Not only does this series utterly fail to stay true to the characters, plot lines, and simple joy and beauty of the novels, it also fails to stay true to the time period in which it is set, and to the basic tenets of good story-telling and film-making. After I watched the first episode or two alone, my roommate asked if we should watch an episode together one night. I said, no, it was late and the episodes were too long. Imagine my surprise when it was revealed that they were only ~45 minutes each. My response: "Well, at least, they feel too long."
Perhaps if the writers weren't trying to jam-pack each episode with divergent plot lines, abrupt changes of mood and character motivation, and (silliest of all) some ghostly mystery or other for Emily to "solve", this series would be bearable. As it is, it's an unholy mess. To make matters worse, more often than not I find myself wondering if the best Canadian actors all go to Hollywood, as that would help to explain the acting, which typically ranges from wooden to melodramatic to simply awful. I give it two stars rather than one only because, every once in a while, one of the actors (usually one of the children) manages to do something legitimately endearing.
Perhaps if the writers weren't trying to jam-pack each episode with divergent plot lines, abrupt changes of mood and character motivation, and (silliest of all) some ghostly mystery or other for Emily to "solve", this series would be bearable. As it is, it's an unholy mess. To make matters worse, more often than not I find myself wondering if the best Canadian actors all go to Hollywood, as that would help to explain the acting, which typically ranges from wooden to melodramatic to simply awful. I give it two stars rather than one only because, every once in a while, one of the actors (usually one of the children) manages to do something legitimately endearing.