The Moonstone

Wilkie Collins proto-detective novel is regarded as the first detective story and has set a template which exists to this day.

BBC Daytime has taken on the multi-voice narrative by focusing on a different character for each of the five episodes hoping to encourage the younger members of the audience to seek out the book.

John Thomson plays Sergeant Cuff the detective who investigates the theft of the Moonstone diamond. Characters are interviewed in the billiard room and there is subtle use of lighting to distinguish the past and present with hues of blues used for the present day scenes where a gloomy cloud hangs with the loss of the valuable diamond.

It is low budget because BBC Daytime has less money to lavish on dramas, there are less wide shots and more close ups, it takes a while for the drama to kick in but I was intrigued by the end as the culprit is revealed.

I felt when I was watching this that it really seemed of the time. I have looked at some of these productions set in the past and they've got too modern a feel. The players seem to more of today than the time it's supposed to be. I didn't find that with this one. Did Wilkie mean for the Betteridges to be of African descent and the maid to be Irish or is that an attempt to make it more inclusive? I'm Irish but I don't remember the maid being Irish. She was very good in the part. All the cast were excellent.

So... I happened upon my mom watching this and became so invested that I read the book, then rewatched the show. It's one of the greatest mysteries in classic literature, and this miniseries does it total justice. The actor for Sergeant Cuff does a phenomenal job, and I loved how they incorporated Betteridge's obsession with Robinson Crusoe. The acting is awesome (especially Rosanna, Miss Clack, and Franklin). I find Rachel's character a little undeveloped but that's ok. She's not really the star anyway. A lot of people might say it's too long, but I didn't find it that way. To be honest, I've seen it over three times all the way through (I binge it every time) and it's never felt like it drags on. I always say the book is better, but this is a great adaptation and I like it almost as much as the book itself. Wilkie Collins was a genius. Completely worth the watch!

Oh dear but this version drags on, logging in at a whopping 225 minutes. It's not so much telling each person's version as just showing the same scenes several times, going back and forth between the year. Long, long, l-o-n-g mood shots of anguished actors of the do-math-in-your-head school of acting. Crisper editing could have cut at least one episode. I love BBC period dramas but not even I could sit through this convoluted, contrived, overwrought version without fast forwarding.

The mini-series started out well enough. But about midway through episode 3 I had had enough (but I stuck it out). My 2 main issues were - 1. The Diamond was stolen from India and brought to England. It seemed like a silly thing to get so worked up about, especially when it should have just been returned. All of these people arguing and 'steal in' another county's jewel. And 2. The pace of the story was atrocious. Rather than having 5 45 minutes episodes, they could have easily had it done in 3. A lot of repetitiveness in different sections of the story.

Some reasonably good acting. But very drawn out.