Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Period Drama Week Tag: Part 2



Continuing my Period Drama Week Tag! Here's part 2!


6. Which author do you like the adaptations of their works best?
 Obviously Jane Austen! But I also liked the Elizabeth Gaskell adaptations (but to me North and South was only okay).

7. Which period drama characters are the funniest to you (Keep it under three)?
Lady Violet (Downton Abbey)
Lady Violet is the Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey. She constantly butts heads with Cora, the current Countess of Grantham. There are a number of great lines from her and said perfectly by Maggie Smith. She's hilarious! I love her quote "So put that in your pipe and smoke it!"

Twister Turrill (Lark Rise to Candleford)
Okay, I'll admit that I liked him a lot better in Season 1 (halfway through Season 2, he got a little annoying), but Twister is an amusing character. One of my favorite quotes from him is this (though I'm recalling this purely from memory; the actual quote may be different) "Young Alf, can I borrow your hat? I was going to do a trick for our squire, the one where I make my hat disappear, and it in't anywhere to be found."

8. Which period drama characters are the most annoying (Keep it under three)?
Ooh! We all have them! Those characters that just annoy you! Here are some of them. There are probably a lot more.

John Willoughby (Sense and Sensibility)
He doesn't take his responsibilities. He makes women believe that he loved them and then leaves and breaks their hearts! Plus, he was speaking so cruelly about Colonel Brandon!

William Dorrit (Little Dorrit)
I did feel sorry for him at the beginning of Little Dorrit: poor guy, he had been cooped up in the Marshalsea for twenty-one years.Spoilers But when he got his fortune, he turned into a really big jerk! He valued his eldest daughter Fanny, who's very rude, over Amy who is all kindness! In fact, he would put down Amy frequently for not "acting like a lady" because she didn't do nothing all day. End of Spoiler


Edward Rochester (Jane Eyre)
*Ducks for Cover* I know there are a lot of girls that love him, but I honestly can't see how. He just absolutely irritates me! He is very rude; he messed with Jane's feelings and made her think that he doesn't care for her; he lied to Jane; and then he wanted Jane to do something that would censure her from society; he can't control his temper or emotions (he obviously hasn't read Sense and Sensibility). Again, I know there are a lot out there that would disagree with me, but still...

9. Which period drama characters are in your top three?
Again, I'm probably going to have to exclude Jane Austen characters since they would take up my three. But, if you would like to read about them, click here for my Jane Austen Week Questions.

Cora (Downton Abbey)
Like I said before, she cares for her daughters and tries to get them good husbands since Downton is entailed away from them.

Amy Dorrit (Little Dorrit)
Again, Amy is a very caring character -- she takes care of her family even though they don't appreciate her as they should, and she continued to care for them.


Beatrice Eliott (House of Elliot)
I really like Bea -- she was a lot more sensible than her sister, Evie, she had a mind for business, and she loved to sew.


10. When you watch period dramas, what is it that you pay the closest attention to (ie. costuming, scenery, etc.)?
I pay attention to a number of things when I watch period dramas. I'm not quite sure which I pay the most attention to, but there are a couple of things that I pay very close attention to. Costuming definitely, since I like sewing historical costumes. When I pay attention to the costuming, I can also usually pick out any anachronisms in the fashion. I also notice quickly if I've seen an actor or actress in another period drama.





Stay tuned for Part 3!




 God Bless,
 God Bless, Miss Elizabeth Bennet

5 comments:

  1. You know, I collect my dramas on DVD since we don't get TV, and I've had House of Elliot for a couple of years - got it at 50% off the whole series! I just haven't had the time to sit down and watch it all the way through. It's been an especially difficult working year for me at school and now I'm into another school year. I run to these lovely literary adaptations for respite - but have had precious little time recently. Hopefully I can make the time this fall to get back into a viewing regimen. Love what you're doing with this site - sort of like a mini-getaway for me - a guilty pleasure . . .
    Joy!
    Miss Kathy

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  2. Enjoyed this post!

    I agree with all 3 of your annoying characters...especially William Dorrit (I sort of mentioned him in mine. He really did drive me nuts and as you say, especially after he turned into a snob - telling Amy not to associate with Arthur anymore REALLY made me mad. GGGRRRR!)
    I don't like Mr. Rochester either. Have you read the book? I've heard that he's a little better in the book. He wouldn't really make my annoying character list - he's sort of a strange combination of annoying, funny, odd, and something sort of good. haha ;-)

    Maggie Smith is also hilarious in David Copperfield (Betsey Trotwood) - she's one of my favorite characters in that movie. "If I catch you trespassing on my green again, I will knock your bonnet off. And tread upon it!"
    You should watch that. :) And other Dickens such as Bleak House and Our Mutual Friend - I'd love to read your thoughts on those. :)
    Speaking of which, my favorite version of A Christmas Carol is on YouTube now! It's a really nice adaptation - very authentic to the period, the music is great, and everything else. ;-)

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  3. Miss Kathy,
    I highly recommend House of Eliott. It's very interesting. Thank you for your kind words! :-)

    Melody,
    I think after I read your tag, it kind of came into my mind that William Dorrit was one of the most annoying characters to me.
    I have read Jane Eyre (I actually read it for summer reading one year. I hated reading it, but once we discussed it in class, I enjoyed talking about it). In the book (to me at least), he was still very annoying. He was still a jerk.

    That is an awesome quote! You mind if I use it in a quotes post for Period Drama Week?

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  4. Ugh, I can't stand Willoughby! And Rochester...well, I don't abhor him, but he isn't a top fav of mine either.

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  5. Miss Bennet,
    Ah, I see. Well yes, there's no getting around him being a jerk - what he did was unpardonable, and he's the one who should be pronounced a liar. :P

    Well, sure. ;-) Although I'm not sure that's the exact quote ~ just how I remembered it. I will check sometime today - I discovered a month or two ago that we had that on tape (from when it played on PBS, I suppose) all these years and I never knew. haha

    It's especially funny because of who she says it to - a really annoying person in fact. And the speech she makes right before it to the other (villainous) person is such that makes me applaud every time. It's probably my favorite part in the movie! :)

    Anyways, I'll check that quote. :)

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