The Period Drama Challenge: January Tag Questions

For the Period Drama Challenge that I am taking part in, tag questions are posted at the end of each month.  I haven't posted any reviews for the challenge yet, (my first review is on the way, but I have yet to finish it).  These are my answers to the questions for January.

1)  What period dramas have you watched in January?


Series three of Downton Abbey.

I have been watching series three of Downton Abbey on PBS.  I like it, but I miss how the show felt in series one and two.  The atmosphere and overall feeling of Downton Abbey seems to have changed.  It has also become constantly depressing and stressful in terms of the story lines.  And after certain changes that have occurred and will occur later in the series that I know about (I came across spoilers without meaning to before I had seen it), I don't know if I can ever be on good terms with Downton Abbey again.  It makes me so sad, since I absolutely loved series one and two.  I was practically obsessed with this show.  I will miss the old Downton Abbey.  I wish they could have ended with the Christmas special of series three (and then a certain thing would not have had to have happened); I don't see the point of there being a fourth series.  However, I will try to remain faithful to Downton Abbey till the very end.  I will continue watching no matter what happens.  But presently, Downton Abbey is an emotionally painful show to watch.      

I've also been watching The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.  I've been a fan of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries since November.  The Lizzie Bennet Diaries wouldn't be considered to be a period drama, though, since it takes place in the present day.  The story not only unfolds through Lizzie Bennet's video blogs, but through many other forms of media (which they call "transmedia"), such as Twitter and Tumblr (all of the characters have Twitter and Facebook accounts as if they were real people).  It's a very interactive experience for the fans that lends a lot of suspension of disbelief and realism.  The Lizzie Bennet Diaries has recently reached its eighty fourth episode.    

2)  Do you prefer period dramas peppered with humor or laced with dark emotions?


I really like that description!  I have always preferred period dramas laced with dark emotions.  But not too much, *cough* series three of Downton Abbey *cough cough*.  It's not that I don't like humor, but dark tones in stories such as Bleak House, North and South, or Jane Eyre capture my interest far more often.  Okay, I'm sorry, but I really can't get over how beautiful "laced with dark emotions" sounds. 

3)  What was the first period drama miniseries (two episodes or longer) that you ever watched?

Pride and Prejudice 1995.  Not only was it the first period drama mini-series I had ever seen, but the first period film I had ever seen in my life, and my first introduction to Jane Austen's stories.  


4)  How many Jane Austen adaptations have you seen?


I have seen...

-  Pride and Prejudice 1980

-  Pride and Prejudice 1995

-  Pride and Prejudice 2005

-  Persuasion 1971

-  Persuasion 1995

-  Persuasion 2007

-  Sense and Sensibility 1971

-  Sense and Sensibility 1980

-  Sense and Sensibility 1995

-  Sense and Sensibility 2008

-  Emma 1972

-  Emma 1996

-  Emma 2009

-  Mansfield Park 1983

-  Mansfield Park 1999

-  Northanger Abbey 2007

...wow...that's a lot.  I've never realized before how many Jane Austen adaptations I've actually seen.  That's sixteen all together!

5)  What period drama, that you haven't seen before, are you most looking forward to seeing in the future?

Little Dorrit 2008!  I've never seen Little Dorrit before, and I've always wished I could see it.  I have no idea what the story is about.  

Little Dorrit (2008).