: This is not the BBC/A&E version with Colin Firth. This is an older production by BBC.

Ugh! Talk about horrible writing on this miniseries (see below). I admit I was so disgusted that I didn’t finish the DVDs. The other BBC/A&E version is so much better written and truer to the book.

Costumes: score 4. In general, nice designs and more in line with the types of gowns from the time period. However, most of the designs were a little plain for my own taste, even for the wealthier ladies who would have richer clothing.

Acting: score 3. Nothing terribly bad but nothing outstanding, either. I didn’t take to the actress who played Elizabeth and didn’t quite care for Mr. Darcy, either. Charlotte is the same actress from Sense and Sensibility (BBC), and I liked her a lot although she has a smaller role. I’m not sure if it was the lines or the acting, but Mr. and Mrs. Bennett “played at” being incompatible. Mrs. Bennett didn’t seem terribly annoying and Mr. Bennett seemed more bitter and dour than put-upon and witty, as he was in the book and in the A&E miniseries.

Camera/filming: score 4. I thought it was quite good for a miniseries. It wasn’t movie quality—more like soap opera camera film—but it was nice and not distracting like I found Mansfield Park.

Musical score: score 3. Nice score and instrumentation, although they also didn’t utilize music as much as they could have.

Script: score 1. Perfectly awful. Not true to the book, but even despite that, it wasn’t true to Regency times. The added scenes and lines were not believable. Lots of little things in practically every scene, in dialogue and in actions. Pacing was fine, but the lack of accuracy bothered me so much I stopped the DVD.

Overall Score: 3 out of 5. This was horrible, in a different way than Sense and Sensibility had been. I liked the main actors better in Sense and Sensibility, but the script was bad in both series.