Commenting on this wonderful mini series!

It's quite bizarre. I saw a behind the scenes book for this miniseries in a bookshop, but I don't think it has shown in Australia. Hope it does though.

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I loved this adaptation too. I watched it when it was originally on ITV in Britain and I remember that they had an Andrew Davies (the guy who did Pride and Prejudice) adaptation of Wives and Daughters (could be the wrong name there) on BBC1. I remember that I was the only one of my friends to watch Oliver cos everyone else was watching the crappy Mrs Gaskell story! SO I had no one to talk to about Oliver!

This is by far the best adaptation of Oliver there is. I agree with all the comments made above- one of the reasons that I liked this version so much was because it didn't gloss over Dicken's London and it didn't make the characters like Dodger or Fagin nice and sympathetic like some of the others have been. It's the truest to the book although I LOVED LOVED LOVED the development of Monks and the whole Leeford saga. How great was Marc Warren and Lyndsey Duncan as the terrible twosome?!

I loved the way that Marc Warren portrayed Monks. I felt such sympathy for him and was actually was very disgusted by his father's treatment of him but I suppose that was how disability was generally seen as in those days. I just wanted his father to tell him that he loved him or even just to treat him kindly once! One of my favourite moments in the whole thing is at the end when Oliver (played superbly by Sam Smith) tells Monks that he wishes that none of it had worked out how it did and shows that he forgives him. It's such a touching moment- truely heartbreaking. Marc Warren is an outstanding actor- has anyone been watching Hustle recently? He's in that and plays a totally different character with lovely blond hair!

Basically, I want the DVD to come out in the UK cos this is one of my favourite book adaptations of all time. Special mention to Marc Warren, Lyndsay Duncan, Andy Serkis, Emily Woof, Sam Smith, Robert Lyndsay all of whom I thought gave outstanding performances.

"A Coward you are Withnail, an expert on bulls you are not!"

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I'm inclined to agree,that by adding the prequel,they've managed to take Dickens splendid melodrama,and change it into an epic.All of the looose ends that are revealed at the end of the story are eliminated,as are so many of the improbable coincidences.
By showing this to be a long term conspiracy against Oliver,we are able to see that so many incidents that appear to be random are,in actuality,a well constructed plot designed to cheat and disgrace this child.
Michael Kitchen's wonderful portrayal of Brownlow changes a benign and avuncular old fairy godfather into a more vital and well-developed personage.
I had 2 complaints.While I felt that Serkis' portrayal of Bill Sikes is with a doubt the most true to Dickens' original,I was disappointed in his death scene.Falling off of the balcony and breaking his neck isn't the same as the (unconciously intended)self-inflicted execution in the novel.
And Fagin's magic tricks,acrobatics,and vaudeville stunts are just plain silly,and out of place.Besides,his name wasn't Levinsky,and he wasn't a fugitive from the Prague ghetto.The name was probably originally Fechlin,and his ancestors were most likely immigrants from Holland.

i agree, this is a great adaptation. i was most impressed by micheal kitchen's and marc warren's performances. they were brilliant!

~That's not a dog. It's a hyena dressed in dog clothing~

I decided to buy this on DVD and compare it to the more recent showing of Oliver Twist on Masterpiece Theater with Timothy Spall! Wow! I thought that one was good, but this one is the best I've seen.

I totally agree with everyone on Marc Warren. He took a character I couldn't have cared less about in other versions and painted a heartbreaking portrait of a disturbed human being.

I actually love Robert Lindsay's take on Fagin. From his look to his voice, he's a perfect physical interpretation of the character. Sure, the incorporation of magic into Fagin's background isn't exactly faithful to the book, but I like how it adds a bit of flavor and flamboyance to the him. While other versions have started making Fagin more sympathetic, this mini-series chose to stay reasonably faithful to the more flawed aspects of Fagin. Great job by both the filmakers and Lindsay. (Timothy Spall in the newest version is an interesting choice and very quirky. But I feel like I'm watching the true Fagin with Lindsay)

I was looking forward to Andy Serkis' Bill Sikes and he was appropriately scary. He's certainly physically brutal and not one you'd want to cross. I thought Serkis might add a little more layers to the character, but I didn't quite see that. In truth, it's difficult to turn a character so evil into anything other than a monster.

Julie Walters and David Ross do a fine job as Mrs. Mann and Mr. Bumble. I have to admit, however, I grew less interested everytime their characters appeared onscreen. Not the actors' fault. I just kept asking myself, "Why do we keep going back to these two?" Of course, they do become fairly important later on.

Sam Smith is pretty much the kinda kid I see when I think of Oliver Twist in terms of his angelic look. But I also like the way he'll make comments sometimes under his breath. Keira Knightly's Rose (who looks shockingly older than her actual age in this) is almost as heartwarming as Emily Woof's Nancy is heartbreaking. Also Michael Kitchen is a joy as Mr. Brownlow, as is Annette Crosbie as Mrs Bedwin. I don't want to forget Sophia Myles who really brings Oliver's mother to life.

This brings me to episode one of the mini-series, which is essentially the prequel to the more familiar story. It really ties together questions I probably had when watching other versions of the story. When I heard part one was entirely before the famous workhouse chapter, I was concerned. But Myles, Kitchen and Warren really make it work.

I was touched almost to tears when Oliver relays his story to Rose and Mr. Brownlow while lying in bed. Also when Oliver feels sympathy for Edward.

While the mini-series apparently takes a few liberties with Dicken's original story, it's very faithful compared to most versions and beautifully done.

Monks is sympathetic in this version? I don't think that's true to the original.