Radio Times scans and Austen Season podcasts
Alert Janeite Kathleen scanned everything even remotely Jane Austen-related in the latest issue of Radio Times and sent them to AustenBlog.
Don’t forget to download the podcast audiobooks from Classic FM. Right now you can get all three parts of MP. We dare say they’ll have a different book each week. Enrico awaits his new treat.
March 14th, 2007 at 2:50 am
The ‘Byronic dash’ of this adaptation’s version of Edmund Bertram, LOL!
The review is rather damning with faint praise don’t you think? ‘Rather pleasant’ and to be enjoyed with a milky drink and some biscuits? I’ve got my DVD’s on order and I’ll be watching drinking a rather fantastic bottle of red wine, thanks all the same!
March 14th, 2007 at 4:25 am
Now I have a question that is on my mind for some time now, and I hope I can get my meaning through.
Who exactly IS Billie Piper? I confess, I read her name for the first time here on this blog (living in the wilds of central Europe), but I understand she is quite famous. Right?
Except from the things I can look up at imdb, I am curious about what “message” is delivered, what expectations are raised, when people read her name?
Like Kelly Osbourne is to play Fanny Price in opposite to Kate Winslow or whoever. Hmmm?
March 14th, 2007 at 4:48 am
Wow! Thanks Kathleen!! If you weren’t there I couldn’t see this!
I still don’t like Billie or Felicity’s real hair cut, but I hope both (and Sally as well) make a 5stars performance
Sylvia, I don’t know who is Piper too…but yes, it seems like Kelly O. playing Fanny
March 14th, 2007 at 5:33 am
Billie Piper began her career as a singer, aged 15. IIRC she was (at the time) the youngest person to have a UK number one single. She specialised in (IMO) horrible cheesy pop music. She married at the age of 18, a much older man from whom she separated about three years ago and has since re-invented herself as an actress. I’ve never seen her act in anything, but I’ve heard she acquitted herself well in everything she’s been in. She played Dr Who’s assistant in a couple of series, has done a couple of costume drama type things for TV, and is currently on the stage in the West End of London. She’s just written her biography (in her early to mid twenties, EEK), and is pretty popular/famous in the UK.
March 14th, 2007 at 6:44 am
Thanks, Helen.
And it obviously shoud read Kate Winslet above.
March 14th, 2007 at 7:55 am
Helen has nicely explained about Miss Piper. Not to be mean, and of course reserving judgement until I see it, I still do not like her hair and unlike the other two ladies (see cover page) she don’t look very period and just appears to be wearing a frock (oh, and hair colour clearly coming from a bottle isn’t very helpful. Couldn’t they have done something about the eyebrows then? OK, I’ll stop :P). I do like the short piece by Germaine Greer on Fanny Price (article 2), it’s really lovely and lays to rest the oft’Fanny-is-boring’ quip. Have downloaded the podcasts.
March 14th, 2007 at 9:43 am
Yes! The blonde hair all left to run wild and those dark eyebrows are just extremely distracting to me. I have read gobs of books on the Regency era and in those days young women tied their hair back neatly in a bun. The only time they would leave it down would be at home and just as they are about to go to bed.
If you are going to make a film or tv adaptation of a period drama, then I think the filmmakers have to make every effort to get the ‘period’ right. Be it in the costumes, hair, makeup, etc…..and for this reason I will always shake my head whenever I see Billie Piper and think of her simply as an actress playing Fanny Price, and for that she will never ‘blend into’ the role for me.
March 14th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Hmm, everything Billie has said makes it seems as if she truly has no idea who Fanny Price is. Maybe Ms. Greer could ’splain it to her.
March 14th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Or maybe like casting Hillary Duff as… Louisa May Alcott? LOL…
I don’t think I’ll even watch MP, or rather, I’ll wait for reviews first. Sounds horrid. In the bad sense.
March 14th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Sylvia L., like you I had never heard of Billie Piper…I am not sure about the rest of America, but here in the “wilds of the Pacific Northwest” she is not well known.
It seems clear the producers deliberately picked someone unlike Fanny Price to “appeal” to a “new fanbase”. It is insulting to the writing IMHO.
March 14th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
In spite of the short shrift being given her by a number of Austen fans, they need to realize that Billie Piper is a major factor in ITV’s push to break into classic programming which had been a virtual BBC monopoly so far. She, in fact, is presently one of the most popular young actresses in Britain by virtue of her role as Rose Tyler, helper to the eponymous Doctor Who. In fact, she turned out to be the mainstay in the show, with the actors playing the Doctor lasting only one season each. Undoubtedly, she would still be Rose Tyler now had she not been lured away by ITV.
The way I see it, Billie Piper is the icing on the cake as far as ITV is concerned in their grand attempt to compete against BBC. She may not be the perfect actress to play the role, but she is a most important icon in this coup by ITV.
I, for one, thought that her boyish, somewhat hard looks fit very well with the character of Fanny, who herself came from less than genteel origins; and I certainly would give her, and the show, a chance before coming to any conclusion. And to those who are not planning on watching the program, as an Austen fan, how would you be able to participate in any meaningful discussion if you had not seen it? Seriously.
March 14th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
I almost didn’t recognize Felicity in that second picture! She’s got some bangs there.
March 14th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Tony A., thanks for sticking up for Billie Piper. I really liked her in Doctor Who; I think she has some real talent. I don’t think I’ll be disappointed in Mansfield Park because I think for it to appeal to a modern audience they have to change it. I love Austen as much as the next person (on this site anyway hehe) but I rather despise Fanny at times (and, in my heart, Edmund too). So, to have her appeal to an audience, they have to make some changes, to give her some appeal and backbone. That’s what I think anyway…the last Mansfield Park movie was very different, so it would be nice to see if they have made the same sort of changes but not quite to the extreme they did there (as they blended in some of the Juvenilia and letters into the story as well). It just stinks I’m in the States and won’t get to see it for a while (unless I find some crafty, though perhaps slightly dubious, way of getting it before then!).
March 14th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
RE Billie Piper
Kelly Osbourne is probably a better analogy than Hilary Duff.
March 14th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Fanny is very conscientious and I don’t know what the problem is with her that everyone has. Why can’t someone who is good,quiet,and moral appeal to an audience? What’s the problem with Edmund besides his blindness to the faults of Mary Crawford? I know lots of people who fall into this category of personality. Just because someone is moral doesn’t mean they are a prig. Jane Austen gave a different personality to each one of her heroines. There’s a heroine for everybody to relate to. Others may relate to the Elizabeth Bennets, Emma Woodhouses, etc., but there are hundreds of girls out there that I think would relate to Fanny Price, myself included. No, I’m not exactly like her, but who is a carbon copy of the next person?
March 14th, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Lindsay, believe me there are ways. You could look through a previous post of mine, with suggestions on how you can get to watch the first issue DVDs. You could be watching Mansfield Park in time to help ease the pain of turning in your hard-earned cash to the goverment. Ha!
To me, one word describes Fanny best—courage. But poor Fanny. She has done nothing wrong, still she is so despised by so many. And poor Billie. It’s starting to rub off on her too. Janeites can sometimes be too severe.
By the way, those podcasts from Classic FM are abridged. Not my cup of tea, not even if it’s free.
March 14th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
Well, it all depends, Tony. Sometimes you have a two-hour drive, and an abridged audiobook makes the time fly. Sometimes you want to spread out your listening over several sessions, or an all-day marathon, and then the unabridged works best.
The only thing that got me–I have an abridged audiobook of Jeremy Northam reading Emma, which I love–EXCEPT it totally leaves out Mr. Knightley asking Harriet to dance at the ball at the Crown!!! How could they leave THAT out? It’s absolutely vital to the plot! But I really love listening to Jeremy read Miss Bates.
March 15th, 2007 at 1:28 am
Well, Tony A., I think that is the problem with Fanny: she does nothing wrong. It’s hard to deal with a character who is never wrong, because they come out either flat or self-righteous. I do feel sorry for Fanny many times in the novel, but in the end she is by no means my favorite character in MP (strange as you may think it is, I actually like Tom the best-I think he’s the most interesting). That is true for many people I know who’ve read MP, and so in the end it is difficult to create a movie where the heroine is overshadowed by the supporting cast. But, I hope they haven’t slaughtered it either
March 15th, 2007 at 8:09 am
I too don’t understand this dislike for Fanny.
People dislike her for being ‘good’ and dislike Edmund for ‘not being good’enough to see through Mary.
Personally I would have liked Fanny to give Henry Crawford a chance of turning over a new leaf (perhaps because his name is ‘Henry’).
March 15th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
I never liked Henry Crawford. Anyone whom Fanny doesn’t trust doesn’t deserve to be trusted. He had his chance to turn over a new leaf, and he ran off with a married woman. A man who would do that is not good enough for Fanny Price.
March 15th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
My sentiments exactly, Julie. A guy doesn’t deserve forgiveness just because he’s a “hunk.” During my first couple reads of MP, I thought that not even Edmund deserved Fanny. But thinking back, he did always stand up for her, ever since her first arrival. I guess he saw her a bit too much as a sister.
So, yes, he lost his way and was dazzled by Mary’s allure. But the Cluebat eventually took effect, and he came to his right senses in the end.
March 15th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
I don’t mind that Fanny has morals, but the fact that she has barely any backbone is so frustrating to me. I also don’t like Edmund because he professes to be so virtuous, yet goes along with the play with the excuse that he has no other choice (at least Fanny doesn’t go along with that whole debacle as easily as Edmund). Actually, by the end of the novel I just wanted to shake both Fanny and Edmund until their teeth rattled!
March 15th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
No backbone? Are we talking about the same Fanny Price?
The Fanny Price I know stood up to her uncle and told him in no uncertain terms that she would not marry Henry Crawford. The Fanny Price I know stood up to her cousins and their friends and did not act in a play she thought was immoral.
Sir Thomas had a lot of power over her. He could have sent her back to Portsmouth at any time, and for her to stand up to him like that took great courage and intestinal fortitude.
Perhaps she didn’t stand up to Aunt Norris, but my thinking is that Fanny picked her fights. Arguing with Aunt Norris about things that, in the grand scheme of things, were relatively trivial wasn’t important to her. But not being in the play, and then telling Sir Thomas that she wouldn’t marry Henry were not trivial so she did them.
Fanny Price is a fine judge of character (she could teach Elizabeth Bennet a thing or two) and most definitely does have a spine of stainless steel. She knows what her principles are, and she never varies from them. How many people do you know who can say that?
She’s also quiet and reserved and shy. Since when did those become bad things?
March 15th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Not a bad thing–but not to everyone’s taste, perhaps. I think it was Mrs. Austen who called Fanny “insipid” and I’m right there with her. And I think everyone knows my opinion of the Lord High Mayor of Wankerville.
That being said, I prefer Fanny and Edmund as Jane wrote them to the “improved” versions we keep having thrust upon us. Their characters are designed for the plot. (And I really do like Mansfield Park–I just find all the characters hard to like except William Price.)
March 15th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Wonderful post, Julie P.! That is exactly what I think!
March 15th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
I must admit that one of the things I truly enjoy about AustenBlog is the lively exchange of ideas, information and opinion–this whole exchange on Fanny and Edmund is interesting. I only feel as though I can add a word or two in praise of the author–
Really, I find it quite remarkable that we can and do have such deep feelings and emotions about characters in novels. I attribute this reaction on our part to the absolute mastery and genius of Jane Austen. It only speaks to her fabulous ability to write with such carefully crafted precision that we in some ways ‘personify’ her characters and speak of them as though they are real. I can only stand in awe of Austen’s talent; she still appeals to us in such a way that we debate and discuss the merits of “her darling children.”
March 15th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Fanny has a rather soft backbone to me, then. XD She stands up to her uncle in a way, but what I found most frustrating (haha, here I go again) is that she wouldn’t just say NO to Henry Crawford - he keeps stalking her, and she doesn’t have the guts to tell him to lay off. Being shy and quiet doesn’t also entail being weak: think of Anne Elliot, who is quiet but yet still has a will all her own and sees the stupidity in others. But, I’m an opinionated, non-shy person myself, so I suppose it’s also my own personal bias against those who won’t stand up for themselves in general.
March 15th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
In Praise of Fanny Price, “To Thine Own Self Be True”:
Henry to Fanny: “When you give me your opinion, I always know what is right. Your judgment is my rule of right.” Fanny: “Oh, no! do not say so. We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.”
“Fanny is the only one who has judged rightly throughout; who has been consistent. Her feelings have been steadily against it from first to last. She never ceased to think of what was due to you. You will find Fanny everything you could wish.”
Tony A, I am less concerned with ITV’s ‘coup’ than I am with misguided ‘improving’ upon Jane Austen’s characters. We all know Fanny is easily fatigued and cannot endure long walks. We know Edmund cares for her when he keeps Aunt Norris from sending her on long errands and by his gift of a horse to Fanny for her health. Fanny as a “tomboy” charging around Mansfield Park is silly. I could give a hoot about ITV. I do care about the wisdom in the novels. Nothing against Billie at all. And I certainly will see it. “Active Fanny” and all.
March 16th, 2007 at 3:16 am
With Mansfield Park set to air within a few days, and the DVD becoming available shortly after, might I suggest that we all settle down and wait until we have seen the show?
My reason for speaking out earlier was to voice my objection to this virulent attack, this feeding frenzy, first on Billie, and then on Fanny. I see this contumacious behavior as a feckless response to what we percieve to be the pollution of what we claim to be our own private world as Janeites.
We may not give a damn about ITV, but we must also realize that if not for their (economic) decision to launch this campaign, we would not be blessed (or cursed) with three, count them, Jane Austen adaptations in the space of weeks, and a fourth before the year is over. Perhaps not even one of these will be judged as satisfactory by the Jane Austen fanatics, but how can we expect a two-hour show to come even close to capturing the essence of the original oeuvre? If any or all of them turn out to be amusing curiosities and nothing more, it will be enough for me. But good or bad, I intend to pay to see them all for myself.
I’m certain there will be some irritating embellishments to be seen in these, but what adaptation is innocent of such crime? From the archery scene and Lady Catherine flip-flop in Pride and Prejudice (1940) to Mr. Collins’s floatation headgear (1980) to the Darcy strip-down and bathing scene (1995) [Why do I not hear howls of protests against this one?], who is to say that these are objectionable? These people, the writers, directors and actors, are not lying to us. They are doing what they are meant to do—make money for the studio. The Austen purists cannot expect them to accede to our demands because we are the minority. They have to sell to the larger audience.
The best we can hope for is that this campaign of ITV will attract enough interest among the plebeians so that a number of them might join the ranks of the Austen fans. Not too many, though. We want to maintain our cult status as Janeites. We cannot have a Rolls Royce in every garage—no, no, no, no. That will not do.
In the end, the true Jane Austen fan will view all of these as odd, and perhaps amusing, diversions. And then, she or he will eventually go back to reading the books, or to donning the iPod to listen to the unabridged audiobooks (*wink, wink*) of their most beloved author, the greatest author in all the world.
March 16th, 2007 at 4:13 am
Oh, but I DO object strongly to the ‘Darcy bathing scene’ in P&P1995. Doesn’t add anything to the scene and why would some jump into a pond wearing all their clothes? Not right. Either strip off completely or wait until you’re home in the bath
March 16th, 2007 at 6:24 am
Thanks Kathleen. Andrew Davies wanted Darcy in his birthday suit for the pond scene, but other people (wisely, IMO) said no. Davies has never been known for subtlety; instead, he has been known for his desire to titillate. The more I see of P&P1995 the less impressed I am with it, and I am still angry with him for ruining The Way We Live Now.
March 16th, 2007 at 8:57 am
Yes, Julie P. I’m terrified of what Mr Davies going to do to Da Man (the beloved Henry Tilney) in the new ‘Northanger Abbey’. I think we could go to down the local bookmaker and put a tenner on the odds of Andrew Davies’s Tilney stripping down and bathing. I weep. I really do. That ‘Behind the Scenes: Mansfied Park: ITV’ podcast starts with “what people say when they hear the word Jane Austen: corsets, big frocks and heaving bosoms, frilly shirts”….Sigh. I groan and bash my head on the wall in frustration.
March 16th, 2007 at 9:27 am
Tony, your scruples are admirable, but part of the rights and privileges of the Janeite is anticipatory obsession over and public parsing of everything published in regard to upcoming media. See, fangirl; fanboy.
I’m getting a really different vibe from Persuasion than from MP and NA, just in the media presentation and commentary, not having seen the films yet. It seems like MP and NA are going one way and Persuasion is separate, and the media presentation of the latter is much more accomplished and sensitive to the sensibilities of Janeites. Simply stated: they’re doing everything right. That in itself probably should make me suspicious,
but I’m rather enjoying being catered to a bit rather than being told to take my spinsterly purist scruples and shove them somewhere painful because We’re Bringing Jane To The Unwashed Masses And We Know Better Than You How To Do It, You Silly Blogger.
It may turn out that my mild confidence is misplaced. It may turn out that they’re more confident in their presentation because they have nothing for which to apologize. We’ll see, won’t we? (I remember how I was so positive I was going to hate the Master & Commander film with the fiery, red-hot passion of a thousand suns, but I loved it. Loved it SO much. I wish I could think that would happen from these films…)
Also, embellishments are one thing (and in a five-hour miniseries, The Everloving Pond Scene is that; it didn’t replace anything important) and rewriting is another thing entirely. Just saying.
March 16th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Andrew Davies also tweaked major plot twists from P&P the book thus changing the story materially IMO. If JA had wanted her audience to know that Darcy was at Pemberley before Elizabeth did, she’d have told us. And, in the same vein, if JA had wanted her audience to know that Darcy was responsible for Lydia’s marriage and Wickham’s commision before Elizabeth did, she’d have told us. But she didn’t.
It sounds as if he’s planning to do the same kind of party pooping with S&S. Lord knows what the dirty old man has in store for NA. I don’t even want to think how he’d “improve” Persuasion.
March 16th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Morning sickness is such a drag. I’ve missed the whole debate! First, I’m pro-Fanny Price. Whether or not she has a backbone is a matter of interpretation. And it’s not uncommon for people to be unable to see things from a point of view that is markedly different from their own.
The for or against Fanny debate is one of the most potentially vicious in all of Austenology. I had a long discussion with several people on a historical fiction board where I was the only one defending Fanny. Personally I find Edmund to be a typical guy: so blinded by Miss I’m So Cute And Clever that he misses Miss Perfect Mate right in front of him. He’s just darned lucky the book ends as it does. If Fanny hadn’t married him I sure wouldn’t have lost any sleep over it.
I’m with Tony on reserving judgement. And, not knowing much about Billie Piper, I have few reservations about her portraying Fanny. So she’s not like Fanny in real life. So what? It’s called acting for a reason.
Persuasion. Well everywhere it’s mentioned I see the words “tender, autumnal love story.” Perhaps execs don’t feel like they can monkey with a “tender, autumnal love story” as much as those stocked with teenaged characters.
I’m actually not a fan of the pond scene, since I’m not bowled over by Colin Firth in any capacity. It wasn’t necessary, but it didn’t change the plot really.
Tony…contumacious? Quite the vocabulary you have there. I haven’t had to look up a word in quite some time.
March 16th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Ina… heh. I suggest getting a hold of The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinarily Literate by Eugene Ehrlich. It is not as highbrow or supercilious as the title might suggest, and a valuable resource for any aspiring writer.
March 16th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Thanks for the compliment of feckless and contumacious behavior, I feel flattered to be called stubbornly futile, perverse, willfully and obstinately disobedient while polluting the world with my Rolls Royce. However, as to sexing up Fanny, I feel like Fanny herself would feel: steadily against it from first to last. Not pandering to the larger audience so ITV can make money. Nope. Sorry.
I am basing this on what they said themselves: “Piper makes a distinctly bouncy Fanny Price, romping around the exquisite location, in a blur of blond locks and flying petticoats. ‘She scampers everywhere like the bit of tomboy she is’”. She is NOT. “I am afraid you are very tired, Fanny,” said Edmund, observing her; “why would not you speak sooner? This will be a bad day’s amusement for you if you are to be knocked up. Every sort of exercise fatigues her so soon, Miss Crawford, except riding.”
What is next, Tiny Tim on steroids? Played by Schwarzenegger in The Timinator? Or Happy Macbeth on prozac? All said, thanks for giving me a chuckle, Tony A.
March 17th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
Thank you Tony. I not only have the audacity to aspire, but also to self-publish. A few have praised my courage in doing so, but in my case it’s more impatience than fortitude. This book goes straight to the top of my to-buy list. I have written it down, so now I just have to keep from losing the piece of paper before my next visit to Amazon.
MacBeth on Prozac actually sounds interesting.
March 17th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
It could be like Godspell, all bright with the witches doing jazzy numbers and Lady Macbeth checking into an aryuvedic spa to wash her hands.
March 18th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
I am relieved to read that others were not thrilled with Colin Firth’s pond scene and bath scene. These scenes distracted from the plot and even from the character development. I enjoy the “romance” (the “triumph of good” as well as the love story lines) of Jane Austen’s novels and movie adaptions. When the women’s clothing is too revealing or there are scenes like the above mentioned, the viewer becomes suddenly conscious of “bodies” and the actual actor FORGETTING the character that he/she is portraying. It takes a bit of time to get back into the story.
March 19th, 2007 at 3:15 am
I have been downloading everyday the Mansfield Park podcast, however since last friday I doesn’t work anymore. Does anybody else have problems? If someone would help me I would be very grateful, Northanger Abbey is my favourite and I can’t even get it!!