Emma (2009 TV serial)

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Emma
EmmaRomolaGaraiDVD.jpg
Genre Costume drama
Based on Emma
by Jane Austen
Written by Sandy Welch
Directed byJim O'Hanlon
Starring Romola Garai
Jonny Lee Miller
Michael Gambon
Tamsin Greig
Rupert Evans
Robert Bathurst
Jodhi May
Louise Dylan
Blake Ritson
Christina Cole
Laura Pyper
Composer Samuel Sim
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes4
Production
Executive producerPhillippa Giles
ProducerGeorge Ormond
Original release
Network BBC One
Release4 October (2009-10-04) 
25 October 2009 (2009-10-25)

Emma is a four-part BBC television drama serial adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma . The episodes were written by Sandy Welch, writer of previous BBC costume dramas Jane Eyre and North & South , and directed by Jim O'Hanlon. The serial stars Romola Garai as the titular heroine Emma Woodhouse, Jonny Lee Miller as her loyal lifelong friend Mr. Knightley, and Michael Gambon as Emma's father, Mr. Woodhouse. The serial originally ran weekly on Sunday nights on BBC One from 4 to 25 October 2009. [1]

Contents

Plot

For a detailed account of the plot, see main article: Emma (novel)

Austen's classic comic novel follows the story of the "handsome, clever and rich" Emma Woodhouse. Dominating the small provincial world of Highbury, Emma believes she is a skilled matchmaker and repeatedly attempts to pair off her friends and acquaintances. Nothing delights her more than meddling in the love lives of others. But when she takes protégée Harriet Smith under her wing, her interference has a detrimental effect.

Brought up sharply against the folly of her own immaturity, the consequent crisis and her bitter regrets are brought to a happy resolution in a comedy of self-deceit and self-discovery.

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Production

Principal photography commenced with a four-day shoot in the Kent village of Chilham from 14 to 18 April 2009. Production design staff covered several roads with gravel to disguise the 21st-century road markings, and erected a fountain in the village square. [2] Filming occurred from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day and was scheduled to coincide with the Easter school holiday to minimise local disruption. [3]

Filming continued at the parish church of St. Mary the Virgin in Send, Surrey on 24 and 28 April, where scenes of a wedding and a Sunday service were completed. [4] Further filming took place at Squerryes Court, Westerham, Kent where many interior scenes were shot. [5]

The scene that shows Emma and Harriet Smith on their way to visit the poor was filmed in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The church they pass along the wooded path is St Etheldreda's Church, Hatfield.

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)
1"Episode One"Jim O'HanlonSandy Welch4 October 2009 (2009-10-04)4.84 [6]
Rich, independent and kind-spirited, Emma Woodhouse has no need to marry, but nothing delights her more than matchmaking those around her. Once she has credited herself with marrying off her former governess, Anne Taylor, to Mr Weston, she alights upon the pretty Harriet Smith to fashion into her new playmate and ally. She persuades Harriet that she is too good for her suitor, the farmer Robert Martin, and encourages her to set her sights higher. But close family friend Mr Knightley warns Emma that her meddling will cause great pain – to both Robert and Harriet. Emma refuses to listen, and Mr Knightley is furious at Emma's stubbornness.
2"Episode Two"Jim O'HanlonSandy Welch11 October 2009 (2009-10-11)4.12 [6]
Emma continues her attempts to marry off Harriet and Mr Elton, vicar of Highbury. Although uninterested in marriage herself, she is intrigued by the mysterious and elusive Frank Churchill, whom she hopes to meet for the first time at the Westons' Christmas party. Frank does not arrive, and instead Emma becomes the subject of unwanted and embarrassing attention from Mr Elton. A few weeks later, after the arrival of Frank Churchill at last, village gossip and speculation focuses on the arrival of young Jane Fairfax and a large piano which she has been sent by a mystery admirer. Frank and Emma speculate about the piano's giver, but Emma refuses to believe that Mr Knightley could be the secret admirer. He couldn't be, could he?
3"Episode Three"Jim O'HanlonSandy Welch18 October 2009 (2009-10-18)3.32 [7]
Emma teases Mr Knightley about Jane, but he remains tight-lipped. Meanwhile, Frank and Emma plan a ball, and Emma wonders whether she might be in love with him. Despite having a wonderful time at a village ball, she decides not. With her matchmaking officially abandoned, Emma feels cooped up and bored, so Mr Knightley suggests a day trip to Box Hill for a change of scene and some temporary escape. He also tells Emma that he suspects Frank and Jane to be secretly in love. Emma rebuffs the suggestion – she can personally vouch for Frank's indifference to Jane – which leaves Knightley feeling hurt at Emma's indifference towards him.
4"Episode Four"Jim O'HanlonSandy Welch25 October 2009 (2009-10-25)3.66 [8]
What was intended as a day of fun turns into a day of agony for everyone on the Box Hill excursion. Things come to a head when, egged on by Frank, Emma behaves badly, carelessly insulting Miss Bates. She is berated by Knightley and realises that her behaviour was shameful. She tries to repair things with Jane and Miss Bates, but Jane will not see her – although Miss Bates tells her that Jane has accepted a job as a governess, and cried all night. Meanwhile, Knightley goes to stay with his brother in London and will be away for a while. When Frank's controlling aunt dies, the Westons expect him to propose to Emma – but his actions set in motion a chain of events that both shock Emma and make her realise something that has been in plain sight all along.

Critical reception

Reviewing the first episode, Sam Wollaston of The Guardian called it "very good... even if it's not necessary", wishing the BBC would adapt some lesser-known novels rather than churning out the same adaptations again and again. He nevertheless praised the acting, suggesting Garai's "eyes alone deserve a BAFTA" and that Michael Gambon made "a splendid old Mr. Woodhouse". [9]

John Preston of The Telegraph also noted Romola Garai as "particularly good" in the titular role, and noted that while Jim O Hanlon's direction was perhaps a little too "steady and sure" there was still "plenty of sprightliness there too". [10] After the third episode of the series, however, he wrote that "[it] was a disaster, becoming ever more coarse and clumsy as it went on. The narration was obtrusive, the charm next to non-existent and the secondary characters insufficiently delineated." Emma he deemed "too bovine, too cocksure" in order for her to be truly in doubt. He did not find that Jonny Lee Miller, "who could have been a first-class Mr Knightley, was given enough screen time to make an impact". He concluded: "Contrivance ha[d] taken over. Sprightliness ha[d] disappeared. The soufflé ha[d] fallen." [11]

Tom Sutcliffe of The Independent wrote in a review that "the primary-colour brightness seems to have carried over into some the performances." He found that Garai "[did]n't capture the sense of frustrated intelligence that makes Emma bearable on the page", but blamed the script for it. He also saw a casting problem with Emma and Knightley in the sense that Miller "still carrie[d] too much of the seductive bad boy about him" so that he was not convincing as a "surprising love object", and "that threatens one of the novel's great achievements, which is to educate us alongside its heroine." [12]

Some critics also noted the dip in ratings following the first episode. In The Independent , Jonathon Brown observed that while "the critics have given it a qualified nod of approval" the second instalment of the serial "pulled in only 3.5 million viewers – down nearly 1 million on the opening episode the previous week – while the third episode saw another 200,000 switch off". He suggests this may be due to the "13 million-strong audience from ITV1's all-conquering X Factor" which had launched a Sunday night results show for the first time, or that "the days of bonnet and bustle are [simply] over". [13]

Accolades

AwardCategoryRecipients and nomineesResult
Golden Globes [14] Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for TelevisionRomola GaraiNominated
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a MovieAnne Oldham [15] Won
Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a SpecialGemma Hancock (casting director), Sam Stevenson (casting director)Nominated
Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special Rosalind Ebbutt (costume designer), Amanda Keable (costume supervisor)Nominated
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Michael Gambon Nominated
Royal Television SocietyBest Music, Original ScoreSamuel SimNominated
Satellite Awards Best MiniseriesEmmaNominated
Shanghai Television Festival Magnolia Award for Best Television Film or Miniseries EmmaNominated

Soundtrack

The original soundtrack with music composed by Samuel Sim was released on 8 December 2009 and features numerous themes featured in the series, including music from the dance sequences during the ball at the Crown Inn. A track listing for the album is as follows:

  1. "Emma Main Titles"
  2. "Emma Woodhouse Was Borne"
  3. "Expansion Project"
  4. "Rescued from the Gypsies"
  5. "A Ball"
  6. "Knightley's Walk"
  7. "Dolls"
  8. "The World Has Left Us Behind"
  9. "Arrival of Little Knightley"
  10. "Donwell Dancing Again"
  11. "Superior Men"
  12. "Matchmaker"
  13. "Walk of Shame"
  14. "Playing Harriet"
  15. "Without Suspicion"
  16. "Frank Is Free"
  17. "Mr. Elton"
  18. "Blind Endeavours"
  19. "The Last Dance"
  20. "Lost and Found"
  21. "Only People We Like"
  22. "The Ship's Cook"
  23. "Cliff Tops"
  24. "Secrets"
  25. "It's Snowing and Heavily"
  26. "The Seaside"
  27. "Love Story"
  28. "Most Ardently In Love"

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