Finally, FINALLY I had the chance to watch the 2008 BBC Production of Sense and Sensibility! Recently, we have been blessed with access to a PBS channel and I happened across the first of the two episodes last Sunday night. I was thrilled - and the rest of my family were not - LOL! They groan when I want to watch something like this, but in the spirit of true family unity, my husband kept the kids busy playing games while I watched.

Can I just how how wonderful it was? Sense and Sensibility has always been my favorite of the Jane Austen books and this rendering was the very best onscreen telling of it I think. It is impossible not to compare it to the Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet version and though I still love that version, this one was superior in getting the story across to the audience.

The very strongest part of this movie was that the producers and writers took the time to tell the audience *why* Marianne falls in love with Colonel Brandon. That was a serious miss in the feature film version.

As much as I still love the feature length movie version, this one has eclipsed it. The casting was better for almost all of the roles - most notably, the character of Edward. Now, I like Hugh Grant, but the man oozes bad boy from every pore. He can't help it. The actor portraying Edward in this version, Dan Stevens, was much more suited to the role in my opinion.

So, needless to say, I highly recommend this version of Sense and Sensibility if you are an Austen fan or a period drama fan. It is well worth the almost four hours of your time!

*All image icons courtesty of crazed_dreamer