Bleak House in the Bleak Midwinter

Bleak House BBC cast photo

My birthday present to myself this year was yet another Amazon shopping spree. It was pointed out to me by a few of my readers when I photographed and posted my DVD collection for snooping, that I was missing a couple of critical Dickens/BBC biggies, namely Bleak House and Little Dorrit. Both of these I had seen on television and so somehow never bought. Well, after Downton Abbey, the timing was perfect for another wonderful series to take the place of the schlock on TV this winter.

If you have never seen this adaptation of Dickens' scathing take on the legal profession (as only Dickens can do), you need to buy, borrow, rent or otherwise procure this series, as it is one of the best things the BBC has ever produced. EVER!

Gillian Anderson as Lady Deadlock-"Bored to death!"

Gillian Anderson, having been brought up on two continents, switches effortlessly to a British accent (no Scully here) and is amazing to watch as the "bored to death" Lady Deadlock. Her situation as the wife of an older rather soulless aristocrat makes her an odd object of pity. She is, simply, riveting to watch.

Anna Maxwell Martin as the true heroine, Esther Summerson

Anna Maxwell Martin does a wonderful job of portraying the main character, Esther Summerson, a role which could be bland and boring, but is not at all in Martin's capable hands. Unfortunately, she looks nothing like her supposed mother in this so suspend your disbelief if you will.

Denis Lawson as Red Two (Wedge) in Star Wars-I knew I had seen those eyebrows somewhere!

Denis Lawson a few years later as Mr. John Jarndyce

Denis Lawson does a lovely job with another character that could come off as bland, Mr. John Jarndyce. Apparently, he invented a back story to explain why John Jarndyce is still a bachelor at this age (a crushingly broken heart of course) which helped him bring the character to life.
I had to look up Denis Lawson on IMDb to find out where I had seen him before, and of course it was as one of the X-Wing fighter pilots in the 3 original Star Wars episodes. Apparently, his role as Red Two (Wedge) inspired both of his nephews in their careers. One nephew, Ewan McGregor, became an actor and another nephew, Colin McGregor became a pilot in the RAF!

Philip Davis as Mr. Smallweed "Shake me up Judy"

OMG my husband (the Squire) is still walking around saying "Shake me up Judy" two weeks after watching this! This was one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen on the screen. Philip Davis must have had a blast with this character, and character is definitely the word!

Burn Gorman as the unforgettable Mr. Guppy

Speaking of characters, they could not have cast Mr. Guppy any better than they did with the odd looking Burn Gorman. He has a face that was meant to play a Dickens character. The scene where he proposes to Esther is absolutely priceless. "My Angel!"

Charles Dance as the oily evil Mr. Tulkinghorn

Patrick Kennedy as Richard Carstone and Carey Mulligan as Ada Clare "The Jarndyce Wards"

Nathaniel Parker as Mr. Harold Skimpole "I am like a child..."

Well, I could go on and on but in short, you have to see this. You have missed one of the best period dramas ever if you miss this one. If you only saw it on PBS, it looks much better on DVD. Not as dark and easier to see the action. I felt like I was missing half of this the first time I saw it, but it comes through beautifully in high definition with DVD. The half hour episodes are great too as you can decide how much or how little you want to watch at one sitting.
 
Warning, it is like potato chips...hard to stop at just one episode!