Sanditon - General Discussion

[Tyro49]

I was also bothered by the fact that Charlotte's hair was not proper for the period (except at the balls). She had a very modern, free-flowing hairdo. Also, she rarely wore her bonnet!.

[Fireball]

On 5/7/2020 at 1:08 PM, Tyro49 said:

I was also bothered by the fact that Charlotte's hair was not proper for the period (except at the balls). She had a very modern, free-flowing hairdo. Also, she rarely wore her bonnet!.

That bothered me too!  Now if all the women were wearing their hair wrong for the period it wouldn't have bothered me as much, but just having Charlotte have her hair wrong for the period was really jarring for me.

[treeofdreams]

On 5/7/2020 at 12:08 PM, Tyro49 said:

I was also bothered by the fact that Charlotte's hair was not proper for the period (except at the balls). She had a very modern, free-flowing hairdo. Also, she rarely wore her bonnet!.

But was it really wrong?  Charlotte was a farm girl.  They did not have fancy hair arrangements; I could see that the way she was wearing her hair in the series was the way she wore it at home, the way she was used to.

[Kyanight]

49 minutes ago, treeofdreams said:

But was it really wrong?  Charlotte was a farm girl.  They did not have fancy hair arrangements; I could see that the way she was wearing her hair in the series was the way she wore it at home, the way she was used to.

I watched this so long ago, I don't remember now if we discussed this - but your post just now reminded me of it.  Charlotte was one of 12 kids or so? And raised on a farm with a family of modest means.  How did she end up with so many different dresses and accessories?  

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Kyanight said:

I watched this so long ago, I don't remember now if we discussed this - but your post just now reminded me of it.  Charlotte was one of 12 kids or so? And raised on a farm with a family of modest means.  How did she end up with so many different dresses and accessories?  

I fanwanked that there were spare outfits at the estate. After all, there were plenty of young ladies of the approximate same size and age. 

[nx74defiant]

On 8/27/2020 at 7:52 PM, treeofdreams said:

But was it really wrong?  Charlotte was a farm girl.  They did not have fancy hair arrangements; I could see that the way she was wearing her hair in the series was the way she wore it at home, the way she was used to.

That reminds me of the scenes that often bother me in historical shows - the woman is working on the farm with her long hair blowing all over getting in her face. It looks good on camera, but in real life it would be annoying. That is so wrong, depending on her age it should be in braids or a simple bun to keep it out of the way.

Also at this time the last thing a young girl wanted was to get a tan face, so a hat of some kind would be part of her daily wardrobe.

[babs]

I really wanted to love this, but ultimately it fell flat for me. Everything was just... not enough. I could forgive a lot if just a one of the elements were cranked to 100 - sickeningly beautiful scenery, elegant or witty or thoughtful dialogue, stirring love story, sexy chemistry. Theo James is hot but that can’t even quite make up for Sidney’s dickishness. I didn’t like how Charlotte’s character was written. She’s like a grab bag of “spunky female” tropes, like jumping in on the men’s game (and winning it!) and running off to London on her own. Supposedly outspoken but then Sidney was the one leading their whole “relationship” as she stood back wide eyed and trembling as he alternated between berating her and professing his affection. Occasionally she got a shot in at him but I never felt that they were equally matched. When he chased down her carriage to again reject her to her face, I felt nothing but “oh. Okay then.”
 

Sigh. I just wish someone had written these characters totally differently and gifted us a lovely little love story in these trying times. In this alternate story, Sidney would be gruff but never cruel (and don’t forget, super hot) and we’d come to see him open up thanks to Charlotte’s joie de vivre or whatever central trait she’d been given. If they couldn’t be together at the end for whatever reason, we’d be heartbroken but understanding and happy to have seen their story anyway. 

[Kyanight]

2 hours ago, babs said:

I really wanted to love this, but ultimately it fell flat for me. Everything was just... not enough. I could forgive a lot if just a one of the elements were cranked to 100 - sickeningly beautiful scenery, elegant or witty or thoughtful dialogue, stirring love story, sexy chemistry. Theo James is hot but that can’t even quite make up for Sidney’s dickishness. I didn’t like how Charlotte’s character was written. She’s like a grab bag of “spunky female” tropes, like jumping in on the men’s game (and winning it!) and running off to London on her own. Supposedly outspoken but then Sidney was the one leading their whole “relationship” as she stood back wide eyed and trembling as he alternated between berating her and professing his affection. Occasionally she got a shot in at him but I never felt that they were equally matched. When he chased down her carriage to again reject her to her face, I felt nothing but “oh. Okay then.”
 

Sigh. I just wish someone had written these characters totally differently and gifted us a lovely little love story in these trying times. In this alternate story, Sidney would be gruff but never cruel (and don’t forget, super hot) and we’d come to see him open up thanks to Charlotte’s joie de vivre or whatever central trait she’d been given. If they couldn’t be together at the end for whatever reason, we’d be heartbroken but understanding and happy to have seen their story anyway. 

And there you have it, folks.  Why this show was not renewed for a second season.

[zoey1996]

I received an e-mail from my local PBS station letting me know that Sandington is back!  

"Enjoy Sanditon on MASTERPIECE

Immerse yourself in the captivating world of Charlotte Heywood all over again! "

Umm, no, I think I'll pass.  I did enjoy it the first time through, but once was more than enough.

[Macbeth]

On 1/19/2020 at 11:24 PM, MisterGlass said:

I tried googling a bit more to see if there was clear contact, and found this article from the Jane Austen Society of North America.  It seems Jane Austen met Belle's cousin Elizabeth a few times.

That was a great article.  Thank you.  Now I want to reread Mansfield Park.

[chitowngirl]

Renewed for 2 more seasons!!

[shapeshifter]

8 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

Renewed for 2 more seasons!!

That's a shocker to me. I wonder if Sanditon's renewal might be called The Bridgerton Effect?

[TrininisaScorp]

Holy crap!  What a shock!  I thought it was well and over.  Didn't Theo James get a new show?  I hope a good portion of the main cast can come back.  So much time has passed!

[eleanorofaquitaine]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

That's a shocker to me. I wonder if Sanditon's renewal might be called The Bridgerton Effect?

I absolutely believe that Bridgerton's success played a role. FWIW, I think Sanditon was a ratings success even before Bridgerton, but it just wasn't as big of a hit as they thought it would be.  So I think Bridgerton's success convinced them that there is a market for this and it was worth trying again. 

[HoodlumSheep]

Heard the news. Can't say i'm overly excited about it tbh? It'll be something to watch at least.

Not sure i'm ready for more Coke 2 Darcy. Maybe there'll be less yelling this time around. And actual character development.

Also

#JusticeForYoungStringer

#YoungStringerHappyEnding202x

Young Stringer got the short end of the stick in terms of how his life was going at the (now former) end of the series. He deserves a happy ending whatever that may be.

[HighQueenEB]

Wow!  Like several others, I thought this was done and gone after not being renewed last year.  If it is due to the Bridgerton effect, well, who are we to complain?  I'm excited and hope that there is, as others note, better character development.  And I'll definitely need a re-watch to refresh my memory!  

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, HighQueenEB said:

Wow!  Like several others, I thought this was done and gone after not being renewed last year.  If it is due to the Bridgerton effect, well, who are we to complain?  I'm excited and hope that there is, as others note, better character development.  And I'll definitely need a re-watch to refresh my memory!  

Since it's Austen-derivative, I'm going to skip rewatching. It would probably just remind me of all the reasons it really shouldn't have been renewed. But I will watch the new seasons if I can.

[TrininisaScorp]

New news is that Theo James isn't coming back. I do wonder about many of the actors b/c it has been so long and they are contracted for other things. https://www.thewrap.com/theo-james-will-not-return-to-sanditon-sidney-parker/  It's on the Masterpiece PBS socials too, so it feels official. 

"Although I relished playing Sidney, for me, I’ve always maintained that his journey concluded as I wanted it to,” James said in a statement sent to TheWrap. “The broken fairy-tale like ending between Charlotte and Sidney is different, unique and so interesting to me and I wish the cast and crew of ‘Sanditon’ every success with future series.”

Personally, I'll miss him b/c I like Theo and I think Sidney was interesting, but I'm more curious about Young Stringer.  I do think a missed opportunity would have been seeing a miserable Sidney in a challenging marriage and seeing the interactions between the couple and our heroine in society. 

ETA: I went ahead and looked.  I think Leo Suter might have commitments to Valhalla (the Vikings prequel), so I'm not sure about Young Stringer either, but waiting to hear official. 

Edited May 7, 2021 by TrininisaScorp

[Lily H]

Just saw the good news/bad news about Sanditon. I really enjoyed it, so I'm glad it's coming back, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! No more of the delectable Theo James/Sidney? He's not merely eye candy, he's a 200-pound box of Godiva chocolates. I hope that Young Stringer (can't remember the actor's name) will be coming back, at least.

[HoodlumSheep]

Not a fan of sidney so i won't miss him. I do like what theo james had to say about the end of his characters' journey, however. 

It'll be interesting to see who all returns for the show and who doesn't. 

Maybe we'll get a new hunk that just so happens to be a long lost parker bro...who wants to get even with the uppity side of the fam after years of being shunned due to the scandalous nature of his birth. Just spitballing here. Sounds soapy enough.

I'd still prefer a sensible match between charlotte and young stringer tho if it was written well. I still think they'd be a good match.

Fingers crossed for young stringer's return!

 

[shapeshifter]

26 minutes ago, HoodlumSheep said:

Maybe we'll get a new hunk

Heh. Now that you mention it, Regé-Jean Page is not returning to Bridgerton. 

[Fireball]

I'm shocked about this renewal! Will I watch season 2? I don't honestly know. It will depend on what time it airs and how bored I am I suppose.

I do hope they improve Charlotte's hair. It bugged me so much! It wouldn't have been so bad if all the characters had inappropriate hair for the time period, but it really was just Charlotte.  

Edited May 8, 2021 by Fireball
spelling

[Popples]

34 minutes ago, Fireball said:

I do hope they improve Charlotte's hair. It bugged me so much! It wouldn't have been so bad if all the characters had inappropriate hair for the time period, but it really was just Charlotte. 

I hope they make her wear a hat. It's an anachronism for her to be the only woman not wearing one and she wouldn't be squinting all the time when she's outdoors since it will block the sunlight from her face.

[eleanorofaquitaine]

16 hours ago, HoodlumSheep said:

Not a fan of sidney so i won't miss him. I do like what theo james had to say about the end of his characters' journey, however. 

I don't like what he said because I think it is mostly BS. I mean, I don't really care if he comes back - I thought he and Rose Williams had a lot of chemistry but Sidney was really unlikeable for most of the season, so it's fine if they don't end up together. But I don't believe he thinks that this was such a great resolution to his character, because it was obviously so open-ended. 

I think he is trying to steal a page from Rege-Jean Page but it isn't quite the same situation. RJP's character clearly did end with a "happily ever after," so it's easy for him to say "I'm good with where the character is, good luck to the rest of the cast."  But Sanditon ended on a cliffhanger and it's obvious that the story wasn't meant to end on that cliffhanger. 

I think he's basically moved on from the show, and that's all fine, but I just think it would be more straightforward if he had said, "I've moved on and my time commitments won't make it possible for me to return" or something. 

[treeofdreams]

Do we have any indication of when this will be on?

[proserpina65]

On 8/27/2020 at 8:52 PM, treeofdreams said:

But was it really wrong?  Charlotte was a farm girl.  They did not have fancy hair arrangements; I could see that the way she was wearing her hair in the series was the way she wore it at home, the way she was used to.

Yes, it was wrong.  Even on a farm, she wouldn't have been wearing her hair free-flowing like that.

 I honestly can't believe this got another season because the first one was awful.  Definitely not wasting my time on season 2 when I couldn't even finish season 1.

On 5/6/2021 at 8:34 PM, HoodlumSheep said:

Heard the news. Can't say i'm overly excited about it tbh? It'll be something to watch at least.

I'd rather stare at a blank wall.  That would be better written and acted than this mess was.

[zoey1996]

I will be watching new seasons. I don’t plan to rewatch season 1, but I’m planning to enjoy the story as it continues.

[magdalene]

Well, color me shocked. I thought this was canceled and I was upset with the cliffhanger ending. 

I know the guy who played the leading man is not coming back. But I hope they can get the actor who played Young Stringer back.  I have liked that actor in everything I have seen him in - Victoria, Beecham House, and this show. Fingers crossed.

[HighQueenEB]

Knowing that Theo James won't be back as Sidney Parker puts me in the headspace of not necessarily re-watching S1 because we know that romantic storyline is wholly dead and buried, so we'll be starting with either Charlotte/Young Stringer or a wholly new love triangle, if there is one at all.  And, since I was never on the Stringer bandwagon, I'd be down with a completely new love interest for Charlotte.

[magdalene]

Well, I looked up Leo Suter's (Young Stringer) current acting gigs and he is playing King Harald Hardrada in the Vikings spin-off Vikings:Valhalla.  So he may not be able  to come back depending on how long this role lasts.

Edited to add it sounds like a promising role for Suter - he is playing a famous Viking king.

Edited May 15, 2021 by magdalene

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, magdalene said:

Well, I looked up Leo Suter's (Young Stringer) current acting gigs and he is playing King Harald Hardrada in the Vikings spin-off Vikings:Valhalla.  So he may not be able  to come back depending on how long this role lasts.

Probably just as well. Better to start fresh. Plus, it will have been a long time between seasons, and many who watched (like me) won’t recall much –– since a lot was very forgettable. And then if they hope to draw the Bridgerton crowd, encouraging them to first watch a highly flawed first season does not sound like a good marketing plan.

[magdalene]

Like I suspected it was confirmed that Leo Suter won't be back as Young Stringer.  Not surprising since this show was after all canceled and you can't expect in demand actors to stick  around.  Especially when they get to play a famous Viking king on Vikings: Valhalla in the mean time.  I never believed Suter would have the time to do both shows at the same time.

[Fireball]

Anyone seen the photos for season 2? Sanditon Season 2: What We Know Now | Masterpiece | PBS

The long hair free flowing hair is still here.... It does still bother me...

Also they really should have made the Parker's related to Charlotte. It just doesn't make sense they would take a stranger into their home and treat her like one of the family. Yes, Charlotte helped them after the carriage accident, but still I kept thinking Charlotte should have been taking care of the younger children or something. Not acting like one of the family.

 

Edited October 23, 2021 by Fireball

[Popples]

Sanditon Season 2, coming Sunday, March 20, 2022, 9/8c to MASTERPIECE on PBS.

The New Men of Sanditon Season 2

[4merBachAddict]

Anyone else hoping that 'Sanditon' does SO well  in season 2 that a season 3 could maybe lure back a favorite (or two) from the first season? 😇

Edited February 3, 2022 by 4merBachAddict

[RedHawk]

I just finished re-watching what we can now call Season 1, and I'd entirely forgotten how it ended, other than that Eliza and Babbington married. Yes, I forgot that Sidney nearly proposed (thisclose!) to Charlotte then chose to marry Eliza. This time round I still found Sidney mostly rude to Charlotte and lacking in *something* so in the end I was ok with him making a decision that would have been quite accepted at the time. Now he can pine for Charlotte while married to the girl he originally pined for. 

Charlotte is I think too far above Young Stringer to marry him so I never considered that a possibility but their interactions were enjoyable. Had he been a striving young architect, the younger son of the lowest gentry or a yeoman farmer, then perhaps. He and his father were skilled workers (artisans) and he had risen to being a foreman, but that is all. (I'm still sad and upset that he burned his design for the pagoda!) He was poor and she is the daughter of a land-owning farmer, as some have pointed out, somewhat similar to the Bennets in social standing and not as cash-poor. She barely glanced at him in anything other than friendship and a desire to encourage his talent and ambition, and she was oblivious to his feelings for her. I didn't mind that he fell for her and knew he had no chance against Sidney as it added to the overall story. 

So I'm looking forward to S2 and S3 for new love interests for Charlotte and Miss Lambe, more on returning characters, and a furthering of the story of Sanditon seaside resort itself. I don't really see this as a "Jane Austen" adaptation so I'm open to whatever happens and can ignore most of the anachronisms. Even the title "Sanditon" points it to being more about the town and the cast of characters than to specific characters as in Austen's novels. 

Edited February 20, 2022 by RedHawk
Spelling

[RedHawk]

On 3/28/2020 at 3:03 PM, Fireball said:

This bothered me from episode 1. In other period piece shows the young women goes off with a relative or a good family friend. Here the parents send her off with complete strangers. And these strangers continue to house and feed Charlotte. It is the strangest thing. 

People didn't have a lot of entertainments then so guests were a usual and welcome part of their lives. Bringing a young woman to visit the family was a way of gaining companionship for the wife and indeed they were repaying Charlotte for her help when they were in distress. The "strangers" were a respectable married couple wealthier and more socially prominent than the Heywood family and they were taking her to a known destination. It was an opportunity for their daughter of marriage age to get out into the world and also meet eligible men. Charlotte wrote to her family regularly (probably letters sent one day arrived the next) so they knew who she was spending time with (she dined at the home of LADY Denham!) and what was happening to her.

We don't know her family's exact social standing (and I don't recall how it's described int the book), but Charlotte would not have been treated as a child-minder. She was a guest because her father was a land-owner (a yeoman farmer or perhaps lower gentry) and had some means. She has a place on the social ladder just a rung or two below the Parkers. 

ETA: In Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, Catherine Morland goes to visit the home of her "friend" Eleanor Tilney even though they have only known each other for a couple of weeks, and her parents don't have any objection. Neither they nor the older couple whom Catherine is traveling with in Bath know Eleanor's father.

Edited February 21, 2022 by RedHawk
Trying to explain Catherine's social position

[magdalene]

Popping my head in - for those who want to see Leo Suter in his new Vikings show: it starts this Friday on Netflix.  He is one of the leads.

[treeofdreams]

I hope they replay season 1 first; I don't remember much of it.

[treeofdreams]

On 2/23/2022 at 1:46 PM, treeofdreams said:

I hope they replay season 1 first; I don't remember much of it.

My question answered -  the first two episodes of season 1 are on PBS tonight (in Arizona).

Edited February 27, 2022 by treeofdreams

[seasons]

Just watching rerun of episode 4. Did I miss something as to why Lady Denham was suggesting Edward and Miss Lambert get together? Sounds great to me (although I wouldn't wish him on anyone), but were inter racial couples accepted at this time? 

 

I forget - do Otis and Miss Lambert get together at the end of season 1? I hope so!

 

And that Stringer finds happiness.

 

 

Season 2 march 20!!!

Edited March 7, 2022 by seasons

[Popples]

15 minutes ago, seasons said:

Did I miss something as to why Lady Denham was suggesting Edward and Miss Lambert get together?

She's super rich and he lives in a dilapidated leaky, old house with holes in the ceiling. Even before Miss Lambe got to Sanditon, Lady Denham told Charlotte that Edward was nice to look at and a total flirt but marriage to her was out of the question because he must marry money.

I can't answer anything else because I've forgotten what happened and I'm grateful that one of my local PBS stations is showing it again as a refresher.

[treeofdreams]

1 hour ago, Popples said:

She's super rich and he lives in a dilapidated leaky, old house with holes in the ceiling. Even before Miss Lambe got to Sanditon, Lady Denham told Charlotte that Edward was nice to look at and a total flirt but marriage to her was out of the question because he must marry money.

Yes.  She wanted both of them - Edward and his sister - to marry wealth so they would stop mooching off her.

[treeofdreams]

I am enjoying this show more the second time around, since I do not have the high expectations I had for the first airing and therefore am not disappointed.  I still dislike the two main characters, Charlotte and Sidney, but I'm finding the other storylines more interesting.

One of the things I still find jarring is that Charlotte seems like an imitation Jane Austen character, with her style of speaking and her mannerisms, while the other characters seem more like real people.  Plus she always mumbles her lines, and tilts her head any time she is talking to someone.  I blame the writer for the bad dialogue, but blame the actress for the mumbling and head-tilting.

Sidney is just a jerk.  Nothing more to add.

I hope season two is better...

[norcalgal]

36 minutes ago, treeofdreams said:

Sidney is just a jerk.

Yeah, he really is a jerk...but Theo James is such a hottie...too bad the character was still sort of jerkish until the end.

[treeofdreams]

I was looking at the different versions of Sanditon on Amazon.  There are several, from just the fragment that Jane Austen wrote to others where the story was finished by other authors.  I was surprised to see that the PBS version was written by Andrew Davies; I have enjoyed his other Austen adaptations, but with them he had a whole book to work with, rather than finishing Austen's beginning on his own.  I don't think he did as well with Sanditon.

It was interesting to read the reviews of each version.  They (the different versions) all seemed to go in different directions.  One of them presented Sydney as witty, humorous and charming rather than the unpleasant jerk he was here.  (I had the impression that Davies was trying to set up a Darcy/Elizabeth dynamic.  Fail!)  One version was given a sad ending, which Austen never did in her books, as far as I know.  There were many other differences.

It will be interesting to see how season two plays out.

 

[SusanwatchingTV]

I read two different versions of this - Jane Austen's Charlotte by Julia Barrett, and Sanditon by Jane Austen, completed by Another Lady.

I didn't like the Julia Barrett version, but I did enjoy the "Another Lady" version.

Neither are much like what they've done with the show, especially now with the new season.

[HerkyJerky]

17 hours ago, treeofdreams said:

Plus she always mumbles her lines, and tilts her head any time she is talking to someone. 

I don't remember the mumbling but the head tilting drove me CRAZY!🤣

[treeofdreams]

One of the flaws I found in Davies' version was a way in which it was not faithful to Jane Austen.  I don't think she would ever have had Charlotte witnessing Sidney rising naked from the ocean, or Clara giving Edward a hand job.   Even the semi-incestuous relationship between Esther and Edward, even though they were not technically brother and sister, did not seem like something she would have written.

I am tempted to buy the original unfinished version of the book to see what Davies was working from.

[SusanwatchingTV]

1 hour ago, treeofdreams said:

One of the flaws I found in Davies' version was a way in which it was not faithful to Jane Austen.  I don't think she would ever have had Charlotte witnessing Sidney rising naked from the ocean, or Clara giving Edward a hand job.   Even the semi-incestuous relationship between Esther and Edward, even though they were not technically brother and sister, did not seem like something she would have written.

I am tempted to buy the original unfinished version of the book to see what Davies was working from.

I agree.  

 

The one I read that was "completed by another lady" purports to have the original first 11 (I think it is) chapters before you get to the new stuff.  It seemed much more authentic to Austen from my perspective.