TV SERIES: MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT AND BLEAK HOUSE BY CHARLES DICKENS

Up here in snow country, the fireplace season has begun with blustery days of wind with rain and snow. Perfect time to settle down in front of the electric box and watch something tasty. We stumbled upon a couple of gems: a pair of quintessential works by Charles Dickens from our friends at the BBC. Both are satire with the author's keen observations on social issues, the stifling rigidity of the English class system, the plight of women and children and the spectrum of human cruelty and kindness. Part of the fun are the Dickens' trademark names he came up with that in most instances, reveal the character of the person. Pecksniff from Chuzzlewit, a snobby social climber; Smallweed from Bleak House, a vicious small time landlord and moneylender are good examples.

Both novels are episodic and to our modern sensibilities, soap operaish with dramatic cliff hangers at the end of each section. Indeed, this was a brilliant marketing method by the author as he serialized his work: Chuzzlewit between 1824-1844, Bleak House 1852-1853. At the height of his popularity, crowds would wait on the wharf in NYC to get their hands on the latest installment. It is to our great fortune that the following versions are of 6-8 one hour long episodes that do justice to the work. It would simply be criminal to try and confine these books to a 2 hour film.

Martin Chuzzlewit: the main theme concerns selfishness and it's ruinous impact on a human being and those around them. In the story center is an extremely wealthy old man nearing the end of his days and the machinations by relatives to get a piece of the fortune. From 1994 starring Paul Scofield, Pete Postlethwaite, Tom Wilkinson and John Mills.

Bleak House: an indictment of the English Chancery Civil Court system where litigation could take decades to resolve. Here, a case involving a will has all claimants on tetherhooks with dreams of wealth and status perpetually frozen and, as the old joke goes, no one is getting rich but the lawyers. From 2005 starring Gillian Anderson, Carey Mulligan, Charles Dance, Nathaniel Parker and Warren Clarke.

Available from BritBox which can be accessed via Prime. For the cost of a couple of lattes...($6.99), cancel whenever.

Enjoy!