Perhaps, when the words Little Dorrit kept coming up during last night’s Emmy Awards broadcast, you were all, “Little who?” Or maybe you filtered out the unfamiliar phrase altogether and have no idea what I’m talking about. But wait! There’s a reason why the BBC-WGBH Charles Dickens adaptation picked up so many trophies, including Outstanding Miniseries plus the writing and directing awards in that field.
I’m not even a Dickens fan like that, but my 19th-century-British-literature-obsessive girlfriend sure is, so I watched the miniseries when it aired this spring. The cast was one of those sprawling BBC ensembles, featuring memorable performances from actors I’d never seen before (Claire Foy, as debtor’s daughter Amy Dorrit) as well as some familiar faces (Matthew “Mr. Darcy” Macfadyen as earnest hero Arthur Clennam, Andy “Gollum” Serkis as creepy villain Rigaud). And the plot — all about wealth and class and massive finance-industry malfeasance — was shockingly relevant in 2009. If you’d like to see a melodramatic TV movie about the Bernie Madoff scandal, you’d probably be better off seeking out Little Dorrit on DVD. It’ll be just as much fun, you’ll get a long-suffering love story at the same time, and you know the production values will be higher with the BBC in charge.
Did any of you catch Little Dorrit when it first aired? How psyched are you to see it having a well-deserved Emmy moment? Or are you looking forward to discovering Little Dorrit now that the Emmys have brought it to your attention?
Photo credit: Mike Hogan/ BBC
Little Dorrit was excellent! My husband and I were surprised at the number of weeks/episodes it ran over, but we can’t complain about the twisted and interesting plot and the quality performances given by all. If you invest the time to start on this miniseries, don’t give up until you complete it. A true gem in the PBS lineup of Masterpiece this spring, and with all of the quality shows in the Masterpiece lineup, that is really saying something!
I agree. Little Dorrit was fantastically done. I’m so glad that it did so well last night.
I saw Little Dorrit last spring and loved it! It’s one of the best BBC miniseries I’ve seen in a long time. It’s a little long but worth every minute!
This article is cute. “Oh my goodness, Dickens is good? Miniseries on Masterpiece are good?” Expand your horizons a bit and get a little culture from time to time, for God’s sake.
Re: Brooke’s comment
Your comment’s meaning was unclear to me. Was the tone sarcastic? Targeted toward those who don’t generally look to the classics for entertainment? Meant for those who watch such programs religiously? If the former, why not commend the author for discovering this gem? If the latter, what do you consider to be culture? Just curious.
Rented Little Dorrit through Netflix last month (was pleasantly surprised to see it nominated at the Emmys!). I love costume dramas, and this series did not disappoint. Great story adaptation and exceptional acting. Highly recommend!
The only thing I knew about Little Dorrit is that it was an Oscar-y movie back in the 80s with Alec Guinness. Anyone see that?
My daughter and I watched Little dorrit on DVD a few months ago. I love 19th century period dramas. This one did not disappoint. We were so excited to see it nominated and WIN last night. Well deserved!
Little Dorrit was excellent. Glad to see something of quality got recognized other than the usual drivel.
Generation Kill should have won.
I’ll second that!
Agreed. I was hoping it would walk away with Best Miniseries and Best Director. :/
My husband and I watched this brilliant series when it first aired. Only complaint is that the lead actor and actress were passed by for nominations. They were both absolutely wonderful.
“Little Dorrit” was superb, as engrossing as the Dickens novel, with perfect casting and a fascinatingly twisty and intricate plot. EW’s coverage of this makes it seem as if only some strange group of shut-ins watches “Masterpiece”, but if you want guaranteed strong acting, smart writing, and quality production, you can’t go wrong. After the excellence of the adaptation of “Bleak House” a couple of seasons ago and now “Little Dorrit”, I hope Masterpiece/WGBH and the BBC keep going back to the Dickens well until it is dry, because great television is going to be our reward.
ohhh, i loved Bleak House. I wish EW had given a heads-up about Little Dorrit when it was first running. Or maybe I missed it? Looking forward to checking it out on DVD.
I’m a fan of Dickens, and costume dramas in general, so I watched this when it first aired on PBS and was very, very impressed (I honestly didn’t even recognize Andy Serkis at first, his villainous turn was so good)–although I shouldn’t have been surprised really, since Andrew Davies (of Pride & Prejudice, 1995, not the MacFayden/Keira Knightly version) wrote it. Having also read the original novel, cutting Dickens down to an adaptation is no mean feat! So seeing it recognized at the Emmy’s was wonderful and well-deserved.
Loved every minute of this series. I concur with Karen about the leads being passed over. They would give any of the other nominated a run for their money. I always look forward to BBC productions and this one didn’t disappoint.
I did see “Little Dorrit” when it first aired — I loved it! (Especially for Matthew Macfadyen as Arthur and Eddie Marsan as Pancks; too bad they couldn’t have been up for Emmys as well…) Afterwards, I bought the book as soon as I could and read it this summer.
Saw Little Dorritt last summer on Netflix and loved every minute of it! So glad it got the recognition that it deserved!