I was a latecomer to the Austen phenomenon. I HATED studying Emma in year 12. But then, you are meant to hate your HSC texts. (Then again, I loved 1984 and Brave New World...). I managed to avoid Old Jane at uni, but a few years ago I pretty much devoured all her works, along with the appropriations (Clueless, Bridget Jones, Pride & Promiscuity... etc) as well as ALL the film and TV versions of everything.
And in reality,without a syllable of hyperbole, it is a universal truth that Colin Firth is the ultimate in Darcy characters, and he shall never be surpassed.
(and nor shall the Wet Shirt Scene. Phwaor!)As we have already discussed Sunday Night, as the holiest of nights, should be devoted to The Bonnet Drama.
Last week, Lost in Austen started. It was not as good as the BBC-Firth P&P. Hell, NOTHING is as good as that. It didn't even reach the moorish heights of the Knightley/MacFadyen fluff (that forced both G & I to take sharp intake of breathe at the shot of Darcy striding across the moors. I say again... phwaor!@!!)
In fact, it was a little bit like Bonnet Drama Collides With Life On Mars/Back To The Future. A bit of banging on doors, trying to get back to... the future (in this case, Hammersmith). It wasn't quite bonnety enough to be a totally successful bonnet drama, but it was enough to whet the Austen tastebuds.
On the ABC, we saw it as 2 long episodes, which I understand is different to the ITV screening of 4 eps...I spent the first half of Ep1, silently begging Amanda to get her bonnet on. The fish out of water leather jacket was just distracting and annoying, when everyone else is looking fab in the decolotage and baloony in the arse in the empire line goodness. Her dramatically ironic whinging about what is meant to be annoyed the shit out of me- Amanda, sweety, you're in a different text, obviously. You got drunk and snogged Bingley. Your Mr Collins sniffs his hand once he readjusts himself. And Caroline is a muff diver. We're not in Kansas any more!
As she got into it, as she got MORE Lost in Austen, the story/the audience/Amanda and me all managed to suspend our disbelief a little more. She donned the empire line, she turned the diction up to 11, and dropped the dropping off the ends of her words. She took up the fan, the manners and reignited her Darcy fondness.
And it turns out George Wickham, actually not a bad guy!
Oh, and there was even a bit where Amanda convinced Darcy to jump in the pond, to recreate a wet shirt.... I couldn't decide whether to swoon or laugh hysterically. A combination of reactions I have not really done before...
Of course, the naffest bit was when Darcy followed her through a door and ended up bounding out of a port-a-loo into the main junction at Hammersmith (another one of those "I've Been There!!" moments), and she ditched her dishy boy who was offering her a trip to Barbados (which he sold the Ducati for. Hi5 and Jolly would be MORTIFIED!)... wow, digression much?)
And the All Live Happily Ever After Kissing With Tongues ending was also fairly naff too.
Overall though, it was more obsessive tele. Because, obviously, I need more of that in my life...
BUT!
Ruth Ritchie, possibly my favourite columnist of all (and she writes a TV column... way to go the high brow journo!) in her SMH Spectrum this week... committed the highest form of blasphemy for those that worship at the altar of Austen...
She said And why doesn't one of us, one of the vast league of misunderstood, misguided Elizabeths, get to go back to Highfield, to Pemberton, to the ball, and cock it up our way (jeans, yum cha and swearing).
PEMBERTON!!!! Ms Ritchie has just forfeited her invitation to dine at my estate when Pemberley and Darcy are mine.
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