Oliver Twist BBC 2007

Oliver Twist BBC 2007

PBS is on the Dickens bandwagon for the next two months. Huzzah!!!! Check out this amazing lineup:

Old Curiosity Shop Feb 26 2012
Oliver Twist Mar 4
Little Dorrit Mar 11,18 & 25
Great Expectations Apr 1 & 8
The Mystery of Edwin Drood Apr 15

Of course, my local Buffalo NY station WNED is one of those who decides they know better than the PBS head honchos so I didn't get to see Old Curiosity Shop last week (OK, not a tragedy as that was the book I almost threw in the lake I was so mad at the ending!). Oliver Twist however is one of my favourite Dickens books and I would really like to see this one. Alas, WNED is showing Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall. I'm sure that makes some people happy but not me. I own Little Dorrit (and I ADORE it) so I will watch that for the next few Sundays on my own and then I will get to see Great Expectations with Gillian Anderson as Miss Havisham and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Thank goodness.

William Miller as Oliver Twist

However, I will have to have my readers let me know how they liked Oliver Twist. I hope you are in an area which gets this on their local PBS station tomorrow, March 4 2012. Timothy Spall (Harry Potter, Our Mutual Friend) plays Fagin and Sophie Okenedo (Hotel Rwanda) plays Nancy. Gorgeous Tom Hardy (Inception and The Virgin Queen) plays Bill Sykes. This version of Oliver Twist got much better reviews than the cinematic version from 2005 (directed by Roman Polanski) so it's worth a look.

Sophie Okenedo as Nancy in Oliver Twist

So folks...check local listings before you get excited about seeing this one on PBS Masterpiece. I have my fingers crossed for you. Although, maybe you would enjoy The Phantom of the Opera at Royal Albert Hall better. Who knows?

8-11 p.m. on select PBS stations.

Thanks to Kate from Leeds for tipping me off that Oliver Twist 2007 is on YouTube. Here is the first installment: