Tag: Adaptation

Nostalgia

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25 years ago I treated myself to the BBC radio version of the Lord of the Rings. I had heard it weekly on a Sunday afternoon and there were 13 episodes.

I loved it, it starred Ian Holme as Frodo, Michael Horden as Gandalf, and Bill Nye as Sam Gamgee. The production was magical and the backing music was so evocative. You could see the tale unfold in your minds eye without needing pictures. Elves and Dwarfs and Hobbits and Wizards in a great battling adventure with a bit of humour added.

We decided to listen to it in a marathon playing over one weekend. 6 hours on the first day, and 7 on the second. With gaps for meals and coffee breaks. I think it was my favourite ever purchase. My cassette player  no longer works, but I want to hear it again.

I’ve been caracatured !

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Me as Miss Marple!

Imagine my delight when I saw this yesterday. My lovely friend Stephen Talbot (his copyright ©) has been doing a series of caracatures and this is the one he did if me, in the guise of Miss Marple played by Margaret Rutherford.

If anyone hasn’t heard of the author, she was Agatha Christie. She wrote many detective books, with sleuths like Miss Jane Marple, and Hercule Poirot.

In addition to the books there were several films, made from the 1950’s onwards. Some of them starred famous actors, like Elizabeth Taylor.

There have also been television adaptations, of which my favourite was Joan Hickson as Miss Marple.

Recently the BBC have done a few adaptation of Christie mysteries. But the most recent strayed a long way from the book it was based on. I’ve forgotten what it was called… I think they tried to over simplify the story,, so removed some of the characters.

I would love to see “murder at the gallop” again, its an old film, with wonderful music. Lots of fun.

X

Christmas Carol re-written

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I’ve just seen the third and final episode of a Christmas Carol, adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens, but with much more details and ‘plot twists’.

Gone is the vaguely cute Scrooge of the original, who is somehow not that nasty, at least compared with this Scrooge. But there is more back story about what caused his intransigence and avarice. There is also much more about what he and Jacob Marley did to his employees, the evil actions that harmed them.

On the whole this was a much more adult adaptation, including swear words and sexual exploitation. Once I got over the fact that it was more of a rewrite than an adaptation I actually enjoyed it. Scrooge does not end up gloriously happy (spoiler alert), but he is changed and his attitude to others is improved. It feels like there might even be a sequel!