Vanity Fair

I think if you are brought up on Jane Austen, Vanity Fair is a bit hard to grasp. Thackeray wrote it almost as a satire on modern life (19thC life that is) hence the moment at the beginning of this with Michael Palin as Thackeray. Its not a romance - its about the futility of certain ambitions and what drove life back then. I loved the line in the first episode when Becky asks what does Josh 'collect'.....he is a tax collector sucking the financial life out of India at the cost of the local peoples!
In many ways its themes are easily transferred to our times, social climbing, blind ambition and greed. It makes Becky even more remarkable but contemporary audiences would have really frowned on her!

I’ve never got to grips with Vanity Fair, before and found Becky Sharpe very unlikeable previously, but I can understand her a bit more in this production.
It was a hard world for girls like Becky Sharpe in those days so now I can see her more as an ambitious woman - if a bit ruthless!
It’s quite a comedy so far.
I’m enjoying the modern pop music.

I'm loving it as well. Frances de la Tour is magnificent.

I must admit, I'm enjoying the surreal take on it, with Michael Palin as Thackeray, the fairground and Material Girl playing. Martin Clunes's Pitt Crawley manages to be amusing and mildly likeable whereas he wasn't in the book. Dobbin is a sweetie of course and George a complete cad. All good so far. I'm looking forward to the third episode.

having watched the first episode, hmmm, well quite a different take on the book, but still enjoyable.Becky is more
a spoilt teenager than anything else so far but I think the amusing side of things may have been shown early on, to contrast with the seriousness of what occurs later [maybe.]

Jane - yes, Clunes and de la Tour, both really lifted the whole production for me. I'll forget the book and just enjoy it!

Episode 2 was better I thought. I'm enjoying Martin Clunes' performance! What a change from Doc Martin.

Trouble with inaccurate history is that people think that this is how it was, when it wasn't. Why on a earth not just stick to the truth?!!

Gave up on Versailles, watch Victoria for entertainment not factual history, not that sure about vanity fair, will try again this evening.

I hated Versailles and again, gave up after the second episode!!

I loved the book and the last version on TV, so having disliked Victoria and given it up! far too much glamour, and not very historically accurate, I'm not that keen to risk Vanity Fair, unless I am assured that it's 'good'!!!

I'm so hoping I'll change my mind this evening and like it better!

Did anyone else think that Becky Sharp reminded them of Meghan Markle?

Watched it and thought it was quite good - I've never read the book or seen previous films or series about it so don't know the story. We'll watch the second episode tonight and see how it progresses.

Becky is good - cheeky and feisty. The weird pop music during the intro seemed a bit out of place.

Thought it was rather good. Cast so far well done except for George...hes not 'oily' enough. The BBC had it just right with the young actor who went on the be Henry V111 in The Tudors. I probably wont watch it any more though because I know the novel too well (did it with OU).....I know every twist and turn.

I have just watched it and I LOVED it. I can't wait to watch the next episode.
I tried to read the book many years ago but gave up so I was surprised at how enjoyable it was.

Disappointed, not very faithful to the book and subtleties ironed out. Amused by the sarky manservant but don't recall that he was in the book. And didn't Becky manage to get separated from the group at Vauxhall and have to be rescued by Dobbin in the book?
I much preferred the old BBC one.

Dannirae I just thought that Jane and Eizabeth were miscast. It was the actress playing Jane who had the 'fine eyes', the actress playing Elizabeth didn't. I disliked the script and all the wet shirt business. Last of all, I will whisper it very quietly, I really did not like Colin Firth.

To be fair I have never seen a satisfactory Darcy, the nearest was Paul Daneman in the 1950s, but I was very young then. Darcy is only 2 dimensional in the book, a bit of a cardboard cutout and no script writer yet has succeeded in making him 3 dimensional in a dramatisation.

Looking forward to it but shall record it to get rid of the adverts and I dont care if I nod of in The Bodyguard I could predict the rest of it now!

Thanks Danni, I will watch out for it on the Flemish/Dutch channels, they use subtitles, easier to watch for me anyway.

Oh MOnica I so LOVED P&P. I came to it with no enthusiasm at all - my daughter asked me to watch it with her. But it wasn't long before I was totally hooked by it. Well when I say 'it' I suppose I should admit that it was Mr Darcy that I was enthrall to. I thought he was gorgeous, so much so that eventually I wrote him my one and only 'fan' letter and after a good few months he wrote back with a signed photo..................... I have framed it and treasure it still!
Only the other day, when I had to stay in because we had workmen here, I sat and watched the whole box set again and loved it just as much again

I shall watch it because I never managed to read much further than the battle of Waterloo in the book.
Hope it sticks to the story, but from the interview I listened to with the adaptor I have my doubts, as she is making it 'relevant.'

I haven't watched a tv costume drama since P&P in the 80s for all the reasons the OP mentioned.

I have occasionally dipped in to one or two only to quickly shake the dust off my feet for the same reason.

DGD, 10, watched my favourite P&P, the one before the Andrew Davies adaptation, where the script was by Fay Weldon. Her response was she much preferred it because it was much closer to the book and she thought the houses looked more real, like the inside of Jane Austen's home, which she had visited.

I'll start watching it but might not bother finishing it if I don't like it. I'm sure a lot of us know how it ends anyway. I think I wrote an answer on Becky Sharpe in Higher English 61 years ago.