Web series: the good, the eh...okay, and the lovely stories

 

Hello lovely readers,

Lately I have been enjoying web series, I mostly watch the ones about adaptations of books I enjoy, but there are many series out there with original plot lines. For this "Frivolous Friday" I wanted to share the ones I have loved and the ones I thought were "eh...okay". Even if I thought the stories were "eh...okay" I am still impressed by people taking works of classic literature and bringing them into the 21st century.

The ones I love:

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The first would be the Lizzie Bennet Diaries it was the web series that introduced me to this whole concept. And I think it set a pretty high standard for those who followed it. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is an updated version of Pride Prejudice (pretty obvious) but it is not just a web series, in fact it had multiple spin offs...one of Lydia Bennet where we get insight into her character, one of Pemberly Digital where we see Georgiana and Darcy interact and get insight into what he does to save Lydia.

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The next one is Emma Approved, the updated version of Emma. In this version she is not just busybody but she is kind of like a life coach, trying to improve the lives around her. Her business partner is Alex Knightley, and she frequently teases him about handling the boring stuff. 

 

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Many of the web series have their own tumblr and twitter accounts you can follow in order to keep up with the characters and it gives some behind the scenes looks at what is happening in the plot. All of Emma Approved is shot in the office, but they host and attend parties and pictures from the nights are posted there. Also because Emma is so into fashion she has "modeling" posts on her outfits.

Example of them going out: Frank Churchill laughing with Emma, with Jane Fairfax and Alex Knightley looking on.

 Third would be the delightful series of Classic Alice, it is not just one book but multiple books. It starts off with Alice getting a bad grad on a paper because her teacher feels that she does not relate to the characters. So she takes a book and tries to make life decisions based on the book. 

 

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Currently the series is doing North and South, as I have written many post about my love of John Thorton, I don't think I need to go into how excited I am about that. I also like the fact that because they are doing various books, the series really could last for awhile. So I am curious what is going to happen with it. Besides just having a vlog (video blog) they also host a podcast of Pens vs. Lens where they discuss books vs. the movies based off the book.

Their newest episode: Clueless/Emma

The next love of mine- actually changed my mind on Jane Eyre, is The Autobiography of Jane Eyre. I recently wrote a post about this "Maybe I was wrong." And because of this I won't use too much time posting more about this. 

Picture of Alice, Emma, and Jane {pic}

Here are some of the ones I think "eh...okay":

Also made by Pemberly Digital is the series "Welcome to Sanditon" based off the unfinished work of Sanditon by Jane Austen, which I have actually never read so I can't say if it follows the plot line or not. It follow Georgiana Darcy (from Lizzie Bennet Diaries) as she tries to implement Dominio (their video app) in the town of Sanditon. 

 

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The thing I did not like about this is that every other episode was a "fan made video" that they pretend were people around the town. I think in that way I lost interest in the story. 

The other one was... "Elinor and Marianne take on Barton" it is an updated version of Sense and Sensibility. There a few reasons I did not like it but mostly the story seems a little rushed, Sense and Sensibility is one of Jane Austen's longer novels and takes time to develop the characters. I mean they have Edward Ferras interacting with Brandon and Will (Willoughby) which does not happen in the book. However I think the actresses who play Marianne and Elinor understand their characters. Also while Brandon, is no Alan Rickman, I think he does a good role in playing out his part and we do see how he cares for Marianne even while she is obsessed with Will.

I am also enjoying: 

I have recently begun watching the web series "From Mansfield with Love" an adaptation of Mansfield Park. It took me awhile to get into it (much like when I read the book). Frankie (short for Francis) works at the Mansfield hotel as practically a maid, though she gets some liberties, her mom is best friends with Mrs. Bertram but while Mrs. Bertam married rich, Frankie's mom married poor. Frankie's brother Will, is in the Navy and she is posting these video letters, in belief no one else can see them, for him (you got to stretch your imagination). 

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Much like the book, one thing that gets to me is that Frankie never speaks up for herself. I hate in the character but I know I am very similar to that. Frankie spends a lot of energy making sure everyone, mostly Mrs. Norris is happy, that life kind of slips by her (very true to book). Even with some changes they are doing a good job of sticking to the plot line, I mean they are on episode 70 now and Edmund is just telling Frankie he "loves" Mary Crawford. I actually the lack of rushing of the story as Mansfield Park is the longest Jane Austen novel. 

One series I wish continued was "East and West" based off North and South but it sadly only had 7 videos and we never even met Mr. Thorton. 

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If the creators of this show see this blog I would love them to know I would love for this show to continue.  

Okay I think for now that is enough... I know there are other web series out there and if you have any recommendations for me please let me know. Here is a great article "Book to YouTube" which includes some of these shows and others if you are interested in more suggestions. 

My little E is turning 3

Hello lovely readers,

Today I am taking a special break from my usual "Writing Wednesday" post because my little nephew is turning 3 today.

This little boy means the world to me (as do my niece and other nephews) I am so happy to be sharing his birthday celebration with you my lovely readers.

Being Aunt Blaire is one of my favorite roles and even though I am far away from them they are always close to my heart. 

All my love little E. 

Classic film rewatch... Bedknobs and Broomsticks

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Hello lovely readers,

Back in the winter when Boston was buried under 9 feet of snow I put the movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks on hold at my library and I finally got it! I am going to blame all the snow for it taking so  long to get to me (even though it is now August).

Anyway, I can't tell you why back in February I had an inkling to watch it, but it was quite fun. I grew up watching Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music but for some reason I don't remember this film being in my families repetition and I don't know why not after all it has magic, cartoon animals that talk and Nazis (a perfect combination).

It truly is a nonsensical story (and how many times can you say that about a movies with Nazis in it). It takes place in a little village in the country side of England. Three kids (Charlie, Carrie and Paul) are sent off to this country side to protect themselves from the bombings in London to stay with Miss Price (Angela Lansbury) who is witch in training. She is hoping to use her witch powers for the War cause.

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Well though she is a witch in training she needs to finish her lessons when the school is closed due the war. That is when we meet Professor Brown (you might recognize as Mr. Banks from Mary Poppins) who is actually a fake. Then they are sent on a quest to get the last of the spell on an island that is run by animals who speak, this is where the cartoon aspect come in.

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Once they have the last words of the spell they return to England and have a musical and magical moment.

 

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After this moment, the Nazis land on the shore of the village and take residence in Miss Price's house. Now it is up to Miss Price and the children to save the day.  Which they do...

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As I am in the generation who thinks of Angela Lansbury as being from Murder She Wrote it was fun to see her in another role. Also fun to see her lead military armor into battle. For anyone who criticizes Disney for not writing strong female characters they should look to her.

Overall, it was simply cute. My one criticism is that there might be too many musical numbers that don't help the plot line, but I think that was typical for musicals back then. So if you are looking for a film to pass the time and not to be take too seriously I recommend it. And after waiting months for the DVD from the library I am glad I finally got to watch it.

Maybe I was wrong

Pic from 2011 Film

Hello lovely reader,

I have spoken out about my dislike for Jane Eyre before, post: Jane Eyre... what the? I read the book right out of high school mostly because everyone assumed if I liked Jane Austen I would like Jane Eyre... even though they are completely different. Then being convinced by my friend who loves Jane Eyre to give it another try I watched the Jane Eyre movie (2011). But I still didn't get it. So when I saw the YouTube web series "The Autobiography of Jane Eyre" I watched a few episodes and then thought... nope not for me.

But for some reason (not sure why) I started re-watching it and I got hooked.

Actually I remember now why... I spend way too much time watching fan made videos, but I found the video below, and from the few episodes of "The Autobiography of Jane Eyre" I had seen I recognized the actress. I will admit I was intrigued with why with all the stories to chose from why did this video maker decide to include this version of Jane Eyre in their montage. Maybe I missed something?

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So in a bored moment, and in a moment of feeling blue and wanting a distraction I decided to give "The Autobiography of Jane Eyre" a second chance (link to YouTube page) and I am glad I did. As I said I read the book almost 10 years ago so I don't remember much of the plot so I am not sure how exact the web series is to the plot... but personally I am okay with some updates if it helps tell the story. I commend people who take classic works of literature and revamp them in this new way to make them accessible for the modern day audience and if the main point of the story remains in tact then I am fine with some modernization. 

 

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My biggest problem with Jane Eyre is that she always seemed perfect, and I didn't like a heroine that had no flaws. I think in watching this web series, I saw her flaws more clearly. She had such bad childhood that she was afraid to pursue things that made her happy worried that they would abandon her (if it was a person) or worried others would mock her for it (if it was a hobby). She didn't speak up for herself because she wasn't ever allowed to as a child so she spends a lot of time in her own head. And actually I can understand all those things.  

 Episode 1: Link 

Over all- I liked it and would recommend it to anyone who has been enjoying these web series updated stories like "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" or "Emma Approved" or "Classic Alice". Also I would recommend if you want to get lost in a good story. There were some parts that still annoyed me but they were small enough I can overlook them and still consider this a good adaption of the book.  

The one thing I really did like is that in episode 20 she talks about her faith and I was happy to read in the comments of the video that this is true to the book. I am glad she didn't make it a big political discussion (because faith is not a political discussion) she just talked about forgiveness, loving others and loving yourself.

 

Link: Episode 20 

 

Thanks to these videos I might be willing to give Jane Eyre another chance once... I mean its been almost 10 years surely it is time to give second chances. 

If you are a real Jane Eyre fan and you want to read more read the post "Entertain: The Autobiography of Jane Eyre" the author of that post is much more of a Jane-ite than I am.