I have actally quite enjoyed watching Oliver Twist this week despite its being a somewhat comic strip version. However, I do wonder why it is that nobody sees fit to film the book as written. In some versions the Maylie sub-plot is completely omitted, and on the whole I think this is preferable to distorting the relationships between the characters to the extent this did making the coincidencs of the plot even more strained than in the original.
It isn't as if those relationships are all that complex: Mr. Brownlow had two friends, both now dead, Mr. Leeford and Mr. Fleming. The one is the father of Edward Leeford aka Monks, and the other is the father of Agnes and Rose Fleming. Leeford senior had an affair with Agnes and Oliver was the result. Agnes, her father and her lover all died. Edward grew up as a thoroughly bad lot, and the very young Rose was adopted by the Maylies and grew up virtuous and in ignorance of her true origins.
Fagin as written is much nastier than he is ever portrayed. Dodger does not go off into the sunset with Bullseye, but is transported to Australia earlier in the book and Noah Claypole takes over his role in both the gang and the plot.
There, not difficult is it? So, why not dramatise it instead of making up a new plot.
By the way, surely an actress of Anna Massey's standing could have objected to saying that dreadful soap line "He's not worth it", even if she didn't have to precede it with "Leave it aht, Rose"?
