Reviews

I had been really looking forward to watching this series as in the past the BBC has made some fantastic Charles Dickens productions.

There were positives: I thought Guy Pearce was very good in his role as the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. The scenes in the mine and factory, which showed how his greed and coldness of heart had such a devastating impact on many others, added something and helped build up a picture of the heartless man he had become. When Jacob Marley showed the chains he wore and explained how each link was a life destroyed because of him, was a powerful message of how our actions have consequences. By the end of the first episode you can understand why Scrooge is so despised and very much in need of salvation and redemption.

However, I felt there were many negatives which destroyed this amazing classic for me. For example: Jacob Marley (who I presume is in some form of purgatory) and his conversations with the ghost of Christmas past. I felt this dragged on a little and at times felt a little out of sync with the rest of the drama. Also, Bob Cratchit's relationship with Ebenezer. I did find this part of the drama (at the beginning) a little laboured and long winded at times. I understand the writers wanted to make the drama "darker" but as it progressed I felt It was moving too far from the original. This was especially true with the Headmaster scene and the scene later on with Scrooge and Mrs Cratchet, the latter especially felt like a step too far. Overall it felt a little disjointed at times and as if the writers were trying too hard. Although there are plus points, the negatives spoiled this drama for me.