When I first viewed P&P.......

... I HATED IT! Can you believe it? Literary snob that I am, I was _appalled_ at all the sound & fury accompanying the Bennet family's outing to Church. I thought -- what a Hollywoodization of the book! I don't know when it struck me that this was actually. . .a great production. I had to overcome my own prejudices and really watch with patience a second time. So there's my True Confession for the day!

I LOVED IT! I had looked forward to it for weeks, sat with my remote ready to cut all the commercials, and sat enthralled for three nights in a row (back during the first showing in Jan. '96). But our cable glitched while Lizzie was reading Jane's letter re: Lydia; I tried to re-tape it, got two of the three sections but the last one was shown while we were away, so that one had commercials. I finally broke down (last March) and bought the tapes!! I haven't changed my opinion in all that time. The more I watch it, the more I love it. I remember being very disappointed in P&P0 (couldn't see why they had to change the book so much), and not at all impressed with P&P1. Now I know what it's like to be impressed!!!;-)

As with many of the adaptations, I was so afraid of being disappointed that I could hardly sit through it. So, I watched and taped at the same time, leaving the room if I couldn't deal with a word change. (I wanted to shout that it's "In vain have I struggled" not "In vain I have struggled"). But, when I had time to reflect and watch at my own pace I loved it. I had major tape problems from rewatching favorite scenes, so of course I purchased the tapes. (Christmas present for myself for the year 2010, I believe!)

I LOVED IT. I had watched P&P1 at every broadcast (about 5 times) but without a vcr to capture it. I thought P&P1 was great. P&P2 was explosively better. I felt the emotion in P&P2.

It was funny, that day I had just seen S&S, and thought "Jane Austen? Now why in the hell have I not read her books?!!" Came home, looked at my TV guide, which had P&P on it's cover. Said Hmmmm, I think I shall watch this....... The rest is history. Had to go the bathroom really bad during first episode, but didn't dare leave my seat!

I had somehow managed to wrest the remote from my DH. Had no idea it was being shown, or had even been done. Caught the very opening of the folks walking from church and had an absolute fit: THIS IS PRIDE & PREJUDICE! "oh, yippee," said my DH, dismissing himself to the other room since he knew I wouldn't be open to watching anything else! Was absolutely enthralled! Had to grab my JA collection to take to work with me so I could reread everything during lunch.

i was mesmerized from beginning to end! since i live out in the west coast, i was able to see the first airing, and it was still early enough for me to catch it once again that same night. and don't think that i didn't see every installment twice in one sitting, because i did! i was there every for all of it, book in hand and everything! cindy-- i reread the novels soon afterward, as well! i remember this was the time my boyfriend and i were living together (he's now at law school in boston) and i was tremendously thankful that we had our own television sets at the time, because there was NO WAY i was going to give up P&P2 for a basketball game!

I started watching P&P2 looking for something to find wrong with it. I had just done a huge paper on it and analized the dialogue to high heaven. But I was shocked to find I actually enjoyed it. Not only that but I watched it over and over till I could recite the dialogue verbatim. After studying the dialogue so intently though, my only complaint is that they didn't have the part where Darcy asks Elizabeth to dance at Netherfield Park. And she responds, that she did not know how to answer him. I lov her wit there.

I was channel-surfing, looking for something to watch and came across P&P2 during its second showing in late January. I had never read JA before but I was absolutely enthralled. I knew that Lizzy would marry Darcy from the scene in the assembly room when she walks past him smiling/nearly smirking after he had uttered his detestable words. I was so excited by the story line that I rushed out and bought the book (an absolutely necessary deed since it was then aired every Saturday for 3 cons cutive weeks and I could not wait that long!). Imagine my delight that the book was as great as the series, for if I have read a book, I usually won't watch it butchered in a film adaptation and vice-versa. I spent the next several months kicking myself for not taping it and finally convinced my husband that A&E would never show it again and that I must have it for Mothers' Day. By the time it arrived I had read P&P (many times), read Chapman's Oxford edition, even bought the Cliffs' Notes, all n a vain attempt to keep the magic alive. My husband says I need a new hobby but I have not yet soothed the spot where P&P2 touches me---it has made me romantic where before I was pragmatic. It has---and maybe this is a sad thing---changed my life. Before P&P2, I scarcely knew myself because I was so wrapped up in being mom, wife, student, etc. that I rarely found time for me. Now I have this BB and my tapes and my addiction and I find that I am generally happier than I have been in quite a while.:-)

I taped it because I could not bear to be watching and have it end and have to wait for the next night. I then waited for the weekend so I could watch it in its entirety, and I WENT CRAZY over Colin Firth and the whole production. I laughed and laughed, and laughed, and drooled and drooled, and drooled. I went around telling everyone about it and NOBODY I knew CARED! I said hell with 'em and watched it over and over again ... then one day I found the Spring and the rest is history.

Meggin, your story is my story.

I did not watch it. At least not until part-way through the second 2-hour installment in January '96. I very seldom watch adaptations of literature that I have loved; I am almost always disappointed, if not outraged. P&P0 was a travesty. I was not in the market for more disillusionment. But I was talked into taking a look by friends who assured me that I would like this one (Although, ironically enough, they have not become addicts!) Thank goodness they re-ran again almost right away. For that broadcast I was ready with my VCR!

I watched it on TV and made a copy of it, adverts & all. I had just bought P&P1 and had watched that to death and had no idea what to expect from the next adaptation. I loved it - it brought live to the scenes and felt so real to life. I, too drooled and laughed. Firth had that Darcy effect and his 'look of love' had me so excited, I couldn't sit still.. Love all 6 hours of ir..

I had deard a lot about it, and about how everyone in Britain had gone crazy over CF. I had watched P&P1 about six times, and the quality in these previews looked so good! In Australia it was shown in 6 separate episodes, a week apart. After three weeks I gave in and went and bought the video, and my room mate and another friend and I all sat down one Saturday night and had a six hour viewing. We had to go out and hire a vcr for the purpose, since I didn't own one. Then we watched it again, and again, and even though I had seen it all before, I still had to watch the last three episodes when they were boadcast.

I had heard a lot about it, and about how everyone in Britain had gone crazy over CF. I had watched P&P1 about six times, and the quality in these previews looked so good! In Australia it was shown in 6 separate episodes, a week apart. After three weeks I gave in and went and bought the video, and my room mate and another friend and I all sat down one Saturday night and had a six hour viewing. We had to go out and hire a vcr for the purpose, since I didn't own one. Then we watched it again, and again, and even though I had seen it all before, I still had to watch the last three episodes when they were boadcast.

oops. that's what you get for trying to correct a spelling mistake...

I had seen P&P1 a few times (have had the tape for a couple of years). I first watched it in August. I then read the book, which I had tried to read before. I then borrowed and copied the tapes from our library, only I it took about 4 weeks, because you could only borrow 3 tapes at a time, so it took a while. I had just found this BB and lurked for a while. Rewatch the Classroom showing last november. Since I have all the episodes on one tape, I watch a little bit each day, and the rewind and start ov r again.

I had had three months of my sister in the U.K. telling me how wonderful Colin Firh was and howshe was finally reading the book that had been my favourite for twenty-five years. When it aired, I had a bout of flu, and my husband tucked me up on the sofa, with a bucket of hot lemon, tylenol and chocolate, kept the kids out of the way for three nights in a row. Heaven! He never watched it with me until Christmas, when he bought me my own set of tapes. We watched part one together one night, then part two the next. He refused to watch part three for a week. Then, suudenly, he produced it, chocolate(again!) and put me in front of the box, telling me not to say a word. After the first proposal he turned to me."Do they ever get together?" he said. Just shows how much we communicate! Anyway, he slid in tape four, told me to be quiet,and we sat in silence. That night we got through tapes five and six as well.At the end, all he said was "I think I understand now!" When I catch him watching on his own, he claims it's for JE's boobs. He admits it's a good story though.I'm not complaining!

Glued me to the set. Blown away by visuals, costumes, music, dance, interiors, exteriors, regency mannerisms, country life, acting. Great story, too.

I watch A&E all the time, and as you know they start hyping their new shows many months in advance, so I knew all about P&P2 well in advance. I had read the book I don't know how many times and was always sort of fond of P&P0, mainly because of Olivier, and despite the massacre it does on the novel. I had received P&P1 from my husband as a Christmas gift in 1994--a bit more than a year before P&P2 was first shown in Canada. It was a most thoughtful gift and he was very impressed with himself for findi g it (because I didn't know the tape existed) and because he can't stand those kinds of shows, so my sister-in-law and I watched it. All that to say that I was certainly geared up to watch P&P2 to say the least! And that is usually a guarantee of a disappointment, but not this time! i was mesmerized!. I watched it twice each day the first time-- A&E showed it at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.. The song Mr. Beveridge's Maggot played over and over in my head for weeks.(it still does, and no help that they used this song in Emma2 also!) My true confession is that the one thing I didn't like the first time around was CF!! Or at least I didn't like him until after Lizzy and the Gardiners visited Pemberley.

A friend talked about it's being showed starting Xmas 1995.I remembered reading it once long ago and seing P&P1 once. Remembered thinking there was something special about Darcy! Had read Sense and Sensibility two years ago, but was not to pleased with it. The Swedish translations are not very good IMO.Sat down to watch with my mother who was staying with us for the holidays.And as she used to talk to me during films, I had put in a tape in advance to be sure I could catch up on missing parts. Did not e en put a tape in for part two until beginning of Netherfield Ball, must have been Darcy looking out the window that got me to hastily throw one tape in...Then I was completely hooked. For a while I had not the entire story. But ordered it from England!!!A pleasure to have a copy without Swedish translation on it.Found Chapmans edition in Library cellar and dug out everything else there concerning Jane Austen...Today I visited a Library to the north of Stockholm, in Upsala and found a book on Jane. Did I s end 14 crowns to copy the chapter on P&P? Have a guess!

I first bought P&P about 8 years ago and only read a few chapters because I couldn't stand Mrs. Bennet. Her constant pushing and manoeuverings to marry off her daughters drove me crazy, especially when she sent Jane to Netherfield out in the rain. That was it for me and I threw the book out. What an idiot I was! Fast forward to January 1996 I was watching Regis & Kathie Lee and during their chat KL mentioned that after a party, she and her mother decided to watch P&P2 (they had taped all of it). They were so hooked by it that they stayed up until 4 in the morning to watch it completely. I particularly recall her saying that after Darcy hands Lizzie into the carriage and she turns to look back at him that they were so enthralled and captivated by it that they had to stay up and finish it. She went on to rave about the story, the acting, the g eat looks CF gave and the whole romance of it all that I wished I had seen it. But it wasn't until August 96 that I got my chance to view it. Luckily, my local TV Guide had (you guessed it) Mrs. Bennet on the cover. I read the review and set my vcr ready for taping. That was the best thing I ever did. I've never in my life been so consumed by a television production (especially British). I enjoyed it so much that ever since I've read all JA's books, seen all the current movie releases, bought the music, nd even wrote some fan fiction. Thanks P&P2 for enriching my life!

Just before turning 11, I discovered JA and P&P. Mr. Darcy stole my heart then, and ever after I wanted to be Lizzy, the smart, clever girl who so totally captured him. Saw Olivier years later in P&P0 and was quite put out! Foul fiends hadn't been true to the book! Though I thought Olivier good, I was disappointed. P&P1 was much better and I confess, I watched the tape over and over until I quit for fear of ruining the shop's only copy! Returned it relunctantly, I might add. But P&P2? Oh... (reverent breath) For me, I believe Carl names all the things that glued me to my seat as well as the set. I was stunned by the depth and scope, the richness and subtlety, and the incredible texture conveyed by the attention paid to every little detail. What drama! What suspense! What humour! What wit! What acting! My opinion is that P&P@ is a thinking man/woman's love story. Never once did I feel intellectually insulted. Did any of you? Yes, I have taped the tv version and await the time I can purchase the original 6 hr version. And every time I hear that resonating tone "COME," I go willingly to view it once more...

Margarets story is much like my own...I had never read the book but I had seen the original black and white film version but it had not left an impression. One night I had crawled into bed and turned on the TV to drift off to sleep.....the channel was on A&E....it was a Saturday night....all of a sudden I couldn't sleep! This story on the TV was mesmerized. I remember as soon as they I realized that it was to be continued I could not wait until I found out when the next part would air...it was a long w ek.....after I had watched I wanted to buy the video set to have and watch whenever I wanted. My husband and I went into a book and video store and he was flipping thru some laser discs and said "Hey Linda..isn't this that series you loved so much?" I left with a package that day! I have just about worn my set out (I opted for the video set so I can watch it whenever I want) and I also enjoy it more everytime I watch it...I see something I hadn't seen before or enjoy a line of dialog that I can apprecia e the beauty of it and how JA used it to tell this beautiful story. No one I know has watched it or appreciated the book so when I found y'all...it was a great day! I have enjoyed the conference and chat group almost as much as the story! It's been a blast having others to drool with!

I have never seen any movie or read the book, just knew the name. I happened to catch in in the middle of episode 3, the first person I heard speak was Mr. Collins when they went to Hunsford. I was so repulsed by him I had to keep watching. When Darcy proposed and was soundly rejected I was hooked. Unfortunately for me it was on A&E Classroom, one episode a week. I got up at 5:30 a.m. every morning checking for it and didn't think to tape it when it was on until episode 6 which I watched over and over and over and over. Had to get the book to find out what happened at the beginning and bought the PP2 companion volume because it had a picture of HIM on it. That still was not enough. I called my video store and fortunately at Christmas 1996 they had it in stock. Bought it and watched it every night for a month. Then I made all my sisters watch it. They loved it too!! I thought I was weird because CF made such an impression on me. I'm glad you ladies are out there!!!

P&P1 actually got me into the book. I remember very little of it, having seen it when I was ten (?). I liked it, though, and two years later I picked up a copy of the book, which I read several times throughout junior high and high school. Senior year, we read it in AP English (and we saw P&P0)...and that's when I discovered Emma and the other novels. In the fall of 1995, when I first saw the P&P2 trailers on A&E, I just about had a heart attack! OMIGOD, they're doing Pride and Prej dice!!! I yelled to my mother. Needless to say, I was right there in January/February when it was finally broadcast in the US...and it was wonderful! Comprehensive! Perfectly embellished! My only regret was that I had very few people to share it with back then. My friend Emily, who'd read only Persuasion, was kind enough to sit through it with me, though it was obvious that her interest wasn't so all-consuming as mine. Since, however, she has read P&P, Emma, and the copy of Mansfield Park I gave her as a graduation gift...another convert!

Somehow I managed to miss the January airings. Ironically in February, the school theather showed Persuasion and I was hooked; ran out and got the novel. I regularly watch A&E so in August my sister suggested we watch it and of course I was there. She didn't watch it (another irony) but I did. Initially I was quite concerned for myself; I loved this one even more than Persuasion and I loved Persuasion. I tried for months to figure out what it was that drew me back to watching this movie (again and ag in); Carl has summed it up most eloquently. I even watched P&P0 and P&P1 to see if they could recreate the magic and explain my obsession. True confession: When Darcy snubs Lizzy at Meryton, I could not stand that man. He was horrible or as Mrs. Bennet said, "the proudest, most disagreeable man" I was so happy she rejected his proposal; it was not right. The meeting at Pemberley started the change in my feelings toward Darcy. This all happened in August; thank goodness I found the BB in October.

Karen; you must come closest to Lizzy's own feelings, for despite our wishes to the contrary, she doesn't like him until Pemberley, either. I almost wish I had not read the novel back in high school, because I think that my reaction to Darcy was colored by the knowledge that they end up together. I was very much a P&P! advocate, since I saw this version only a few years after I had read the novel. At the time, it was a very good, and long adaptation, and is still a favorite for certain parts (I still p efer Garvie in some scenes).

(I still prefer Garvie in some scenes). As do I, Mari -- I thought she did a really good job.

Susan, I must have missed your earlier posts when we "did" P&P1. How happy I am to have a compatriot!

When I first viewed it on A&E I fell in love. I watched at 7:00 and re-watched at 9:00. Then taped episodes 2 and 3, and watched them until the cows came home. Looked up A&E on the net, found out when the re-broadcast was happening and printed it out, taped it all over our VCR for a month so as not to miss it. Then I taped it, and cut off my favorite scene! Then purchased my tapes at Costco, and the rest is history. A tape at a time, only an hour commitment at a time... life is good.

When I first viewed it on A&E I fell in love. I watched at 7:00 and re-watched at 9:00. Then taped episodes 2 and 3, and watched them until the cows came home. Looked up A&E on the net, found out when the re-broadcast was happening and printed it out, taped it all over our VCR for a month so as not to miss it. Then I taped it, and cut off my favorite scene! Then purchased my tapes at Costco, and the rest is history. A tape at a time, only an hour commitment It also got me reading again, and started o devour anything Jane I could get my hands on. Still have P&P by my bed, often look up favorite scenes.

I hadn't gotten to this thread when I signed in as a newbie yesterday, so if you want to read about my first encounter with P&P, you can read it there. I have a tendency to ramble, so I won't duplicate the effort here. :-) Angela

Mari, I wasn't around for the P&P1 discussion, but I remember thinking during the first part of P&P2 that, except for CF's Darcy, I actually preferred that version. My opinion changed as I watched further (not about CF, however!), but I still rate Garvie's performance very highly. I remember being very impressed with her performance in the First Proposal scene, particularly. A tape at a time, only an hour commitment at a time... life is good. LOL, Andrea -- it really takes so little to please us, no? Angela, I found your post very entertaining -- welcome!

Upon the first showing of P&P2, I noticed the listing in the TV Guide. Thought, Hmmm, this looks interesting...Luckily, it was on later than my son and husband stay up, so I was able to watch it on the "good" TV in the family room. From the very first scene, I was hooked! I drew my afgan (or as I affectionately call it my "binkie") around me and found myself all cuddled up in savoring every scene. I continued as such for the next two nights...cursing at each ending for two reasons 1.) that it was ove and 2.)My VCR was broken. When I realized that it was on again that next weekend, I was in heaven! As I was still not able to tape it, I had to sit and watch. As I had an appointment that afternoon with our office's computer technician, I had to call him to postpone the time of our meeting. When he asked why I was detained, I told him the truth. He understood slightly as his wife had had the same reaction to "The Buccaneers". He did, however, ask why we women have this reaction to these show . The only answer that I could give was that "It was about a time in history when men still had manners" ;-). When P&P2 was rebroadcast in August, I finally was able to tape it. Every saturday since was devoted to viewing. The following September or October, I found all of you and discovered the most precious information (ie: missing scenes, making of book, CD, etc.). Tried to tape the "Classroom" so that I would finally see those missing scenes and have a copy POST /yapp-bin/restricted/respond/aust n/212/new HTTP/1.0 Referer: http://208.199.212.10/yapp-bin/restricted/read/austen/212/new Connection: Keep-Alive User-Agent: Mozilla/2.01E-NC250 (Win16; U) Host: 208.199.212.10 Accept: image/gif, image/x-xbitmap, image/jpeg, image/pjpeg, */

Whoa -- what happened here?

Ooh Candace! Twilight Zone time! Eek!

When I read that A&E was going to air P&P, I thought, here's a chance to finally see a Jane Austen adaptation since I had missed all the theatrical productions. I was intrigued by the Jane Austen mania and had not yet ventured to read any of her books (don't see how I could have escaped reading any JA book in high school or college!). I loved it! I was impressed by how *smart* a production it was given it aired on the television airwaves...I loved the dialogue and was pleasantly surprised later that much of it came straight from the book. I must confess that I too came under Darcy's/CF's spell after Lizzie's accidental meeting with him at Pemberly! Darcy's manners, especially his contempt for everything outside of his circle, were appalling. Darcy becomes such a sweetheart, so agreeable and vulnerable (I just love the way he stammers as he tries to get his bearings when he sees Lizzie). Up to that time I had wondered how those two would ever get married in the end. I am simply obsessed with P&P and of course Colin...I now have two converts! One of them in particular, doesn't really care for "period" pieces and was puzzled by my obsession, that is, until she saw my P&P tapes. You know, P&P has in a way changed my life to a certain extent. It has taught me to get back in touch with that part of myself that isn't mom, wife, professional, daughter, et cetera, et cetera...I had forgotten how wonderful it is to lose oneself in literature (I have vowed to make time to read more often, that is, when I'm not in this conference or watching P&P for the upteenth time). Besides, drooling over CF just makes me feel giddy! P&P has also brought forth you sisters who have me LOL on many an occasion and thinking seriously about other subjects as well...

Whoops! Should be "umpteenth"...

Marina, I know exactly what you mean about Austen helping with geting in touch with the non-Mom parts.

"geting in touch with the non-Mom parts." YES! YES! My goodness, I have never quite put my finger on why I have been so hooked. The comment about "When men had manners" was said in jest with a little edge of truth, but I believe this non-Mom idea is exactly it. I struggle constantly, juggling motherhood, wifehood, businesshood, etc. How many times, I have wished for just a moment to have a thought to myself! P&P does give me that. A chance to cuddle with my "binkie" and simply watch and enjoy. I do not even need to thin ...just clear the mind and say Ahhhhh.

in touch with the non-Mom This is so right. I have been much more selfish this last year and I am not ashamed of it! Like Virginia Woolf - no other comparisions made - I have got my own room now and am delighted. My things where I put them and the light on very late if I chose to read or write.

"In touch with the non-Mom parts" How true! I have many moments when I don't seem to have any identity except Spencer's Mom. We get to drift away into another world for a little bit, where "mom" aspects don't seem to exist. I think I always pictured myself as Lizzy anyway, with her independant spirit. I'm not saying my self-picture is totally accurate, but I think she embodies much of what I think is valuable in a women's dispositon.

Oh I totally agree with identifying with Lizzie! In my *younger* years I seemed to be more like her, doing battle and going against what was expected of me, with but with time, I have "mellowed" and I am apt to make sure I do not "offend" before I rattle on passionately about some of my more "liberal" ideals to some of my more staid and conservative family members...I just love the way Lizzie speaks her mind to Catherine de Bourgh! Funny thing though, my 10 year old thinks I'm Mrs. Bennett! Horrors! It's probably due to my *carrying on* when my 10 year old (self-appointed Jane)and 7 year old (self-appointed Lydia) are at each other's throats (which is often, much to my dismay)!!!

I knew it was coming on, but thought I would tape it and watch it later...never happened. I was glued to the set. As to why my tape is dragging and my book is worn out, I cant exactly explain. Maybe it is a refuge, the "non-mom" quiet time. I enjoy this BB, because you are all adults and use big words and express ideas and thoughts that mirror my own. Im not very good at getting thoughts channeled through my fingers. If I hadnt heard about the Austen Page on CNN I might have never looked.

in touch with the non-Mom This is so right. I have been much more selfish this last year and I am not ashamed of it! Like Virginia Woolf - no other comparisions made - I have got my own room now and am delighted. My things where I put them and the light on very late if I chose to read or write. Hmmmm. Does you so much good, don't it? Me too, me too.

Im not very good at getting thoughts channeled through my fingers. That thought came through loud and clear! This is a wonderful place to exercise thoughts and fingers (and brain, and friendship, and alot of other things too.)

Dare I admit that I had hardly read any Austen before last year? I did read Emma for a book group about fifteen years ago and loved it. Why didn't I read all of Austen then? I really don't know. Anyway, in December 95 my daughter/movie partner and I went to see Sense & Sensibility and loved it. The next day we went to see Persuasion and loved it. So we went out and bought all of Austen, except Emma, which I had. We read all the novels in about two weeks. I remember reading P&P on a Friday. I star ed at 8 a.m. and I sat in bed all day and read until 5 p.m. I couldn't do anything else! That was two days before the A&E P&P but alas we do not have cable ---probably the only people in the U.S. My mother and my daughter taped it for me and I had the tape within a week. I sat and watched for six hours non-stop. I was disappointed with the ending the first time. I thought they should have included more D&L courtship scenes. But needless to say, I have since almost worn the tape out. My daughter an I would call each other long distance and watch it "together". We were/are both so addicted. Reading Jane Austen also got me reading more good stuff, like Middlemarch. I also discovered this family of like-minded fans to share the passion with. Thanks so much for so many laughs and insights and understanding all around.

Even though my college degrees are in English Literature, I had always managed to "escape" Jane Austen - I lumped her in with C. Bronte, and had always hated Wuthering Heights (alas, the foolishness of youth).....but, I saw Sense & Sensibility (mostly because I love Emma Thompson) and really liked it, so I thought I'd give P&P a try when it came on A&E last August. I was hooked immediately! I went out and bought the novel, and was just getting into it when hurricane Fran hit. We were without power for bout 8 days, so there was nothing to do except sit around, sweat, and read. I read and re-read until the poor book almost fell apart, all the candles burned out, and I gave myself eye fatigue. I kept picturing the actors in all the different scenes; needless to say, I purchased the videos as soon as I could. Now I can relax and feed my addiction at leisure - and in temperature controlled, well-lighted comfort!

Oops! Did I say "sweat?" Pardon me! We all know that gentlewomen "glow," they do not perspire, and most certainly do not SWEAT! ;)

Amen to Hurricane Fran, I think I reread S&S after Fran. and glowed abit myself reading by candlight. Ambience, but too much humidity!

I saw P & P2 for the the first time this winter and it was completely by chance. My dinner plans for the evening were canceled, so I opened a bottle of wine and settled in for the evening. Since I had no clue how long it was, I assumed A & E was broadcasting the entire show in one night - somehow I thought it was only 4 hours. Since I have read several JA novels, I knew Lizzy would marry him, so you can imagine my horror not only when she properly rejected his proposal, but that it ended there!!! I a tually yelled at the television "No! it can't be over, I know she marries him! It better be on tomorrow!! The next day I had family plans. When I arrived at my mother's house, I told her we had to leave early because I could not miss the end of P & P2. My dad thought I was crazy than my mom, but at 6:45, I promptly left RI to head back to Boston. I guess I was addicted before I even knew it.

ahh ha!...P&P2 over family gatherings. one of the many signs of knowing you're addicted. mine was rescheduling my evening phone calls to my boyfriend in boston around this past winter's rebroadcast. and i had already seen it many times before!

I atually yelled at the television "No! it can't be over, I know she marries him! It better be on tomorrow!! LOL, Lynn -- I can just picture you doing this! How dare they!

I actually yelled at the television "No! it can't be over, I know she marries him! It better be on tomorrow!! I watched P&P0 in a golden-oldies theater a few year ago. Two young women behind me shouted "NO!!" when Garson rejected Olivier's first proposal.

I was really impressed by the casting of P&P,like Gone With The Wind each one was perfectly cast. Her Mother had a voice like dragging you fingernails down a blackboard which was perfect for her part. CF was the ultimate Darcy. I had not been paying a great deal of attention until the scene where they were having their discussion on vanity and pride then I sat up and said this man is really somerhing else he has taken a story book character and breathed the breath of life into him. When he was walking b ck to Rosings you could sense all his anger, pain and frustration just in the way he walked. When he was writing to her about his sister I could have cried for him the pain in his eyes was unbelievable. Lucie Oftedahl

CF was the ultimate Darcy. I had not been paying a great deal of attention until the scene where they were having their discussion on vanity and pride then I sat up and said this man is really something else he has taken a story book character and breathed the breath of life into him....the way he walked..... the pain in his eyes Now Lucie this is what I like to hear.

Yes, Lucie and Ann2 -- that really says it all, and so well!!

i agree with you lucie: the casting was perfect, especially alison steadman was mrs. bennet. wanna see a drastic change in appearance/character? watch mike leigh's (her husband) "life is sweet". anyone see it? she plays the mother of twin girls (now in their twenties), and is just the sweetest, cutest mother. she laughs constantly, which is both amusing and slightly annoying at the same time. you can also see her in this year's 'secrets and lies." she plays a dog groomer who goes to get her dog's picture aken at a studio. (a BIT part)

She is married to Mike Leigh? Cool. David Bamber is in another of his. High Hopes?

Does this mean she will be with her husband at the Oscars (since he is nominated?)

it's likely. unless HE's not showing up. but i think he will since he's been appearingin every other pre-oscar thing here in l.a. (BTW, i just wanted to share: oscar mania is DEFINITELY in high gear right now. i live behind the shrine auditorium, and we've already got people getting the area ready. it's total madness. it's gonna be another year of being a prisoner in my own home. (they block of the area for people and press trying to get in and out).if you see any helicopter shots, watch for the madwoman waving from a rooftop.. that'll be me!)

Winter, what color hankie will you be waving (or will it be a muff, perhaps...)

ooohhh... never thought of bringing along props to help me out! how about a big, huge sign saying, "jeremy northam for best actor--1998!" ;)

I have watched P&P2 less than a month ago the first time within a couple of weeks of reading the book. Most of characters fit my imagination of what they would be like if it is a real situation (?) except Mr. Bingley. I must agree with Lucie on CF "breathing the breath of life into him". (I wish I am capable of writing as well as many of you do.... SIGH). I am actually afraid to watch other movies with CF in because they may spoil the image of Darcy for me. I can understand Darcy's reaction to his su roundings in many situations (to my horror in some cases). That may be another reason that I love P&P. Anyway, I love this superb adaptation of P&P. At this point, I try not to watch it because I am addicted too much to do any work during the day. (day dreaming ....)

You are one of us, Jenny. That much is clear.

One more thing! I cannot say any better than Marina's expression of "getting in touch with non-Mom parts". I am kicking myself that I had not read many books recently. I am planning to convert one of the room in the house we just moved into a reading room with music at some point! Jenny

Aha. Another convert to the "Room for me" movement. Very civilised. Very Regency. Very necessary! No, Ann2?

Yes, Amy dear.(LOL at R f m-movement) And Jenny, from what I hear, you are going to need it. A place to indulge in your obsessions. Don't be to hard on yourself.Some day-dreaming can be very beneficial.

I am sorry that I was not clear. I wish I have a room to myself. However, it is not possible in my situation. All my family members love to listen to music (all different tastes though). We will share the music/reading room which is a living room right now. Converting the room will not happen for another 3 to 5 years.

jenny-- i can understand yous situation, and everyone else who posted about having "one's own room". i spent the first part of my life sharing a room with my grandmother, which was a real positive learning experience, but at the same time, "confining." it's hard to grow up and not have the freedom to post pictures on your wall of various actors/singers/etc. you have crushes on, listen to your own music, do anything you please, in general. it wasn't till i left for home at 18 when i finally got SOME space. my first three years in university were in dorms, which is a little better, but still not completely "mine." moved in with my boyfriend during our last year at univ, and though it was a one bedroom, we managed to create our own spaces-- i the bedroom and he the living room (believe me, it was an equal compromise). anyway, Jeremy Northam pictures plastered on my walls, favorite books piled on shelves, floor, nightstand, P&P2 constantly cu d on the vcr... it took 18 years but i'm free at last! i hope everyone gets a room, and a person that understands WHY we need our own rooms every once in a while...

] and a person that understands WHY we need our own rooms every once in a while... __ Winter, that may be the material point.

My situation was and is quite opposite of yours, Winter. I had had "my own room" for close to 30 years although I had never brought myself decorating it. (I had a crush on some celebrities, but their pictures were in my drawer rather than on the wall.) Anyhow since I met my beau, I have not had my own room. On the top of that, now I am working for him in a way and I see him almost 24 hours a day. Maybe it is about time to tell him that I need my space once in a while.

This is one reason I don't like many modern home designs. They are all about great rooms and opening up the space. I would prefer it to be broken up into smaller areas which one can claim as one's own. I love my parent's house for this reason; there are lots of different rooms one can get away in. My bedroom is the best spot in the house: it used to be an old dutch-style windmill, the bedroom is on the second floor, is six-sided with slanting walls, a very high ceiling and windows on the north, south-west south, and southeast (with its pwn bathroom too). It's a great room.

Oh, Ann, that sounds so lovely! Like som many others I don�t have that room of my own. Sometimes I miss it, that feeling when you close the door behind you and is alone with yourself. I love all the comments about "getting in touch with your non-Mom parts". That�s just the way it is. To allow oneself to be romantic and perhaps a little bit selfish. I don�t think that is all bad. If you shall be able to give something to and take care of others, you�ll have to take care of yourself first.

Regency ladies had "dressing rooms", basically for themselves alone (if their house was big enough -- I doubt if Mrs. Price had one at Portsmouth)

The old Mrs. Darcy also had a sort of office, too, no? I think Lizzy ought to have her own study in Pemberley that would not be in as much of public area. She could have a piano there, and a computer and stereo... no laundry room, of course.

Amy, how about including a TV and VCR for Lizzie's room - than she could see her beloved Darcy even if he was away from home!!;-)

The first time it was on, I saw the first night, but for some reason didn't take out the commercials. The night I was out and forgot to tape it and was ready to scream, but my DH reminded me it would be on again that night. So taped it while I slept, and then the last night I made sure I was there, remote in hand to pause during the ads. So some of the best scenes are without ads between them. I think I will buy the tapes when I can find them a little cheaper (money is tight, but we must have our prio ities!!) I really like P&P1 when I watched it, as it was wonderful to have a dramatization of my favorite novel, but I much prefer this one. CF has so much more expression than David Rintoul (sp?) did, in his eyes, etc. Jenny, I too and very hesitant to watch other CF movies, as he IS Darcy to me. I am afraid seeing him in somthing else would spoil it for me. THe people I work with also like JA, but none has my obsession, so I felt vindicated when I found all of you!! THe first time I read P&P was in high school, taught by a teacher who had a bumper sticker on the wall of her classroom that said "I'd rather be reading jane Austen" (probably there are more out there, but I didn't really understand it af first). I LOVED P&P. I bought a beautiful copy for my mom, thinking she would love it too, but I now have the book, so what does that tell you? I will never understand why I didn't read the rest of JA then, but I did a couple years ago and could read them over and ove . Thank you all for teaching me that I'm not the only one out there that feels this way!! And that it's ok to feel this way.

Inko, and how about a PC and modem, too, so she could hook in with us here!

Cindy, Amy had already given her a computer and a stereo!! You're right, though, the modem connection is definitely necessary - so there would have to be a phone jack!!;-)

My first time of seeing P&P2 was my first time of knowing there was JA, knowing there was P&P, and it was when: My mother was watching chapter 3 of P&P2, and I glanced at the TV, and couldn't take my eyes off, not that I understood the story, I thought Caroline Bingley was Lady Catherine, and Jane was just Lizzy's friend, but the preposual scene was everything for me, I fell in love with JA. (To be really honest, my first time of seeing P&P was two minutes, when I was at my friends' and the TV was open, but it doesn't count)