FOOLISH
why not seize the pleasure at once? How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation! Frank Churchill, Emma, Chapter 30
An open letter to PBS
Dear Sir/Madame:
Sunday is here, and ahem, pardon my French … but where the *&#% is my The Complete Jane Austen PBS? Now that you’ve got me totally hooked on weekly installments of adaptations of my favorite authoress’ novels, you have cut me off like Fanny Dashwood, and expect me to go cold turkey. Intolerable!
I see that you are running your quarterly pledge drive in her Sunday time slot to remind me to support my local PBS station. Torture! Now I have just witnessed those perky pledge people say Jane Austen’s name twenty times in ten minutes during the pledge breaks between the re-airing of Persuasion. They repeat ever half hour. Pure torture. Wait, now they are talking about Pride and Prejudice! Pure unadulterated torture. (moans and rolls eyes in agony)
Eureka! There is a bit of hope on the horizon. You have dangled the possibility of a new bonnet or trip to Brighton my way by offering the next-best-thing to a Jane Austen adaptation; – - a program about the making of the Jane Austen adaptations entitled Celebrating The Complete Jane Austen! Hurrah!
I am all anticipation as the familiar opening musical fanfare rolls in with the voice over.
Now enter Jane Austen’s world, and go behind the scenes for a look at the Public television event of the season.
Host Lisa Daniels gives the introduction to the program teasing us with the prospect of learning the inside story of the making of The Complete Jane Austen with interviews of the executive producer Rebecca Eaton, screenwriter Andrew Davies, and Austen scholar Dr. Marcia Folsom. She continues with exclaiming that Jane Austen is the ‘it’ girl of the twenty-first century. Ok. You’ve got my attention.
Fifteen minutes into an hour program, you cut to a local pledge drive and then jump back and forth between the two like a tennis match for the rest of the hour without much new information revealed.
This is now The Complete Jane Austen Torture.
This will not be bourne. We are seriously displeased and if you can’t play nice, we are sending Lady Catherine over to restore peace and harmony.
Regards &C
Laurel Ann
Blogmistress, Austenprose
Aia HY
Christina B.
Br. Paul Byrd, OP
Jeffrey
RegencyRomantic
Katie P.
Lisa Galek
Lucy Warriner
Sarah Emsley
shelleydewees
Virginia Claire
Veronica Monique
Kimberly (Reflections of a Book Addict)
For a quick fix, it’s gratifying to see what others say about Jane. I just found out that 3 of Austen’s movie adaptations made it to the NY Times 1,000 Best Movies Ever List…you might like to check it out.
Amen to that!
Yes, PBS has spoiled us. I am going to go into major withdrawal symptoms soon. Thank goodness spring is around the corner. Instead of staying indoors and watching all things Austen, I shall have to take long walks outdoors and simply get my hems muddied. :)
I just found your site and am so excited (big Austen fan here). Your description of wondering where the heck Austen was on Sunday night fit mine to a tee. I was so frustrated! Then I told my DVR to tape The Celebration of the Complete JA and it failed to do so (luckily they’re airing it again at 2 AM on Friday morning here on my PBS station, so my fingers are crossed that it’ll work this time).
I was afraid I had somehow missed the Emma with Kate Beckinsale (the only Austen adaptation I think I haven’t seen yet), so I’m excited to see it just hasn’t aired yet and will mark my calendar for March 23.
Thanks! I’ve bookmarked you and will be back. -Julia :-)
[...] local listings–and it seems to be broadcast more than once in many places. Laurel Ann has posted a review at AustenProse. Host Lisa Daniels gives the introduction to the program teasing us with the [...]
Too true. This made me laugh a good deal. I can’t believe they tried to appease us with that cruft “Celebrating…”
Hi Ben, thanks for visiting today. I’m glad that Lady Catherine made you laugh. She is a bit bossy, but a dear – from a distance. Cheers, Laurel Ann