"Lost in Austen" (2008) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

3 September 2008 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Amanda, an ardent Jane Austen fan, lives in present day London with her boyfriend Michael, until she finds she's swapped places with Austen's fictional creation Elizabeth Bennett.

Plot Keywords:

Jane Austen | England | English | Romanticism | 1800s

Cast

Jemima Rooper	...	Amanda Price (4 episodes, 2008)
Elliot Cowan	...	Mr. Darcy (4 episodes, 2008)
Hugh Bonneville	...	Mr. Bennet (4 episodes, 2008)
Florence Hoath	...	Kitty Bennet (4 episodes, 2008)
Alex Kingston	...	Mrs. Bennet (4 episodes, 2008)
Morven Christie	...	Jane Bennet (4 episodes, 2008)
Perdita Weeks	...	Lydia Bennet (4 episodes, 2008)
Tom Mison	...	Mr. Bingley (4 episodes, 2008)
Ruby Bentall	...	Mary Bennet (4 episodes, 2008)
Christina Cole	...	Caroline Bingley (4 episodes, 2008)
Tom Riley	...	Mr. Wickham (3 episodes, 2008)
Guy Henry	...	Mr. Collins (3 episodes, 2008)
Gugu Mbatha-Raw	...	Pirhana (2 episodes, 2008)
Daniel Percival	...	Michael (2 episodes, 2008)
Gemma Arterton	...	Elizabeth Bennet (2 episodes, 2008)
Lindsay Duncan	...	Lady Catherine de Bourgh (2 episodes, 2008)
Michelle Duncan	...	Charlotte Lucas (2 episodes, 2008)

Also Known As:

"Inside Austen" (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

60 min (including commercials) (4 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Allerton Castle, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, England, UK

Company:

Mammoth Screen

Trivia:

The white and purple floral print gown Michelle Duncan (Charlotte Lucas) wears sewing cushions at Longbourn is the same costume worn by Emilia Fox (Clara Copperfield) in David Copperfield (1999) (TV), and by Francesca Annis (Mrs. Kirkpatrick) at the Towers in the opening scenes of "Wives and Daughters" (1999).

Quotes:

Amanda Price: I try not to judge people I've never met
Mr. Darcy: You are a philosopher, Miss Price. I would I could be like you.
Amanda Price: Certainly you would benefit an occupation of some kind. You have no function, Mr. Darcy. No purpose.
Mr. Darcy: Of course not. What a disgusting idea. That is the raison d'etre of society. We must be seen to be unoccupied.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Lost in Austen: Behind the Scenes (2008) (TV)

Life on Mars meets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead . .

. . . in Longbourne.

I may be asked to hand in my Austen Purists card but I liked it. And I think ITV are far better advised to try and cash in on the Austen market with this type of product than with the anaemic reproductions of BBC period drama they treated us to last year.

It's limited but it's funny. One of mainstays is that the characters are all subtly different and we are mostly offstage with scenes from the novel happening elsewhere. Lydia is attractively vivacious rather than promiscuously giddy, Jane is not that pretty, Darcy is not offensively haughty, the stranger from the future is not offensively gauche, and Mrs Bennett who has been very quick to understand the threat the newcomer poses to her daughters AND take action, is set up for very interesting developments - more a fearsome adversary so far than a cringing embarrassment.

Lizzie even looks like Lizzie should, but since she's hardly been in it so far, we'll have to wait and see what Gemma Arterton comes up with when she gets a few lines. It's a big ask, so I'll be interested to see whether she and Jemima Rooper can carry it off.

But you can count me in. Definitely.