Lost in Austen broadcast starts September 3 on ITV1
Alert Janeite Boris posted in comments a synopsis of the first episode of Lost in Austen from ITV’s website; it’s got quite a bit of detail that might be considered spoilery, so be warned. The first episode will be broadcast on Wednesday, September 3, from 9-10 p.m. We presume the other episodes will fill the same time slot in subsequent weeks. Notice it is not being broadcast during the family hour. Hmmmm.
Which brings us to the item that irritates us the most in this synopsis: “Episode 1 of 4.” ITV is giving this thing well over 3 hours when NA, MP, and Persuasion got less than 90 minutes each.
John Sutherland snarks a bit in the Guardian, but like everyone else, isn’t quite sure what to expect.
A couple of articles in the British press discuss the autumn trend of costume dramas, feeding on the success of the Austen adaptations from last year as well as Cranford and Lark Rise to Candleford. The Daily Mail suggests this trend is meant to offer comfort in a time of economic uncertainty, though a commenter points out that one of the upcoming films, an adaptation of Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles, is hardly a comfortable story. The Times has a similar article.
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Please tell me that we wont be missing out on this in the states?! (awesome blog by he way, So happy to ahve found it)
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I haven’t heard anything about it being broadcast in the U.S. at this point. That doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll be missing it, however…
But I don’t know if it’s worth getting all excited about, really. (And thanks for the kind words.)
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I’m definately not excited. I’m not even sure if I can bother to watch it. Maybe if there’s nothing else on. I saw the ad the other day, and it looks truly awful! Not even funny. Just bad.
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Elliot Cowan looks very dashing as Mr Darcy! I’m looking forward to it - lots of times I’ve wished that I could be in a Jane Austen novel!
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Definitely the same slot for the other episodes, ITV has now uploaded the sinopsis for Episode 2 and it is scheduled for Wednesday 10th 21:00 GMT:
http://www.itv.com/PressCentre/LostInAusten/Ep2Wk37/default.html
Once again, be warned that it contains a lot of spoilers.
August 23rd, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Thanks for the 2nd synopsis, Cinthia! But unfortunately it doesn’t really sound any good, does it? And that’s quite an understatement. I will watch it, but I fear the worst. I think this could have been better if it was about a modern day girl getting lost in the Regency period, but not necesarilly in the story of Pride and Prejudice. More like in the book ‘Confessions of a Jane Austen addict’.
By the way, is this story not also about Elizabeth Bennet in the modern world? Because while Amanda is busy ruining the story of Pride and Prejudice, what’s happening to the real Lizzy?
August 23rd, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but my Suedar is pinging like an Atari.
SPOILY SPOILERS BELOW! BEWARE SPOILY SPOILERS!
Having admitted she can’t play the piano, to their bemusement, Amanda sings an accopello version of Downtown. There’s a hint that Mr Darcy’s attitude towards Amanda is softening.
Well of COURSE it is! She’s so ORIGINAL! The hero MUST fall in love with the ORIGINAL Miss Mary Sue!
(And…it’s a cappella. Accopello indeed. Sheesh. I bet the BBC would have got that right.
)
Wickham. . .rather likes Amanda
Well of COURSE he does! All fictional heroes AND villains are susceptible to the charms of the great and powerful Mary Sue! Why should Wickham be any different from, say, Draco Malfoy? All hail the Sue! HAIL I SAY!
Jane is wedded to Collins
……Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.
END OF SPOILY SPOILERS!
Honestly, I don’t mind a little messing with P&P in the name of good fun, but unless these synopses are way off, this is just textbook Mary Sue, and that makes for bad fan fiction, fellow Janeites.
August 24th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Can you explain the Mary Sue thing to me?
August 24th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
More than you ever wanted to know at Wikipedia.
August 25th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Thank you for the links, Mags! I read enough to know that the love affair goes too far for me to care to ever see the series.
Isn’t it ironic to create such a blatant Mary Sue and then mention in all of the interviews that everybody is going to love her?!
I enjoyed the Guardian article.
August 25th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Interviews with the actors on a new site:
http://lostinausten.com/
A quote from the interview with Mr. Hugh Bonneville (Mr. Bennet):
“ How does Mr. Bennet feel about Amanda Price? Does he like the effect she has on his family? ”
“ Lizzie is clearly Claude’s favourite daughter, the brightest spark. And in Amanda Price he sees many of the same qualities. She may wear very peculiar clothes, speak in an urban vernacular the like of which he has never heard, but her effervescent spirit and evident good sense makes her a natural ally during Lizzie’s temporary absence. As far as Claude is concerned, Amanda is the only woman in Longbourn who occasionally manages to think before speaking; his brood could do well to learn from her. ”
August 25th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Boris, it’s much worse than just Mr. Bennet’s interest in Amanda! Check all of the mentions of the lake in the interviews!
For those who aren’t afraid of spoilers I created a list of Amanda’s typical Mary Sue characteristics (based on the official information). Truly impressive!
August 25th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
That site looks a bit suspicious. It says it is made by a fan, but the name’s owner is only “admin”, then a lot of interviews and production information which nowhere else is available (other blogs, like this one, cite their sources) in just one day. It seems like somebody is being paid by ITV to act as a “fan” to promote the program.
August 25th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
CLAUDE!! Did the name even exist then?’
Even if it did, it sounds wierd on Mr. Bennet - so unbennet like.
Why does it keep bringing ‘clod’ to mind.
August 25th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
I think I’ve found the source for that LiA blog. ITV has uploaded a Press Pack, it is in Word and can be downloaded over here:
http://www.itv.com/PressCentre/Presspacks/LostInAusten/default.html
August 25th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Conffirmed, that Press Pack is the source. It has more photos and the synopses for Episodes 3 and 4 too. And I’m still in the “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” camp regarding LiA.
August 25th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
This fan-blog thing isn’t new. I’ve already seen websites supposedly set up by fans before the airing to promote new programmes (Cranford and Bonekickers spring to mind).
August 25th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Patty, do you mean the Cranford website that just happens to be linked to on the Lost in Austen “fan” site?
At first I thought this was an official site hiding as a fan site, but now I’m beginning to think it’s someone trying to harvest hits to make money on Google ads and Amazon links. It’s still not a real “fan” site. How can something that’s never aired have fans?
September 10th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Well, I am sorry to have to tell you ther the Bingleys and Darcy are imposters… gentry indeed?…. they can’t tell the difference between a pianoforte and harpsichord!
September 10th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Hi Mike!!!!
September 10th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Greetings Mistress Mags.. I trust the world is treating you at lease civilly as a bare minimum?
September 10th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Oh, not too badly.
Come up to the top of the blog, we’re snarking all the goofy anachronisms.