6 Period Dramas I did not like.

First, a random gif of my darling Amy Dorrit, then the post.

You all know. I adore Period Dramas. You don't need to read any of my posts to know this; you just need to use your eyeballs and look at my header and the pictures/tags in my sidebar. Period-Drama-filled. I am unashamed - I LOVE Period Dramas. (My favourites being Pride and Prejudice 1995, Emma 2009, Downton Abbey, Lark Rise to Candleford, and Testament of Youth, and Little Dorrit, and...)

But there are some that were a disappointment to me. They made me sleep, or weep, or groan in dismay. You might be a fan of these, so yes, I am prepared for fierce-and-angry-comments. Here they are, people; Period Dramas I Did Not Like. (I don't necessarily hate them. I just didn't like them.) (And they are in no particular order, although there are some in this list that annoy me a lot more than others.)

1. Persuasion 2007

Ew. When I watched this, I kind of CRINGED a lot. Everything was just a bit cinge-worthy to me, and I feel very un-Jane-Austen-like to say this in Front Of Everyone, but I didn't like it. I didn't like Anne, to start with - not because she was 'old' or 'quiet', but because she had greasy hair, a creepy smile, and she looked straight AT THE CAMERA and it ANNOYED ME SO MUCH. (Hush, Naomi. Calm down.)

Also... Captain Wentworth. (Pssst. I don't think he's that handsome.)

2. Under the Greenwood Tree

Under the Greenwood Tree was okay - I just about liked it. (It's probably my favourite on this list, too.) But it definitely doesn't rank high on my list of Period Dramas. Heh. Heh. The main thing that annoyed me was Dick Dewy. :-P First of all, he wasn't handsome. (IN MY OPINION.) Secondly, the way he fell in love with Fancy Day was just so ridiculous it makes me want to weep for humanity. Thirdly, the way he invites Fancy to the 'Par-y' by simply SAYING 'Par-y' in front of her face twice makes me criiiinge. (The pastor also annoyed me so so much. And so did the old man with the big sideburns. Just everyone.)

Basically, I didn't really mind watching this movie because we had a lot of fun watching it and laughing at about just about every character.

3. Our Mutual Friend

Okay, so adding this one to the list is KIIIND of unfair, because I only watched one episode and that's it. (Emma says that if I had watched it all, I would have ended up loving it. :-P)

Buuuut, I didn't, and therefore I did not like it at all. It was CREEPY  (I mean... finding dead bodies in a lake??? Thank you for making nice tv-series, BBC.) and all the characters were CREEPY (like, yeah, keeping sculls in a house is normal???) and just... BLEH. I didn't like it. (I do want to give this another go, though. One day.)

4. Pride and Prejudice 2005

BLEHHH. This movie drives me cruuu-ayyy-zee. Click here for zee long, numerous reasons. MWUHAHA. (It's a very long post. And very hefty. Just warning.)

5. Les Miserables

I'm sorry to say that I didn't even finish this one. :-/ I have learnt to love the music and the characters now - and I have learnt to really love the stage musical - But the movie version?! NOPE. Nopeditynope. It was too miserable and gritty and spooky and sad and scary and poor-people-y.

(The music is nice though, and I would like to give this movie another go one day. But in the meanwhile I'll rewatch the dvd's of Emma's Les Mis performance whenever I'm in a Les Mis mood.)

6. The Mill on the Floss

When people ask me, "What is your least favourite Period Drama?" - I usually say, 'Ew, Mill on the Floss - it's awwwwful." And it is awful. :-P All the characters are either really mean or really melancholy, and although I liked the main character in some parts, she disappointed me hugely. Basically, she falls in love with a tolerably nice dude and then SUDDENLY OUT OF THE BLUE kisses someone else.

Like... UM. OKAY. (How did this story get published again?)

But that's not all, because after zee kiss and zee other-man-business, the main character's annoying brother (who I hate) comes along and they both DROWN. AND THAT'S IT. LIKE REALLY. UGHHHHHHHH. BLEHHH.

(Never watch this.)

Okay, ha. I hope you enjoyed this highly negative post. I'm sorry if I offended you, or bashed your very favourite movie once again - please don't take anything personally, and please tell me whether or not you agree with my controversial sentiments. And have a very good day. :-) Keep on smiling and don't watch bad movies. :-)

What are some Period Dramas you didn't like?

7 Period Drama Characters I feel so sorry for

I love millions and billions and zillions of characters, but I don't feel sorry for all of them. Of course, there are more than just ten characters I feel desperately sorry for, but here are seven. Ten characters who I want to hug, ten characters my heart goes out to in deep compassion. The poor mites.

#1.

~*~ Edith Crawley ~*~ Downton Abbey ~*~

Poor girl. Sure, she made some very bad mistakes which I do not applaud at all, but seriously - the poor girl. 

Firstly, she was in love with Patrick, who was engaged to her older sister. Patrick died in the Titanic. Okay, sure, that happend. No-one really cared about Edith, she kind of gets shoved away. Then she finds love in the elderly kind bachelor, Anthony Strallam, who warms her heart and makes a nicer person of her. She gets jilted at the altar by him because he realises he is too old for her. Okay, yeah, that had to happen. Edith is, obviously, heartbroken.

Then, all that with her next lover, Michael Gregson. As I said, I don't approve what she did, but she seemed to deeply regret it afterwards, and I felt deeply sorry for the poor thing. Michael Gregson died. All those problems with her daughter Marigold. I mean... poor girl.

Edith is really the kind of character everyone desperately wants to see happy. I once watched an interview with the Downton Abbey creator, Julian Fellowes, who said that a random lady was once following him around in town. At one point, he (Julian) said, he turned around and asked the lady what the matter was. She just said one thing. She said, 'PLEASE MAKE EDITH HAPPY!'
Haha.

All that said, I hope Edith has a better time in the next season!

#2.

~*~ John Chivery ~*~ Little Dorrit ~*~

Ohhhhh. JOHN CHIVERY. *wails and cries bitter tears of compassion*

I feel so, so, so, so, so sorry for this fellow. My heart sheds tears whenever I think of the guy. My siblings are used to me sometimes (ahem - often) going, 'Oh! John Chivery! POOR him!' I did that especially often when I had just seen Little Dorrit. He is probably the character I feel the MOST sorry for in all Period Dramas.

John Chivery is an emotional, young, happy-with-simple-things, big-dream, sweet-smile, boyish young man, who has a huge, serious, and yet-almost-childish crush on Amy Dorrit. The word 'crush' is an understatement, actually. He really is deeply and utterly and dreamily in love with that childhood friend of his. He would throw himself down a cliff if she asked him to. He worships the very ground she treads on. He loves her so much that he already imagines what people will write on his gravestone about how much he loved his beloved wife, Amy.

(Are you crying yet, guys?)

Now, unlike some people (haha) I do not think of Amy and John as a couple. In more modern terms, I do not 'ship' them. Amy and Arthur BELONG to each-other. Amy doesn't love John Chivery, and hard as it is for her, can't marry him. I also feel very sorry for Amy, by the way, but we'll talk about that later. But back to darling John Chivery- John cries when Amy rejects him. He tells Arthur Amy loves him, with tears in his eyes, because he loves her and just wants her happy. And then when we see him in that blue jacket of his at Amy's wedding. 

OH JOHN LET ME HUG YOU. I just want John to be HAPPY. *cries*

#3.

~*~ Molly Gibson ~*~ Wives & Daughters ~*~

Goodness, this girl, the POOR MITE. I want to bash into the screen and give her a hug. Firstly, she gets a new mother. And not just any mother. A mother who behaves more like a peacock, who barges into her room and throws all her 'old' things away (I WOULD BE SO ANGRY if someone did that to me! Gosh!) and a mother who doesn't know the difference between an engagement and an elephant. Or whatever.

Then, the person she is in love with (this seems to be a bit of a theme in this post, right?) goes off and proposes to her rather flighty but none-the-less kind step-sister, Cynthia. And then she (Molly) goes and cries in front of the window, looking at Roger walking away in the rain. OH PLEASE.

I feel very sorry for Molly.

#4.

~*~ Amy Dorrit ~*~ Little Dorrit ~*~

In most movies, when we have a rejected proposal, one roots for one side of the match, normally. Lizzy Bennet and Mr Collins - it is Lizzy we understand. Etc. But in Little Dorrit I felt disastrously sorry for both sides. I've talked about my heart-ache for poor John, but we have to think about Amy too! Amy is a lovely humble girl with a servants heart - but she knows what she wants and she does want to be happy. It must have been very hard for her to tell John that no, she didn't love him. Amy hates, hates, hates to make people unhappy. It's her worst nightmare. So, POOR AMY, everyone.

But that isn't the only time I feel sorry for Amy. I basically feel sorry for the almost-too-kind, always-trying-to-please-everyone, always-doing-the-chores Amy all the time. That about sums it up. I always feel sorry for her (especially on that trip in Italy when she has to act like a posh lady. Poor girl.)

Amy just deserves so much. Arthur knew it, everyone with a good mind knows it. I was so bursting-with-joy happy when I saw her so happy and relaxed and flowery and in love on her gentleman's arm in the end.

May you live happily every after, Amy. You deserve it so much I can't even tell you.

By the way, people, did you KNOW? I have been to the Marshalsea! That 'prison' Amy lives in! It was filmed in Hampton Court Palace, which is where my Grandparents go to Church every Sunday and which is where I have been so often in my life! When I realised it was filmed in Hampton Court I literally squealed in delight. I WAS THERE.  :-) It was really cool being able to recognise Hampton Court when we went on watching it afterwards. (My Grandma says she remembers it getting filmed. Had I known I would have gone then! (Okay, I was only nine when they filmed it, but still.))

#5. 

~*~ Tom Pinch ~*~ Martin Chuzzlewit ~*~

Tom Pinch! We're in the John Chivery situation again, guys. I guess Charles Dickens is good at makes us weep in compassion for dear characters such as Tom Pinch (who, by the way, is not the guy taking the ham in the picture, it's the one with the weird hair-style.)

The only thing I don't like about Tom Pinch is his awful hairstyle. The only thing. For the rest, he's an angel come down from heaven. He's a saint. Super nice, always good. A bit shy, rather quiet and keeps his thoughts generously to himself. Therefore no-one (or hardly anyone) knows, ever, that he is in love with Mary (who always tells him how much she loves Martin) - which makes it so much more... sorry for him-like.

Loads of people like him. At one point, the whole town is singing 'For he's a Jolly Good Fellow' to him (which he so deserves) - and Mary, the sweet little thing he is in love with, likes him too, and shares her heart-ache for Martin with him. It must be so hard for him, but he never ever lets Mary know his feelings for him.

In the end we see him alone on a bench, a bit further away from Martin and Mary in an embrace. Poor soul. Then he goes on whistfully saying that not all stories end well. OH NO. JUST NO.

#6.

~*~ Dr Harrison ~*~ Cranford ~*~

Why, yes, I feel sorry for him! Why would you be surprised? (No, I'm not automatically assuming that everyone of you is surprised, don't worry.)

Sure, Dr Frank Harrison (is Frank his name? I think so.) is not the first person that comes into mind when one thinks of 'pitiful' people in the period drama world, but remember that episode. REMEMBER? When he sits there, bewildered and sad. When he somehow, without realising it, got engaged to three people at the same time. When he lost darling buttercup-like Sophie Hutton and when he wasn't allowed to help her when she was deathly ill.

I felt SO sorry for Dr Harrison in the last episode. It's just not fair. It's so annoying when things like that happen in movies, isn't it? That kind of no-one-understands, YOU WANT TO EXPLAIN, and you-feel-dashed-sorry-for-everyone-story. Oh, especially Dr Harrison who everyone kinda shoved away. *clenches fists* Not fair.

And I love it when he just forgave Jack after that anyway. Dr Harrison is super kind.

I remember when we finished that episode that ends like it does in the screen-cap above. I seriously almost jumped out of my skin because I felt so sorry for that young fella. (Okay, not really that serious. I have never even 'almost' jumped out of my skin. I can't.) It was a torture to wait for the next episode, but I so desperately want to see that plot turned well. And Dr Harrison happy.

#7.

~*~ Anna Bates ~*~ Downton Abbey ~*~

NOOOOO. POOR ANNA POOR ANNA POOR ANNA.

*sniffles for about three hours and refuses to admit to the blogging world that I am exaggerating*

What Anna has gone through is just amazing. No person would be able to go through it like she did in real life. This proves, together with the fact that people within one house don't ever die so quickly, that Downton Abbey is, sadly, fictional. Anna is amazing. She tried to solve her Mr Bates' murder plot, she endlessly visited him in prison, she - poor thing - bore that everlasting prison-business better than us viewers did. Oh, this good girl has to be happy. I have to see her 100% happy, I HAVE TO.

Then, obviously, in the next seasons, even more cruel treatments lie await for Anna. She gets abused by a villain-y-type and ends up in prison. JUST NO GUYS. I just feel so sorry for Anna Bates, I can't even say it.

I need to see the next Christmas Special urgently, so urgently, because I'm in great need of a look at a happy Anna, I really am. She needs to be happy. So badly.

Now, THAT's better. :-)

~*~

What characters to you greatly pity?

Have I included them?

I think, that if I were to watch les Mis, I would have millions of more characters on this list, right?

Mr Charles Dickens is here today with some tips for your stories

Today I am very honoured to introduce Mr Charles Dickens and have him write a guest post on my blog. I know, I know, I normally don't invite male people onto my blog, but please - this guy is so welcome. Although I must say, I think you all know him already - there's really no need to introduce him, right? But just in case you don't know him, he's a novelist and he has a beard. Slightly older than most of us, therefore making him very wise. A very experienced novelist, I might add. In fact, so experienced that I asked him to share some tips.

I have to add one more thing before Charles starts the actually post - Dickens style of blog-writing differs enormously from his novel-writing. Just in case you might get confused. :-P (But he will never use any smileys. Of any kind. Not even the classic ":-)" - He flatly refuses.)

So here is Mr Charles Dickens with some tips to brilliant stories...

This is me. I do beg your pardon for the serious expression on my face. I had only written 100 words that day and was extremely disappointed with myself and not in the spirit to be cheerful.

Dear readers, I am touched indeed to hear that people value my opinions! Here are some things/issues your stories are better of with than without...

Long messy hair-styles
I know this starts very random, my dear readers, but I advise you strongly to place on top of your beloved character's heads, some original pieces of hair. For less-well-off characters, I like the spider-web look; the shaggy dishevelled hair - they accentuate so well the face that the character is poor. Of course, the character could in reality easily and quickly cut it off or brush it with their fingers - but nay, forget about tidying it. Your poor characters need spider-web hair. Otherwise they aren't poor enough. They have to look poor - they have to look kind of creepy-poor. It's a fantastic way to accentuate their poverty.
Some examples are illustrated in the pictures below.

Loads of poor people suffering greatly
If you want a moving book - a book that will lie long in the hearts of nations - you need to bring some grim truth into it. Poverty, guillotines, war, murder, spanking, weird illnesses are some good examples. Put at least two of these grim, sad issues into your novel - no, perhaps two isn't even enough. You just need to put the grim truth in your books - shock people, shock them. Shocking people makes them remember your stories.
Of course, now and then you're allowed to write a humerous book. But even then it is important to put in some sad issues. In my story, 'The Pickwick Papers' - a book supposed to make people laugh, not to make them shocked or cry - I didn't forget this tip. When I placed Mr Pickwick in the prison, I showed my readers that life isn't just humour - it is sad. So long story short, my dear readers, put quite a fair amount of poor people in your book - make them suffer greatly.

Some very PERFECT characters
I strongly approve of drastically different characters. In my novels I try to have at least one character personifying the idea perfection of a human being. Lucy Manette and her husband in 'A Tale of Two Cities' are two lovely people - role models. In 'Martin Chuzzlewit' I have darling Mary - there really is nothing wrong with her - and of course, the perfectly good Tom Pinch. You need a few perfect characters - people have told me some of my characters are too good, maddeningly good - but I disagree! Your stories need GOOD characters. Characters that deserve not an ounce of wrong, characters that people want to see happy.

(Note from Naomi: I love these people so much! *sniffle*)

At least one character who is evil - and by evil I mean cooking evil
By contrast, you also need villains. In my opinion, a book is not a good one unless there is a deliciously creepy and evil villain inside. Not all villains have to be equally bad, I'm not saying that, but in my opinion my best books are the ones with the meanest villains. Blandois in 'Little Dorrit' is the villain I am most proud of, I have to say. I loathe him; everyone loathes him; everyone loves to loathe him; no-one feels bad to loathe him because there's not a breath in him that even hints goodness. These are the kind of people every book MUST contain.

(Note from Naomi: This isn't a note. It's just a big SHUDDER. :-O)

Weird names
Mr Pancks, Mr Squeers, Mr Winkle, Mr Snodgrass, Barnaby Rudge, Jeremiah Flintwinch, Mr Bumble... be original! When names are quirky and different, they will remain long in the brains of your readers. I understand of course, if you find it hard to come up with original names. I dare say our beloved Jane Austen had that problem. So here are some examples for you if you find it hard to think of them: Mr Pimpledomps, Mr Zark, Mr Trospetter, Mr Yomerick. Just have fun.

People that are so weird that they don't look like people
As I said before, one has to be original.
Make your character original, my dear readers, and they will stick in the minds of people! Give people one eye! Give them a huge bunch of spider-web hair! Give them a monocle that makes their eyebrows arch up for miles! Give them white powdered faces! Give them dust in their hair! Make them spooky! Make your readers' hearts pound hard! They might say you go over the top sometimes, but in the end people will love your books and they will never get enough of them.
Don't want to boast, but it worked with me.

Thank you, Mr Dickens, for writing for me! I hope you all enjoyed the post - I certainly did. Mr Dickens, I hope you will come back to Wonderland Creek more often in the future. (He just said, 'No thank you, one post was more than enough - he prefers writing his novels. But he says he enjoyed it anyway, just for once.)