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Death Comes to Pemberley (TV series)

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For the book, see Death Comes to Pemberley.

Death Comes to Pemberley
Series tile over an image of the house
First episode titles
GenreDrama
Based onDeath Comes to Pemberley novel by P. D. James
Written byJuliette Towhidi P. D. James (Novel)
Directed byDaniel Percival
Starring
ComposerThe Insects
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes3
Production
Executive producers
  • Ed Rubin
  • Joanie Blaikie
  • P.D. James
  • Justin Thomson-Glover (Far Moor)
  • Patrick Irwin (Far Moor)
  • Rebecca Eaton (Masterpiece)
  • Polly Hill (BBC)
Production locations
CinematographySteve Lawes
Running time60 minutes (each episode)
Production companiesOrigin Pictures, Masterpiece co-production
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release26 December (2013-12-26) –
28 December 2013 (2013-12-28)

Death Comes to Pemberley is a three-part British television drama based on the best-selling P.D. James novel of the same name, a murder mystery continuation of the events of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice incorporating the same characters.

It was commissioned by Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning Ben Stephenson and then-Controller of BBC One Danny Cohen,[1] and was first broadcast from 26–28 December 2013 on BBC One.[2][3]

Premise

It is October, 1803, six years after the events in Pride and Prejudice which resulted in the marriage of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet. One evening, on their way to Pemberley for a ball, an argument breaks out between George Wickham and Captain Denny in the carriage, with Wickham's wife (and Elizabeth's sister), Lydia, also present. The two leave the carriage in anger and disappear into the woodland, where two gunshots are heard. Upon hearing the news, Darcy sends out a search party and Wickham is found distraught and hysterical holding Denny's body, blaming himself for his murder.

Cast

Production

Casting

The cast was announced on 18 June 2013. The series was cast by Gary Davy. Actor Tom Ward, who plays Colonel Fitzwilliam, is the only cast member to have previously played a role in an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. He played Lt Chamberlayne in the 1995 BBC adaptation.

Filming

Filming began in June 2013 on location in Yorkshire and Derbyshire and has been supported with investment from Screen Yorkshire. Chatsworth House in Derbyshire was used as the exterior of Pemberley, and rooms at Chatsworth and at Castle Howard and Harewood House, both in Yorkshire, were used for indoor scenes.[4] Areas of National Trust land including Hardcastle Crags, Fountains Abbey and the Studley Royal estate and Treasurer's House were also used in filming. Beverley's Guildhall provided the location for a courtroom.[5] The gallows scenes were filmed on a purpose-built scaffold outside York Crown Court, with Wickham emerging from the gate to the old debtors' prison in the York Museum.

Episodes

Series 1 (2013)

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [6]
1"Episode One"Daniel PercivalJuliette Towhidi26 December 2013 (2013-12-26)7.81
Elizabeth Darcy and her husband of 6 years are in the midst of preparing for a ball. They welcome Elizabeth's parents and Mr. Darcy's cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam. One who is not invited is Elizabeth's sister Lydia and her ne'er-do-well husband, George Wickham. An hysterical Lydia arrives at Pemberley late that same night saying that Wickham had argued with his friend Captain Denny who ordered the coach stopped and ran into the woods with Wickham running after him. She soon heard two shots leading her to order the coach to Pemberley at full speed. A search party soon finds Denny dead and Wickham bloodied and semi-conscious. Darcy contacts the local magistrate, Sir Selwin Hardcastle, who investigates and quickly arrests Wickham for murder.
2"Episode Two"Daniel PercivalJuliette Towhidi27 December 2013 (2013-12-27)6.00
Wickham is visited in jail by Fitzwilliam, who has his own reason for keeping quiet although Fitzwilliam has an alibi for the murder as he was publicly seen in the company of one of his soldiers' widow. Elizabeth assures the staff that they have nothing to fear - whilst cancelling the ball - but is intrigued by fragments of a torn letter whose writer sought to meet Darcy in the woods. She tells Hardcastle she saw the woman believed to be the ghost in the woods but was certain she was mortal. Later she comes upon a grave in the woods and is told it belongs to the Darcys' great grandfather, a reckless gambler who almost lost Pemberley. Whilst Georgiana turns down Alveston's marriage proposal the young lawyer supports Darcy at the inquest, whose jury finds Wickham guilty of murder and sends him to the Assizes. Furthermore Elizabeth learns that Wickham has used a false name to have sex with serving girl Louisa Bidwell, who has borne his child.
3"Episode Three"Daniel PercivalJuliette Towhidi28 December 2013 (2013-12-28)6.05
With Wickham in jail awaiting trial, he admits to Darcy that he is the father of Louisa Bidwell's child. Louisa tells Elizabeth that on the morning of the murder she had met Captain Denny and a woman - the same woman Elizabeth and some of the housemaids had seen in the woods - who would adopt the baby. Louisa changed her mind at the last moment however. She also saw Colonel Fitzwilliam at the abbey that morning. Sir Selwyn Hardcastle becomes aware that Wickham is the father of Louisa Bidwell's child and seems intent on using that information at the trial. Fitzwilliam soon falls out of favor and after Wickham is found guilty and sentenced to hang, it's left to Elizabeth to uncover the identity of the true killer.

Reception

The Guardian described the tone of the first episode as respectful of Austen's original, but "not afraid to stand out and be its own very different thing as well", describing it as a "mashup" between period drama and Agatha Christie or Midsomer Murders.[7] A later Guardian review described the series as "pretty much perfect Christmas TV", praising the appearance of the series and the "satisfying plot".[8] Lina Talbot, writing for the Independent, praised the casting of Mr and Mrs Bennet.[9] The Radio Times praised the production values of the piece, and noted that they were supported by a "meaty" plot.[10]

References

  1. ^ BBC media centre. Retrieved 26 December 2013
  2. ^ Susanna Lazarus. Death Comes to Pemberley's Matthew Rhys: "The best thing about playing Mr Darcy is that shirt" RadioTimes. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Jenna Coleman to Star in Death Comes To Pemberley". Doctor Who. BBC. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  4. ^ "Death comes to Pemberley; behind the scenes". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Death comes to Pemberley on BBC1". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  6. ^ "BARB weekly top 30 programmes". BARB. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  7. ^ http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/dec/27/death-comes-to-pemberley-tv-review
  8. ^ http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/dec/28/pemberley-downton-doctor-who-midwife
  9. ^ http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/12/27/death-comes-to-pemberley-%E2%80%93-episode-1/
  10. ^ http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-12-26/death-comes-to-pemberley-review--does-matthew-rhys-fill-colin-firths-shoes-as-mr-darcy
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