Sensibility Ahoy
You all are doing such a splendid job finding goodies we’ve been doing nothing but lying about eating bon-bons. (Not really!) Alert Janeite Cinthia found the BBC’s official S&S08 page and the synopsis of Episode 3, which gives away a big honking SPOILER, thanks for nothing, BBC; Alert Janeite Boris posted a longer trailer for the S&S08 DVD in comments, and Alert Janeite Reeba also e-mailed us with the link.
My goodness, we’re all angst and melodrama, aren’t we? Does anyone except us remember that Jane Austen is funny–and S&S is one of her six funniest books? 
“Dear, dear Norland,” said Elinor, “probably looks much as it always does at this time of the year. The woods and walks thickly covered with dead leaves.”
“Oh,” cried Marianne, “with what transporting sensation have I formerly seen them fall! How have I delighted, as I walked, to see them driven in showers about me by the wind! What feelings have they, the season, the air altogether inspired! Now there is no one to regard them. They are seen only as a nuisance, swept hastily off, and driven as much as possible from the sight.”
“It is not every one,” said Elinor, “who has your passion for dead leaves.”
“I have a notion,” said Lucy, “you think the little Middletons rather too much indulged; perhaps they may be the outside of enough; but it is so natural in Lady Middleton; and for my part, I love to see children full of life and spirits; I cannot bear them if they are tame and quiet.”
“I confess,” replied Elinor, “that while I am at Barton Park, I never think of tame and quiet children with any abhorrence.”
On ascending the stairs, the Miss Dashwoods found so many people before them in the room, that there was not a person at liberty to tend to their orders; and they were obliged to wait. All that could be done was, to sit down at that end of the counter which seemed to promise the quickest succession; one gentleman only was standing there, and it is probable that Elinor was not without hope of exciting his politeness to a quicker despatch. But the correctness of his eye, and the delicacy of his taste, proved to be beyond his politeness. He was giving orders for a toothpick-case for himself, and till its size, shape, and ornaments were determined, all of which, after examining and debating for a quarter of an hour over every toothpick-case in the shop, were finally arranged by his own inventive fancy, he had no leisure to bestow any other attention on the two ladies, than what was comprised in three or four very broad stares; a kind of notice which served to imprint on Elinor the remembrance of a person and face, of strong, natural, sterling insignificance, though adorned in the first style of fashion.
And the line that wins all the Internets for Miss Dashwood and Miss Jane Austen:
“For my own part,” said he, “I am excessively fond of a cottage; there is always so much comfort, so much elegance about them. And I protest, if I had any money to spare, I should buy a little land and build one myself, within a short distance of London, where I might drive myself down at any time, and collect a few friends about me, and be happy. I advise every body who is going to build, to build a cottage. My friend Lord Courtland came to me the other day on purpose to ask my advice, and laid before me three different plans of Bonomi’s. I was to decide on the best of them. ‘My dear Courtland,’ said I, immediately throwing them all into the fire, ‘do not adopt either of them, but by all means build a cottage.’ And that I fancy, will be the end of it.
“Some people imagine that there can be no accommodations, no space in a cottage; but this is all a mistake. I was last month at my friend Elliott’s, near Dartford. Lady Elliott wished to give a dance. ‘But how can it be done?’ said she; ‘my dear Ferrars, do tell me how it is to be managed. There is not a room in this cottage that will hold ten couple, and where can the supper be?’ I immediately saw that there could be no difficulty in it, so I said, ‘My dear Lady Elliott, do not be uneasy. The dining parlour will admit eighteen couple with ease; card-tables may be placed in the drawing-room; the library may be open for tea and other refreshments; and let the supper be set out in the saloon.’ Lady Elliott was delighted with the thought. We measured the dining-room, and found it would hold exactly eighteen couple, and the affair was arranged precisely after my plan. So that, in fact, you see, if people do but know how to set about it, every comfort may be as well enjoyed in a cottage as in the most spacious dwelling.”
Elinor agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition.
And yes, we know, it’s just a trailer…and that’s the only thing that has kept us from calling for the Official AustenBlog Titanium Spork™.
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This trailer is way better than the “feast of the senses” one–makes me a lot more hopeful for it.
The whole sense of the trailer does seem to take the story too seriously. For instance when towards the end of the trailer Mrs. Dashwood is heard to say “If I were still mistress of Norland my girls would never be treated like this!” just makes me laugh because it just seems to me like one of her melodramatic speeches, similar to Marianne’s ode to dead leaves!
Mrs. Dashwood actually seems to have several melodramatic statements such as “I suppose you’d have us live in a rabbit hutch?” and of the cottage “Can we really settle here do you think?”.
I’m not so sure about Marianne calling her sister Ellie and confiding to her “I do love him” unless it’s after her near death experience speaking of the Colonel. Marianne’s fall seems rather pathetically done from what I can see of it here. But both Willoughby and Colonel Brandon seem quite dashing. I’m going to adore the duel! I really like the closing glimpse of Elinor, she’s really quite lovely.
Are we worried that Andrew Davies, adapter extraordinaire, may have jumped the shark?
I’m not worried about it, but yes, I think he has.
I thought so after reading his script for Northanger Abbey, and having heard some howls of dismay about his script for A Room With a View, and having seen the finished version of NA, I think it’s not so much that he has jumped the shark as that he is a victim of his own success. Like many successful authors, he doesn’t get edited anymore, they just make whatever he hands over without questioning it, and the adoring masses accept it without criticism because “It’s an ANDREW DAVIES script! It MUST be good! P&P! Wives & Daughters!” In the immortal words of the Sheriff of Nottingham, blah de dah de dah. 
I did like his earlier stuff–P&P, Wives and Daughters and Vanity Fair, Emma isn’t awful, and who knows, S&S might turn out to be pretty good. He seems to do better with the longer pieces because he can meander a bit without destroying the original too much. But I don’t think he gets an automatic pass because of past successes. Like many successful authors, he’s at the stage where everyone is afraid to edit him, or just doesn’t bother. He’s a brand and they can sell him as much as they can sell Jane Austen–look at the DVD trailer. “By the writer of Pride and Prejudice.” THAT’S JANE AUSTEN, NOT ANDREW DAVIES!!!! At least it says it’s an adaptation by the writer of P&P. Almost. Henry Tilney would scorn that as imprecise language.
Every adaptation has the adapter’s stamp on it–that’s unavoidable–but the best adapters make it seamless. AD’s Emma (which I like but don’t love) shows some signs of a more forceful presence, with the oppression-of-the-servants stuff–showing them carrying the Box Hill Picnic accoutrements up the hill, moving Mrs. Elton’s knee cushion, etc. It’s not overt but not as subtle as it should have been, either. That sort of thing has become more pronounced. He pretty much rewrote NA with only a passing nod at Jane Austen.
In some cases adaptations do serious damage to the original but are just spectacularly good on their own (Master & Commander, Lord of the Rings). I don’t think he improved NA and in fact ruined all the fun of it for those of us who love the novel. It remains to be seen how S&S fares. (And of course the cast and director have a part in all that as well.)
Wow, Mags, I think that’s so accurate–I just watched his Daniel Deronda which I thought was a pretty good adaptation. But I too have been wondering whether these days he’s a victim of his own talent. I mean people love his stuff because he actually reads these really dense novels (ahem, Joe Wright!) and puts quality details in, but as you said, that doesn’t give him a free pass!
Also, I thought this trailer had some shots that looked exactly like the Ang Lee film, which was weird. And I do hope AD does bring out the humor in Elinor, because he was so good at bringing out Lizzy’s sarcasm in P&P (ahem again Joe Wright).
Well I’m not sure what to make of this yet but I’m ashamed that I’m getting excited when I’m seeing things that I’m getting annoyed with! (Fear I’m falling into AD’s period drama web!)
BTW has anyone seen the preview of the first episode on the BBC website at all?
Omigod, I believe they ARE living in a rabbit hutch! — either that, or my mother’s basement.
This certainly doesn’t speak well for Sir John Middleton!
Yeah, one of the articles mentioned that the house is very humble, but from the outside it didn’t look a whole lot different from the cottage in the 95 version; but inside it’s very low-ceilinged and dark. I guess that’s what they meant.
@Fellow-ette
>people love his stuff because he actually reads these really dense novels
Well!¨Ever since NA2 I have had my doubts whether he has ever read the novel- or *has* read it and was able to avoid what was in there, quite successfully, and going his own arrogant way
NA lovers like me feel quite hurt by this blasphemous adaptation.
Most people don’t seem to mind it – it’s not a favourite of most after all. It’s not P&P
I am banking on S&S08 to have the ‘AD appreciation’ fire rekindled . The last time I was a great fan of his was after P&P95 and ‘Wives and Daughters’.
The trailer looks a bit like S&S95. I have told myself not to be prejudiced or be influenced by the trailer. Will wait and see
I have yet to see the adaptation of Northanger Abbey but I just re-read it so I will be able to see all the ridiculous liberties he took with the text quite plainly
“I don’t think he improved NA and in fact ruined all the fun of it for those of us who love the novel.”
Northanger Abbey is my favourite book by Jane and I really loved the 2007 adaptation of it, Andrew Davies most definitely didn’t ruin it for me.
No film can ever ruin the novel; but I was really disappointed that so many of the things I love about the novel were removed or changed and replaced with inferior material. It was dumbed down, and considering the original, that’s not only a shame, it’s kind of ironic.
@Sibylle
Enjoying the adaptation is one thing, but enjoying it because it brings the book to life, is another.
It’s the latter most NA devotees are troubled about and even more than that is the fact that Catherine Morland reads ‘The Monk’ – a novel which was so controversial as to have been proposed by some to have it banned. And our dear innocent Catherine Morland is supposed to read it.
In addition;
There is hardly any dialogue from the book.
John Thorpe forms a triangle along with Catherine and Henry Tilney.
Where was the novel in the adaptation is all I ask, except at the beginning and the end (to some extent).
Where was the parody?
This erotic catherine is unrecognisable as one from the book.
AD went beserk here with sexing up the novel.
During my Christmas holidays, I am going to analyse NA07 scene by scene and come up with how much of the book it has and how much of Catherine is sexed up.
I am that upset
I would love to read your analysis, Reeba!
I think if I hadn’t seen Lynn Marie Macy’s excellent stage play of NA (with additions from Udolpho that just fit beautifully) I might have shrugged and said, “Well, maybe it couldn’t be done.” But I know it CAN be done. And I think it SHOULD be done. Faithful, funny, and smart–that’s the NA film I’d like to see.
In citing funny passages from S&S, you did not include my personal favorite:
“After a proper resistance on the part of Mrs. Ferrars, just so violent and so steady as to preserve her from that reproach which she always seemed fearful of incurring, the reproach of being too amiable, Edward was admitted to her presence, and pronounced to be again her son.
Her family had of late been exceedingly fluctuating. For many years of her life she had had two sons; but the crime and annihilation of Edward a few weeks ago, had robbed her of one; the similar annihilation of Robert had left her for a fortnight without any; and now, by the resuscitation of Edward, she had one again.
In spite of his being allowed once more to live, however, he did not feel the continuance of his existence secure, till he had revealed his present engagement; for the publication of that circumstance, he feared, might give a sudden turn to his constitution, and carry him off as rapidly as before.”
Just had to include it!