Modern interpretations of classic works tend to irritate me at the best of times. This looks like it will be no different.
The BBC plans to rewrite Charles Dickens tonight, complete with the f-word and a scene showing a character urinating on a grave. It has no right to do so.
It is typical of this increasingly cynical, ignorant organisation that it should put four-letter words into the mouth of Ebenezer Scrooge, and invent gross and disturbing scenes in a drama that is bound to be seen by the young and impressionable.
Does anyone really think the ‘watershed’ matters any more? Far better to abolish it and ask if the programme concerned deserves to be shown at all, if its makers cannot create proper drama without resorting to pornography, obscenity and violence.
It’s not the “young and impressionable” bit that annoys me. It’s the decision to rewrite a work that stands on its own merit. It doesn’t need rewriting. And it doesn’t need modernising. But we have up and coming writers and producers who think that bringing their woke cynicism to established work will get them noticed, who think that they somehow know better than the original author. I’ll be giving this one a miss, thanks all the same.
I’ve read about this somewhere else and had similar thoughts about it. With any luck no one will watch it, I can’t really imagine what kind of demographic it is aimed at. The Muppets version is an annual Christmas ritual at Stonyground Towers. I don’t recall that the original version had a talking rat in it either but it is a good telling of the story. Watch out for Michael Caine corpsing after the discussion about putting more coal on the fire.
We watched the 1938 Alec Guinness version yesterday: it’s a true classic and there’s no reason to watch any other.
I think you may be a little confused. The 1938 Christmas Carol stars Reginald Owen as Scrooge, the Alastair Sim Scrooge is from 1951 and the only film adaptation with Alec Guinness is a musical Scrooge from 1970 – and he doesn’t play Scrooge.
And this, following on from the recent disgraceful rewriting of HG Wells’ classic “Ware of the Worlds” to include an entire plotline (indeed almost the main one) revolving around women’s emancipation and sexism 1930s Britain…
I watched that one. Wished I hadn’t.
Not forgetting the plea to White Man’s Guilt of invading other nations and killing the natives wantonly.
These fuckers are screwing everything up forcing this PC and woke crap on us all. What is worse is they are using our money or our favourites to do so. Soon there will be nothing to watch except for this crap.
Absolutely right !
Mrs T became a fan of “Call the Midwife” a while ago. When the first series was produced it was fairly closely based on Jennifer Worth’s memoirs, and as such, it was an interesting (if not entirely accurate) viewpoint of the deprivations of (some) working-class communities in the early 1950s.
Later programmes were the result of BBC ‘wimmin’ doing the writing, with 5% storyline and 95% PC-ridden hectoring. Nuns in 1961 bemoaning the non-availibility of abortion on demand? Do me a favour.
There is little the Beeb’s PC harridans can’t screw up, these days.
As John mentions above. War of the Worlds was eviscerated. We got an anti-colonial speech from the central character that was completely out of character for the period. Quite apart from having lost me by that point anyway, it jarred precisely because it was a 21st Century woke speech placed in an Edwardian character’s mouth. Fuckwits.
“But we have up and coming writers and producers….”
My late Uncle Colin had a solution for dealing with such people: “Shoot the lot of ‘em.”
Despite the impending season of goodwill to all, I’m inclined to agree with him.
There is a thorough character assassination of Dickens taking place on the Beeb just now. I don’t doubt that he was a jerk but this is so tiresomely one sided.
From my understanding his marriage was unhappy and he dealt with it badly, but then, times were different. You know, the past being a different country and all that.
There was the one with captain picard about 20 years ago which actually wasn’t that bad. Just shows what 20 years of this marxist shite has done.
Do a version where the ghost of christmas yet to come is “woke”. Would that be a comedy or a tragedy? I could imagine Scrooge would double down on the humbug and think to himself if that’s what the world is going to look like to hell with it!
Those who think they have a god given right to debauch classics like this are the same ones who bleat loudest about how their “future has been stolen from them”.
I am starting to think that perhaps peak insanity might have been reached (or is this just wishful thinking?) Sargon has an interesting video just up, about the final (if only!) star wars.
This intergalactic train wreck has been pretty well reamed by just about everybody who has seen it but Sargon’s was about SJW reactions.
The ultimate Mary Sue (Rey I believe) has got literal godlike powers but they STILL complain that she is oppressed by the patriachy.
The less said about Worzel Gummidge the better!
“It has no right to do so.”
Eh? Of course it does! Why should any creative work be sacrosanct?
This is Hitch. Hyperbole is what he does.
I watched it. It was rubbish. Why do modern adaptations take twice as long as the classic versions. Alistair Sim’s black and white version is the best for me.
I decided to give it a go. You were wise not to. A free country really doesn’t need a state broadcaster.
Saw the first episode. My attention wandered just 20 minutes in. Didn’t bother going back last night.