Middlemarch (TV serial)

Middlemarch is a 1994 British television adaptation of the 1871 novel of the same name by George Eliot. Produced by the BBC in collaboration with the American station WGBH-TV, it was commissioned by Alan Yentob^[1] and broadcast on BBC2, with episodes repeated a few days later on BBC1.^[2] Comprising six episodes (seven episodes in the worldwide TV series), it is the second television adaptation of the novel. It was directed by Anthony Page from a screenplay by Andrew Davies, and starred Juliet Aubrey, Rufus Sewell, Douglas Hodge and Patrick Malahide.

Middlemarch
Based on	Middlemarch by George Eliot
Screenplay by	Andrew Davies
Directed by	Anthony Page
Starring	Juliet Aubrey Rufus Sewell Douglas Hodge Patrick Malahide Trevyn McDowell Julian Wadham Robert Hardy Peter Jeffrey Michael Hordern
Theme music composer	Stanley Myers
Composers	Stanley Myers (episode 1) Christopher Gunning (episode 2–6)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	originally aired as 6, but 7 in the worldwide release
Production
Executive producers	Michael Wearing Rebecca Eaton
Producer	Louis Marks
Production locations	Stamford, Lincolnshire, England Yeovil, Somerset, England
Cinematography	Brian Tufano
Editors	Jerry Leon Paul Tothill
Running time	75 minutes (x1) 60 minutes (x5)
Production company	WGBH Productions for BBC
Original release
Network	BBC2
Release	12 January (1994-01-12) – 16 February 1994 (1994-02-16)

Plot

Dorothea Brooke attempts to widen her underdeveloped intellect through marriage to the Reverend Edward Casaubon, a man twice her age. The marriage proves unsatisfying and ends with Casaubon's unexpected death. While still married, Dorothea meets Will Ladislaw, an event which leads to further complications. Meanwhile, Dr Lydgate gets married and goes ahead with his ambitious plans for a hospital, but finds himself in difficulty both financially and with local political pressures.

For a full-length summary of the novel see: Middlemarch plot summary.

Cast

• Juliet Aubrey as Dorothea Brooke
• Patrick Malahide as Rev. Edward Casaubon
• Rufus Sewell as Will Ladislaw
• Douglas Hodge as Dr Tertius Lydgate
• Robert Hardy as Arthur Brooke
• Caroline Harker as Celia Brooke
• Julian Wadham as Sir James Chettam
• Elizabeth Spriggs as Mrs Cadwallader
• Jonathan Firth as Fred Vincy
• Trevyn McDowell as Rosamund Vincy
• Michael Hordern as Peter Featherstone
• Rachel Power as Mary Garth
• Peter Jeffrey as Bulstrode
• Judi Dench as George Eliot (voiceover)
• Roger Milner as Pratt

Awards

• British Academy Television Awards - Best Actress (Juliet Aubrey), Best Make Up (Anushia Nieradzik), Best Original Television Music (Stanley Myers, Christopher Gunning)
• Broadcasting Press Guild Awards - Best Actress (Juliet Aubrey)
• Writers' Guild of Great Britain - Best Dramatised Serial
• Television and Radio Industries Club Awards - BBC Programme of the Year

Reactions

In a 28 March 1994 review for The New York Times, Elizabeth Kolbert said the mini-series was a hit in Britain as it "mesmerized millions of viewers here, setting off a mini-craze for Victorian fiction. In its wake there were Middlemarch lectures, Middlemarch comics, even a wave of Middlemarch debates. Authors and columnists argued in the London papers over whether Dorothea would, in fact, live happily ever after, whether Casaubon, if left alone, would have finished his great work and finally whether Will Ladislaw entered his marriage bed a virgin."^[3] In an 11 April 1994 review in Time magazine, John Elson stated that the series "was a recent critical and popular success in Britain, leading to lectures and even debates on the novel. As a result of the show, a Penguin paperback of the novel topped best-seller lists for five weeks, and is still doing well. The town of Stamford, Lincolnshire, where exteriors were filmed, is preparing for a summertime influx of tourists."^[4]