20 Questions for Period Drama Week at Elegance of Fashion

It is Period Drama Week over at Elegance of Fashion from Sept 4th-10th. She has asked many of us to participate by answering these questions below on our blogs.


So, here goes... hope I won't leave anything out!



1. How did you get into period dramas?


My Mother, Sister, and I first began watching Anne of Green Gables many years ago ... and then, we were hooked!

2. What is it that you like about period dramas?

Everything - the way they dress, speak, and behave.

3. Do you usually read a book and then watch the adaptation or do you watch the adaptation and then read the book?

Just depends... I love to read - sometimes I read it before - sometimes after. Either way, it's fun to see how close the movie is or isn't to the original story

4. What are your top three period dramas and why?


Emma, Pride & Prejudice, and Anne of Green Gables - all are beautiful stories about family and love

5. From those three period dramas that you picked, who are your favorite characters in each one?

Emma Woodhouse, Elizabeth Bennet, Anne Shirley

6. Which author do you like the adaptations of their works best?

Jane Austen

7. Which period drama characters are the funniest to you (Keep it under three)?

(Hmmmm, still thinking...Any Suggestions???)

8. Which period drama characters are the most annoying (Keep it under three)?

Jane Fairfax, Mr. Elton, Mrs. Elton


9. Which period drama characters are in your top three?

Emma, Knightley, Anne Shirley, and Gilbert Blythe (I squeezed in one more!)

10. When you watch period dramas, what is it that you pay the closest attention to (ie. costuming, scenery, etc.)?

Relationships and witty conversations - I try to catch every detail!

11. Which period drama which you haven't seen yet do you most want to watch? (Suggested by Miss Laurie from Old-Fashioned Charm)

Hmmm.... Maybe the Mandie Movie Series

12. Which period drama has the prettiest soundtrack or background music? (Suggested by Miss Laurie from Old-Fashioned Charm)

Emma (both versions! However, the New 2009 is even better!).... I have all the Soundtracks and it is absolutely Beautiful !!!


13. Which period drama has your favourite screenplay/script? Why? (e.g if it is similar to the original text, if there is one, or if it has been improved in some ways) (Suggested by Abby from Newly Impassioned Soul)

Emma, Pride & Prejudice, and Love Comes Softly - all follow the books fairly close.

14. Do you like having multiple versions of some period dramas? Do some period dramas need a newer version? Or are the older versions better? (Suggested by Abby from Newly Impassioned Soul)

Yes, I love a variety of movie versions.... that way I can choose my favorite!

I personally think we need a new Persuasion Movie (by Jane Austen). It's time it receives a new upgrade. My apologies to the actresses, but I would like someone else to portray Anne Elliott. I adored the book, but not the movies, thus far.

15. "What is the longest period drama you've seen?" (Suggested by Charity U from Austenitis)

Perhaps Mini-series like Cranford, Wives & Daughters, Pride and Prejudice, or Buccaneers, or maybe even Anne of Green Gables & Anne of Avonlea.


16. Who are your favourite actors/actresses from period drama? (Suggested by Maria Grazia from A friendly meeting place to read and discuss anything Austen...)

Definitely Megan Follows as Anne Shirley and Romola Garai as Emma and Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet

17. Do you prefer watching a regular-length movie or a more in-depth mini-series? Why?(Suggested by Melody from Regency Delight)

Either.... as long as they are good. Mini -series are wonderful though - because the story we are enjoying will go on even longer...

18. What period drama has one of your favorite actors/actresses in it?' (Suggested by Miss Raquel from God's Daughter)

Anne of Green Gables - Megan Follows

19. Which heroine from which movie was your least favorite? Why? (Suggested by Jen Corkill)

Anne Elliott - Persuasion

20. Which three period dramas are your least favorite? (Okay, I added in that one, but it was inspired from Jen Corkill's suggestion)

Based on movies I've seen vs. the original books- Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and Love's Abiding Joy


Thank you for reading along...


I have enjoyed answering these questions and if you would like to participate, too... be sure to take a step back in time and visit the web-site : Elegance of Fashion!







God bless you all...

New Upstairs Downstairs Movie coming to PBS Masterpiece Series in 2011!

I have recently watched and enjoyed many of the recent Masterpiece Theatre Specials on PBS... from Cranford, Return to Cranford, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, etc...

Upcoming Specials are -
Sharpe's Challenge - March 28, 2010, 9pm
Sharpe's Peril - April 4, 2010, 9pm
The Diary of Anne Frank - April 11, 2010, 9pm
Small Island - April 18-25, 2010, 9pm

Next year, 2011, there will be many more Great Productions on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre, including Upstairs Downstairs, Sherlock, and three Aurelio Zen mysteries.

For anyone who watched the original series, Upstairs Downstairs... this is exciting news! I know because I am one of them... I recall being quite captivated with this series when our family watched it (I believe) in the late 1980's or maybe, early 90's. However, the shows were originally created in the 1970s... but that didn't matter to us... we still enjoyed them emmensely! I was also excited to read that the screen-writer for this upcoming series also wrote for Cranford! That's terrific news, because I adore the Cranford Series!

A little about Upstairs Downstairs...
(from Wikipedia)

Upstairs, Downstairs is a BAFTA and Emmy award-winning British drama television series set in a large townhouse in Edwardian, First World War and Inter-War London, that depicted the lives of the servants "downstairs" and their masters "upstairs".

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PRESS RELEASE from PBS:

Masterpiece on PBS and BBC Worldwide Sales and Distribution, Americas have announced a major co-production deal that includes a new production, with the BBC, of Upstairs Downstairs — one of the most-loved and honored television series of all time. Upstairs Downstairs will air in the U.S. in 2011 as part of Masterpiece's 40th anniversary season on PBS.




The deal also includes Sherlock, a 21st-century spin on Arthur Conan Doyle's classic Sherlock Holmes novels, and three Aurelio Zen mysteries, adapted from the bestselling novels by Michael Dibden set in Italy.





"I'm so proud of this particular group of programs," says Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton. "These three series say everything about what Masterpiece aims to be: iconic, rich with wonderful actors, witty, literate, and timeless. I can't wait to see them all."





"These three co-productions offer a new spin on well-known, treasured stories and we're thrilled to be working with Masterpiece to bring them to life," says Matt Forde, EVP Sales & Co-Productions, BBC Worldwide, Americas. "A valued, long-standing production partner, our past collaborations with Masterpiece produced a number of critically acclaimed, award-winning-series — a testament to the success of our partnership."





An enormous success worldwide, the original Upstairs Downstairs won seven Emmys® during its run on Masterpiece Theatre in the mid-1970s — including Best Actress for Jean Marsh, who will reprise her role in the new three-part series as Rose, the parlor maid. Dame Eileen Atkins, the co-creator of the original program, will also star. Screenwriter Heidi Thomas (Cranford) is setting the new Upstairs Downstairs in the same house at 165 Eaton Place in 1936, during the period leading up to World War II.


The thrilling new Sherlock series is a fast-paced, witty take on the legendary crime drama, now set in present day London and starring Benedict Cumberbatch (Atonement, The Last Enemy) as the eponymous detective. Martin Freeman (The Office UK, Hot Fuzz) plays his loyal friend, Doctor John Watson, and Rupert Graves (God on Trial, The Forsyte Saga) is Inspector Lestrade. Co-created by Steven Moffat (Doctor Who, Coupling, Jekyll) and Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen, Crooked House), the iconic details from Arthur Conan Doyle's original books remain: same address, same names — and somewhere out there, Moriarty is waiting.
 Rufus Sewell (The Eleventh Hour, Middlemarch, John Adams) will star as Italian detective Aurelio Zen in three episodes based on the popular mysteries by Michael Dibden. The series is being shot on location in Italy by Left Bank Pictures, the production company behind the acclaimed Wallander television series.





Upstairs Downstairs is a BBC/Masterpiece co-production; Sherlock is a Hartswood Films (Jekyll, Coupling) and Masterpiece co-production; Aurelio Zen is produced by Left Bank Pictures for the BBC in association with RTI (Mediaset Group), Masterpiece and ZDF with additional funding from BBC Worldwide, Ingenious and Lipsync.

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