Jane Austen discussion

Have you seen the new web series about Emma Approved? What's your opinion?
It is a modernized adaptation of Jane Austen book. The stories develops as a vlog, where she shows us her skills for matchmaking and also she is "Documenting my greatness for when I receive my future Lifetime Achievement Award in Lifestyle Excellence!" As she said it in the first episode.
also we can follow the characters in different's social networks.
I love this web serie as much as I love the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. It is totally recommendable!


So here are some links to see and explored the Emma Approved world.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Pemberley...
http://www.youtube.com/user/EmmaApproved
http://www.emmaapproved.com/
http://twitter.com/EmmaApproved
http://instagram.com/EmmaApproved

I'm eagerly awaiting it's return in Feb! While I don't love it as much as much as LBD, I hope they continue on the path they were on. I feel strongly that the fans that were complaining about Emma Approved being "not true to the spirit of the novel" were off base. Just as they were going on break, they received a few web award nominations.

I'm loving it!!! Totally can't wait for the return in Feb!!!

I looked through the actual website the other day. I have a strange feeling I wouldn't be friends with Emma in real life. We're like polar opposites.

However, I really like the series and can't wait for February.

I'm the one dissenting voice I guess. I hated this. I didn't watch very much of it bc the woman playing Emma turned me off big time.

I don't really like take-offs on Austen I guess, tho there've been a few I have liked. I also was turned off to the Lizzie Bennett Diaries.

I have a question about another one, I hope it's not too off topic: Lost in Austen. I know I saw a two-hour version of this, but the other nite on YouTube I found one that seemed exactly the same but said it was 3 hours long. I had to be somewhere so I never finished watching it. Does anyone know if there's more than one version of this? I'd really appreciate enlightenment.

I am watching EA now. It dent' get me as much ad LBD, but I guess I just need to let it grow on me.
I'm not sure that is the best way to portrait her, because the greatness of the book lays in JA description of it all, that let us understand how things really are before the character do (especially Emma), without really telling us much, but, on the contrary, pointing us in the wrong direction on purpose so we will understand Emma and the author to are getting it wrong. That would be very hard to show when the narrator of the story is Emma herself, but I keep confident... after all they did an amazing job taking Lizzie to life.

Marcy, I watched Lost in Austen, but I remember there where more than one episode... I think 4 or so... maybe you saw a cut version...

Last Wednesday, I was so bored to tears that I decided to find something to watch. Discovered The Lizzie Bennet Diaries via Hank Green's wiki page & I totally love the series.

I decided to watch Emma Approved immediately after TLBD but couldn't automatically proceed after 1st episode because I find Emma so self-centred. I decided to give it another go & now I can't wait for June to be here. I am totally hooked!

I see a lot of fans comparing both series and here are some examples (including my opinions):

1) Different styles
I'm glad Bernie Su & his team decided to go a different path by making Emma Woodhouse documenting her greatness for future use instead of live-streaming bits of her life. With Emma, I feel like it's part of contemporary romance (my favourite book genre) because of the work setting. Meanwhile TLBD feels more like new adult romance because she is still in (grad) school & this show focuses more on the relationship between the sisters and their circle of friends. Emma Approved explores much lighter issues than TLBD. Well the former is more comedic than the latter, which I enjoy.

2) Introduction to the (main) romantic interest
What I really love about Emma Approved is that Mr Knightley is introduced at the start of the series. This allows more growth for the character and for the relationship between Mr Knightley & Emma. I love that Emma & Alex are of somewhat equal status (they are colleagues) and most importantly they are friends. In TLBD, Mr Darcy was introduced (physically) much later on & only made 9 appearances. He's also more powerful financially & socially than Elizabeth Bennet. I feel Mr Darcy has an upper hand in most of the difficult situations.

I see a lot of potential in Emma Approved and I hope the series will achieve similar level of success as its predecessor. Fans of Emma & Jane Austen should give this web serial a go!

I wasn't sure how I felt about LBD when I started but for whatever reason I kept finding myself drawn back to watching more and ended up really loving the series. I just started Emma Approved, have heard mixed reviews (more negative) but so far I like it; I think what may be more difficult to translate from the book is how at first Emma really isn't very likable but the point is that you grow to love her (and she also improves as a person); that may be harder to accomplish in short video format because you risk people not watching past a few episodes. I still think they've made her more self-centered than even the real Emma, but I can see it working. I agree that it's great having Knightley there the whole time, LBD's Darcy is really a very secondary plotline IMO compared to the sister relations, etc. I do also really like how they translated both into modern settings in terms of tech/work etc.

Thoughts on bringing back Caroline Lee as Mrs. Elton?! Didn't see that coming.

I have been a loyal viewer of Emma Approved since about episode 20, and now it has gone past 60 episodes! Emma really grows on you, I promise! And Jane Austen never wanted her characters to be perfect, even the heroines, and that's why I really like Emma despite her faults.

Thought Caroline as Mrs Elton was clever- we've already learnt to loathe her!
Love Emma Approved, watch it each week. About 10 episodes ago, my husband started watching over my shoulder: "Aren't their clothes too modern for Austen?"
Love Emma's dresses, Snarky Knightley and Jane's pragmatism.

Emma is one of my least favorite Austen books, but I love this web series and look forward to every episode. I actually like this Emma a lot, even with her flaws, and I've enjoyed all the update choices the series has made so far.

Episode 70 is so aptly named!
I watch these every Monday evening, my husband has been watching over my shoulder and 'May read an Austen sometime.' Let's see.

Oh, that episode 70 /sighs/! It has be on my repeat at least once a day. The best chemistry ever between the two characters. Funny things is, I can't hept the feeling that the kissing and expressing feelings for each other was very real for the two actors (they are dating after all :) )

I cried tears of joy. It was so beautiful!

I also got that impression Samanta

I've watched episode 70 twice! It WAS so beautiful!

Episode 72 just came out today. Is it over now? It doesn't look like there's an upcoming episode!

There was some talk about going further than the original story but I'm not sure.

I'm grinning like a Cheshire Cat!
There needs to be more!

Oh, I wish! :) I just love seeing Joanna and Brent? together :D

Any idea if there are thoughts around another Austen Vlog?

Don't think so. Not as of yet. I have sent them a message through Youtube, but haven't gotten any answer. The new project they have started is Frankenstain. It has three episodes so far and is hilarious when Frankenstain is not annoying the hell out of me :D (I distinctly remember not liking him that much in the book as well :D )

I'm on episode 51 and finally starting to like Emma. She's so much kinder than Caroline. Introducing Caroline as Augusta Elton was a stroke of genius. She's so awful! The Harriet plot isn't really a good comparison because Emma is helping Harriet reach her full potential. That's a good thing (except steering her away from Martin). In the book, Emma imagines Harriet to be something she's not and tries to help Harriet climb the social ladder, which just wasn't possible at that time.

I like Alex and how he tells Emma the truth in a teasing sort of way. I like that they're friends and business partners and relatively close in age. It always bothered me that Mr. Knightley was more like an older brother than a lover.

I started Victoria Frankenstein, MD but it was too medically technical for me. I'm enjoying the March Family Letters so far. (distributed by Pemberley Digital)

I binged watched to finish today. I found the story very well done. They really adapted the plot well to the modern world. I was wondering how they'd handle Frank and Jane and what the badly done scene would be. I especially liked Emma's friendship with Harriet. Harriet's character really grows and overcomes her self-esteem issues to realize her full potential. She has more sense than her book counterpart and of course more opportunities than an illegitimate girl in the 19th century. I also like that Alex is a good friend and business partner. I like their banter and teasing and how he helps her realize her true feelings about everything that's happened.

Bonus: Jane Austen's words finally appear!

There's also From Mansfield with Love by another company, The Autobiography of Jane Eyre and Green Gables Fables.