I don't know whether to be delighted or distressed that Andrew Davies has adapted my beloved Little Dorrit into a miniseries. As those who've followed Davies's career know, when he's good, he's very, very good, and when he's bad . . . well, you get a proposed Brideshead Revisited without God, or a gratuitous bathtub scene in Northanger Abbey, or something else weird, icky, and totally out of place.

As for Davies's previous attempt at Dickens, the highly acclaimed Bleak House, I'm still working my way through it, so the jury is out for me. But aside from some vertigo-inducing jump cuts, so far that miniseries looks like it deserves all the praise it's received.

For the moment, then, perhaps it's all right to give Davies the benefit of the doubt. I hope.

The Little Dorrit cast certainly looks irreproachable. Anyone who casts a former Mr. Darcy -- no, not Colin Firth, but a Mr. Darcy nonetheless -- as Arthur Clennam (one of the fictional loves of my life) has the right idea. And to choose Gollum to play the villainous Rigaud is nothing short of inspired. A great cast does not always a great miniseries make, but it's a step in the right direction.

I have no idea whether we have any British Point readers. If we do, and you've seen what the BBC has aired so far, how about weighing in and soothing the nerves of an anxious Dickens fanatic?

(Image © BBC)

Comments

[Tom Parsons]

Gina, I'd love to hear your take on Bleak House when you're finished. All I can say is we breezed through the whole series in two days with both my daughters (12 and 10 at the time) begging to watch another installment as soon as a previous episode finished. That got us started on watching all the Dickens adaptations we could find. Hopefully Mr. Davies' adaptation will be very good and worth watching.

[Gina Dalfonzo]

I really am enjoying "Bleak House," but I keep pausing in my viewing to watch other things (DVDs from Netflix, new episodes of "House" and other weekly series, old "Mystery Science Theater 3000" episodes, etc.). Unfortunately, when it comes to watching shows on DVD, especially lengthy shows, I have the attention span of a gnat.

[Ian McCarthy]

This Brit is quietly enjoying Little Dorrit on the BBC-I'm not being blokeish, perhaps, just honest-as yet another way to consume Dickens without actually reading. Good, entertaining, easy, quality fare. Andrew Davies is a genius with a worldview which is probably influenced by his homosexuality in terms of licentiousness and attitude to the Christian faith.

[Gina Dalfonzo]

Thank you for letting us know how the miniseries is going, Ian!