The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (eps 1-20)
Jan. 29th, 2013 07:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessI saw the first ep a while ago, and my reaction could have been summed up as a grudging ‘need to give it a chance at least until Darcy comes on the scene’, Lydia got most of my laughter. I wasn’t sure how the vlogging format would work or the world.
Last night, I watched more episode in two chunks. I’d still say that, for me, it still doesn’t quite live up to the hype, but certainly by the teens and with more interaction and input from Charlotte, Jane and Lydia (still the funniest, trying to be so cool and sexy), I was more charmed. I think they’ve made Lizzie slightly too mean in her snark, although I get that that’s partly because of the format (although I like the actress’s range and everyone’s timing). It has made me promise to be more mindful of POV when I next read the book, which can only be a good thing. It’s interesting that this is all mainly Lizzie’s POV, Edited by Charlotte.
At first, the modern setting and the daughter’s obsession with her mother’s obsession with getting her daughters married off jarred, even more so because it is a world where Austen exists, or maybe it’s fairer to say it didn’t gel for me, but as the story got going it made more sense (and I stopped expecting the characters to turn around at the end and say ‘and thank you for falling for Lizzie’s project for her course’.) I liked the inventiveness of the adaptations, which is part of the joy of modern day Aus - like the reason Lizzie and Darcy were forced to dance with each other, the soldiers becoming college swim teams and Enron affecting the Bennet family finances. Oh, and the transmogrification of Kitty into Lydia’s cat, following her around. Harsh, but funny.
We’ve also got the focus on female friendship – Lizzie torn between whether Charlotte or Jane is her bestest friend, and the fact that all four contributors know each other so well, which is important in interpreting Jane, and again highlights Lydia’s cluelessness. I like Lizzie most in her quieter moments. I like that we have moved on from perfect make-up all the time, although there was an egregious bit of empty mug acting in a recent episode.
I will watch more, because I’m curious about how they’ll adapt the rest of the story, even if I’m still not as head over heels as the rest of fandom. (Which it seems laser targeted at.)
Last night, I watched more episode in two chunks. I’d still say that, for me, it still doesn’t quite live up to the hype, but certainly by the teens and with more interaction and input from Charlotte, Jane and Lydia (still the funniest, trying to be so cool and sexy), I was more charmed. I think they’ve made Lizzie slightly too mean in her snark, although I get that that’s partly because of the format (although I like the actress’s range and everyone’s timing). It has made me promise to be more mindful of POV when I next read the book, which can only be a good thing. It’s interesting that this is all mainly Lizzie’s POV, Edited by Charlotte.
At first, the modern setting and the daughter’s obsession with her mother’s obsession with getting her daughters married off jarred, even more so because it is a world where Austen exists, or maybe it’s fairer to say it didn’t gel for me, but as the story got going it made more sense (and I stopped expecting the characters to turn around at the end and say ‘and thank you for falling for Lizzie’s project for her course’.) I liked the inventiveness of the adaptations, which is part of the joy of modern day Aus - like the reason Lizzie and Darcy were forced to dance with each other, the soldiers becoming college swim teams and Enron affecting the Bennet family finances. Oh, and the transmogrification of Kitty into Lydia’s cat, following her around. Harsh, but funny.
We’ve also got the focus on female friendship – Lizzie torn between whether Charlotte or Jane is her bestest friend, and the fact that all four contributors know each other so well, which is important in interpreting Jane, and again highlights Lydia’s cluelessness. I like Lizzie most in her quieter moments. I like that we have moved on from perfect make-up all the time, although there was an egregious bit of empty mug acting in a recent episode.
I will watch more, because I’m curious about how they’ll adapt the rest of the story, even if I’m still not as head over heels as the rest of fandom. (Which it seems laser targeted at.)
