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Reader's Paradise

Blandings

13 years ago

Once again I've tried to get the hang of these tales, by trying to watch the BBC's latest dramatisation. And once again I've switched of in under 5 minutes. I find them all far too cretinous to be at all funny! But so many peple do find them funny that I feel I must be missing something; or maybe not. I'm not lacking a sense of humour - I have written succesful comedy; I love Thurber; Cold Comfort Farm; Mapp & Lucia - I won't go on. But Bertie Wooster? Nay! Never!

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Comments (3)

veer
13 years ago
Diana, I lasted about 15 minutes with Blandings Castle as I couldn't take the over the top slap-stick and don't think Wodehouse adapts to the small screen very well.
Luckily Harry Mount in this morning's Daily Telegraph may be able to answer your question.

Here is a link that might be useful: P G Wodehouse
dido1
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you, Vee, for that. I will, in that case, give it a reeading- try. I thought I had,,,, but it would have been a long tine ago. He's right about it not working on TV: I though it was too stupid for any slot - including Children't Hour - not that I think children are stupid. Right: Im going to download some, now.
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ccrdmrbks
13 years ago
While I do agree with him that Wodehouse is best read, and I understand his dismay with recent dramatizations, I do not totally agree that they are all awful: I think Fry and Laurie did capture the characterizations and the relationship between Bertie and Jeeves very well. But so much of Wodehouse's genius is in his descriptions, and even though Bertie narrates many of the stories, he can't narrate the dramatizations-so the viewer misses a lot that is acted (with no subtlety) rather than read. Bertie explaining his feelings, the noises and the drafts as he sneaks down a hallway in the dead of night in someone else's house is a lot more entertaining than watching a pajama-clad Bertie tiptoe into an occasional table.
At the same time, you just have to accept a certain amount of silliness-because without the cliche mistaken identities, intercepted letters, cross-purposed actions and bunfights, there isn't a story.

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