Dickens' book contains two juicy plums: The moral education of a selfish person, and a satirical put-down of the United States.
A competent adaptation would have made the most of these themes; this one manages to ignore them both.
Am I the only one who thinks BBC adaptations were better in the 70's and 80's? Yes, they were very stagy and the production value was zilch - but the scripts and acting were second to none. It seems that after Lord Grade's departure there was a conscious decision to dumb things down. The new adaptations are very cinematic and gorgeous to look at, but that's about it. (See for example the old and new versions of "Great Expectations").
A competent adaptation would have made the most of these themes; this one manages to ignore them both.
Am I the only one who thinks BBC adaptations were better in the 70's and 80's? Yes, they were very stagy and the production value was zilch - but the scripts and acting were second to none. It seems that after Lord Grade's departure there was a conscious decision to dumb things down. The new adaptations are very cinematic and gorgeous to look at, but that's about it. (See for example the old and new versions of "Great Expectations").