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BFIScreenonline:TVLiteraryAdaptation

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TVLiteraryAdaptation
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Fromtheverybeginning,British
televisionhasreliedonliteratureand
dramaforasignificantproportionof
itsoutput.Thishasbeenvariously
interpretedasevidenceofartistic
timidityorasatacticemployedby
theBBCtofulfilitsReithianpublic
serviceremitto'educate,informand
entertain'.Lessremarkeduponisthe
rolethattechnologyhasplayedamid
suchaesthetic,political,culturaland
ideologicalconsiderations.
Thetechnicalrestrictionsimposed
bothbylivebroadcastingandtheuse
ofcumbersome,practicallyimmobile
camerasinthe1930sand'40smeant
thattheBBC'sdramaoutputinitially
consistedentirelyofshortliteraryandstageplayextracts.Oneofthefirst
was,appropriately,LewisCarroll'sAliceThroughtheLookingGlass(tx.
22/1/1937),followedthatyearbyextractsfromthirteenShakespeare
plays.TheBBCwasabletoclaimby1960thatAnAgeofKings,its
ambitiousfifteenpartpresentationof'RichardII','HenryIV','HenryV',
'HenryVI'and'RichardIII',wasitssixtiethShakespeareproduction.In
1964,tocelebratethefourthcentenaryofShakespeare'sbirth,the
CorporationtelevisedtheRoyalShakespeareCompany'sTheWarsofthe
RosesandthegroundbreakingHamletatElsinore(tx.1/1/1964),made
entirelyonvideoonlocationinDenmark.

ADVENTURESOFSHERLOCKHOLMES,
THE(198485)

JeremyBrett'sclassiccharacterisation
ofArthurConanDoyle'sdetectivehero
AGEOFKINGS,AN(1960)

AmbitioushistoryofmedievalBritish
royalty,adaptedfromShakespeare
ALICEINWONDERLAND(1966)

JonathanMiller'sstartlinglyimaginative
versionofLewisCarroll'sfantasy
BARCHESTERCHRONICLES,THE(1982)

Beautifullyobservedadaptationof
Trollope'schurchintrigue
BRIDESHEADREVISITED(1981)

Lavish,standardsettingadaptationof
EvelynWaugh'snovel
CHRONICLESOFNARNIA,THE(198890)

LavishadaptationsofC.S.Lewis's
classicnovels

Inthe1950s,withtheadventofvideotapeandtelerecording,livedrama
wasphasedout,whilepressuretofindnewplaystoproducewas
exhaustingbothproducersandtheavailableworksofsuchpopularand
prolificdramatistsasIbsen,Priestley,Chekhov,Coward,Rattiganand
GeorgeBernardShaw.

CROWROAD,THE(1996)

Thearrivalofcommercialtelevisionin1955furtheremphasisedtheneed
tobuildviewerloyaltyandidentification,whichdiminishedthevalueof
standaloneplaysinfavouroforganicorthemedcollectionsandgave
importancetotheserialformatinliteraryadaptations.BBCRadio's
Sundayevening'classic'serial,wassoonjoinedbyitstelevision
equivalent,aslotthatstillexiststoday,providingasteadydietofcosy,
faithfulbutgenerallyratherblandtranspositionsofpredominantly
VictorianandEdwardiannovels.ThustheBBCbecamerenownedfor
decadesforitsabilitytonotsomuchinterpretasdiscreetlyembalm
celebratedliteraryproperties,withtheemphasisontextualfidelityand
handsomedcor.

Groundbreaking26partcostume
dramabasedonGalsworthy'sstories

Althoughthisresultedinsomewhathomogenisedversionsoffavourite
worksbythelikesofAnthonyTrollope,ElizabethGaskell,theBront
sisters,JaneAustenand,especially,CharlesDickens,therehavealso
beenrealgems,suchasArthurHopcraft'sadaptationsofHardTimes
(ITV,1977)andBleakHouse(BBC,1985)andtheRSC'sninehourThe
LifeandAdventuresofNicholasNickleby(Channel4,1982).Otherworks,
morenotableforthetimestheyhavebeenadaptedthanfortheirintrinsic
merit,includeEmilyBront'sWutheringHeights(BBC,194819531962
19671978ITV,1998)andhersisterCharlotte'sJaneEyre(BBC,1956
196319731983ITV,1997).
Whilethe'classics'wereplunderedforSundaynights,othergenreswere
alsopopularasthebasisforseries,serialsandanthologies,thelatter
voraciouslyconsumingvastquantitiesofliterarymaterialfordecades.
DetectivestoriesforinstancewerefeaturedinTheRivalsofSherlock
Holmes(ITV,197173),TheAgathaChristieHour(ITV,1980),andmore
recentlyTheRuthRendellMysteries(ITV,19872000),whilehorror
storieswerefeaturedinMysteryandImagination(ITV,196670),aswell
assuchstandaloneeffortslikeCountDracula(BBC,1977),starringLouis
Jourdan,andTheWomaninBlack(ITV,1989),adaptedbyNigelKneale

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1052941/

HighlypraisedadaptationofIain
Banks'noveloffamilyintrigue
FORSYTESAGA,THE(1967)

FORTUNESOFWAR(1987)

Romanticwartimedramastarring
KennethBranaghandEmmaThompson
HARDTIMES(1977)

AcclaimedadaptationofDickens'
Northernindustrialmelodrama
HENRYIV(1995)

Televisiontruncationofbothpartsof
Shakespeare'smasterpiece
I,CLAUDIUS(1976)

Epic,goryandsalaciousdramaof
murderandintrigueinancientRome

JEEVESANDWOOSTER(199093)

StephenFryandHughLaurieas
P.G.Wodehouse'simmortalduo
JEWELINTHECROWN,THE(1984)

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BFIScreenonline:TVLiteraryAdaptation

fromSusanHarris'snovel,andlaterturnedintoamassiveWestEndhit.
Althoughliterarysciencefictionremainslargelyneglectedontelevision,
Kneale'spowerfuladaptationofGeorgeOrwell'santiStalinistdystopia
NineteenEightyFour(BBC,tx.12/12/1954)madeahugeimpact,while
OutoftheUnknown(BBC,19651971)remainsBritain'sonlysignificant
SFanthologyseries.Fantasy,especiallywhentakenfromchildren's
literature,hasoftenproducedpopularresultslikeC.S.Lewis'sThe
ChroniclesofNarnia(BBC,198890),JohnMasefield'sTheBoxofDelights
(BBC,1984)andMaryNorton'sTheBorrowers(BBC,1972199293).
Amongmoreadultfare,Gormenghast(BBC,1999),fromMervynPeake's
densenovel,wasanotabledisaster,whileFayWeldon'schallengingThe
LifeandLovesofaSheDevil(BBC,1986)washugelypopular.
Weldonscriptedthe1980adaptationofAusten'sPrideandPrejudice,one
ofthefiveserialsmadebytheBBCfromthenovelbetween1952and
1995.Theimportanceofthe'classicserial'fortheCorporationwas
confirmedin1967,whenBBC2'scolourservicewaslaunchedwith
Thackeray'sVanityFairandthegiganticsuccessofTheForsyteSaga,
JohnGalsworthy'ssequenceofnovelsandstories,brilliantlyadaptedby
DonaldWilsonintotwentysixparts.Thissetthemouldfordecades,
leadingdirectlytoeffortslikethemassiveThePallisers(BBC,1974),
adaptedbySimonRavenfromTrollope.ItalsopavedthewayforJack
Pulman's20partserialisationofTolstoy'sWarandPeace(BBC,1973),
andI,Claudius(BBC,1976),adaptedfromRobertGraves'novelsabout
ancientRome.
Stylistically,Britishtelevisionwasstillintenselytheatrical,atleastpartly
fortechnicalreasons.Mosttelevisiondramawasstillmaderatherflatly
onvideointhestudiousingmultiplecameras,withlongscenesshot
straightthrough.Thisprivilegedperformanceandencouragedscriptsto
bedialogueheavy,whileminimisinglocationshooting.Videoshoton
location,usingequipmentdesignedforsportingoccasions,wascriticised
astechnicallyinferior,acriticismlevelledatsuchallvideoproductionsas
Raffles(ITV,1977),basedonthestoriesbyE.W.Hornung,andDennis
Potter'sadaptationofThomasHardy'sTheMayorofCasterbridge(BBC,
1978),starringAlanBates.
ThemonumentaladaptationofEvelynWaugh'sBridesheadRevisited
(ITV,1981),shotentirelyon16mm,provedawatershedinthisregard,
creatingauniquelytelevisualeventthatcombinedtypicallyslowTV
pacingwiththeglossysheenofacinemaproduction,helpingoversees
sales.ItssuccessledtotheevenlongerandmoreexpensiveTheJewelin
theCrown(ITV,1984),adaptedfromPaulScott'stetralogyaboutthe
IndianRaj.In1987theBBC,feelingusurped,formallyretireditsSunday
teatimeclassicserialslotandbrieflyrecoupedsomelostgroundwith
FortunesofWar,AlanPlater'shandsomeadaptationofOliviaManning's
twinnedtrilogies,starringEmmaThompsonandKennethBranagh.
Soaringproductioncostssoonmadetheseglossyperiodserials
increasinglyrare,andITVabandonedtheformat,concentratinginstead
onmakingfeaturelengthadaptationsofnovelsbysuchcommercially
successfulauthorsasColinDexter,BernardCornwelland,especially,
CatherineCookson,fifteenofwhosenovelswereadaptedbythenetwork
duringthe1990s.
AndrewDavieshelpedrevivethefortunesoftheclassicserialwithscripts
forPrideandPrejudice(BBC,1995)andGeorgeEliot'sMiddlemarch
(BBC,1993),ratingswinnersthatmadesignificantbreakswiththe
traditionalstylepopularisedbyForsyte(BBC,1967),withtheirrevisionist
tendencytowardsrespectedliterarypropertiesandtheirstressingof
modernattitudestowardssex,classandfemaleemancipation.The
subsequentavalancheof'classic'adaptationsincludedDavies'versionsof
DanielDefoe'sMollFlanders(ITV,1996),ElizabethGaskell'sWivesand
Daughters(BBC,1999),Trollope'sTheWayWeLiveNow(BBC,2001)
andHeKnewHeWasRight(BBC,2004),Eliot'sDanielDeronda(BBC,
2002)andBorisPasternak'sDoctorZhivago(ITV,2002).
Nowadays,contemporarynovelsarerarelytreatedaswellasthesein
budgetaryandschedulingterms,butsignificantsuccessesinclude
adaptationsofIainBanks'TheCrowRoad(BBC,1996),ZadieSmith's
WhiteTeeth(Channel4,2002)and,morerecently,JakeArnott'sThe
LongFirm(BBC,2004).
TheBBCShakespearePlays(19781985)representstheapexofthe
Corporation'sculturalcommitmenttoShakespeare,withtheentirecanon
of37playsmadeespeciallytobeshownatprimetimeonSunday
evenings.Althoughsomewhatunadventurous,itremainsanextraordinary
feat,theproductionsprovinginvaluableinteaching.Thebest

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1052941/

Acclaimeddramaseriessetinthe
1940sIndianRaj

LORDARTHURSAVILE'SCRIME(1960)

OscarWildeblackcomedystarring
TerryThomas
MAYOROFCASTERBRIDGE,THE(1978)

DennisPotteradaptationoftheThomas
Hardynovel
MIDDLEMARCH(1994)

AndrewDavies'dramatisationof
GeorgeEliot'sclassicnovel
NINETEENEIGHTYFOUR(1954)

HighlycontroversialinitsdayOrwell
adaptationbyNigelKneale
ORANGESARENOTTHEONLYFRUIT
(1990)

BBCdramatisationofJeanette
Winterson'sautobiographicalnovel
OTHELLO(2001)

Contemporaryupdate,withOthelloas
theMet'sfirstblackhead
OUTOFTHEUNKNOWN(196571)

BBCscifianthologyofthelate1960s
andearly'70s.
PALLISERS,THE(1974)

MammothproductionofTrollope's
'political'series
PASSAGETOINDIA,A(1965)

ThefirstscreenadaptationofE.M.
Forster'sclassicnovel
PRIDEANDPREJUDICE(1995)

AndrewDavies'memorableAusten
update
TINKERTAILORSOLDIERSPY(1979)

ClassicadaptationofJohnLeCarr's
coldwarnovel
TRINITYTALES(1975)

Lively,inventiveupdateofChaucer's
CanterburyTales
WUTHERINGHEIGHTS(1962)

Impressivelypassionateversionofthe
Bronteclassic
RelatedCollections
AGATHACHRISTIEONTELEVISION

Marple,Poirotandothercreationsof
the'QueenofCrime'
BBCTELEVISIONSHAKESPEARE,THE
(19781985)

Monumentallyambitioussmallscreen
adaptationsofall37plays

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rememberedincludeTheTamingoftheShrew(tx.23/10/1980),starring
JohnCleese,andamagnificentTheWinter'sTale(BBC,tx.8/2/1981).
Evenbetter,though,wasGranada'sKingLear(ITV,tx.3/4/1983),oneof
ITV'sfewShakespeareexcursions,starringLaurenceOlivier.More
recentlyitalsomadethehighlyrewardingOthello(tx.23/12/2001),
adaptedbyAndrewDaviesandsetinthemodernMetropolitanPolice
Force,withChristopherEcclestonas'BenJago'.
Stageplayswereotherwisemostlyreservedforsuchanthologiesas
Festival(BBC,196364)andPlayoftheMonth(BBC,19651983)and
Performance(BBC,199197),thelastregularlyscheduledanthology
series.ItincludedanoriginalproductionofRodneyAckland'sAbsolute
Hell(tx.5/10/1991),directedbyAnthonyPageandstarringJudiDench,
which,inareversalofnormalpractice,waslaterrestagedatthe
NationalTheatre.
Althoughstageplayproductionshavebecomerarerandlargelyrestricted
totheminoritychannels,therehavebeensomenotablesuccesses,
includingPeterBrook'sTheMahabharata(Channel4,tx.1989)andthe
audaciousBeckettonFilm(Channel4,2001),anumbrellatitlecovering
theentiretyoftheplaywright'sstagework.TohelplaunchBBC4,its
flagshipdigitalchannel,theBBCreturnedtoitsrootsbypresenting
televisionversionsofsuchrecentWestEndsuccessesasPeterNichols'A
DayintheDeathofJoeEgg(tx.13/3/2002)andMichaelFrayn's
Copenhagen(tx.26/9/2002).

DICKENSONTELEVISION

Theauthor'soriginalserialsfindtheir
naturalhomeonthesmallscreen
JANEAUSTENONTELEVISION

TV'stakesonEnglishliterature'smost
perceptiveandsubtlesatirist
SHAKESPEAREONTELEVISION

SevendecadesoftheBardonthebox

RelatedPeopleandOrganisations
DAVIES,ANDREW(1936)

Writer

SergioAngelini

200314BFIScreenonline|credits

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1052941/

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