‘A waste of licence payers’ money!’ Great Expectations viewers slam BBC for CHANGING ending of the Dickens classic… with furious literature fans branding the show ‘an abomination’
BBC viewers were left raging on Sunday evening when the latest adaptation of Great Expectations concluded – with a different ending to Dickens.
Steven Knight’s adaptation, which stars Olivia Colman as Miss Havisham and Fionn Whitehead as Pip, has been mired in controversy over changes made to the tome, including the depiction of opium addiction and sadomasochism.
Episode one was watched by 4.4million viewers, but 2million had switched off by the penultimate episode, prior to Sunday night’s finale.
In the Dickens classic, Miss Havisham’s wedding dress is burned in a tragic accident which leads to her death – however the BBC’s reimaging Olivia purposefully sets the dress alight as part of a revenge twist and emerges unscathed.
Viewers flooded Twitter in anger, with some branding the show ‘an abomination’ and others insisting ‘it isn’t right to ruin the ending’, stating that the show ‘makes a mockery’ of Dickens’ penultimate completed novel.
Not happy: BBC viewers were left raging on Sunday evening when the latest adaptation of Great Expectations concluded – with a different ending to Dickens
Not too pleased: Viewers were fuming at the choice to change the ending
After burning the dress, Miss Havisham is seen saying: ‘I am stronger than you. I am stronger than this house. I am stronger than fire’.
Enraged viewers wrote: ‘What an abomination? The only way to describe BBCs Great Expectations. The last episode they even changed the ending…
‘Why? Why? Why. Total RUBBISH… Why would anyone think that changing the ending of Great Expectations would be a good idea?!… Right, I avoided Dickens for years. Finally read Great Expectations and bloody loved it. It is a PERFECT story. Why the hell would they change it??? And this ending?? Utter bollocks…
‘It isn’t right to ruin the ending of a famous novel. It makes a mockery of the story if Pip & Estella aren’t reunited in the end. Dickens himself realised that. 3 times the BBC have ruined GE adaptations’.
Continuing in their vitriol, users went on: ‘@bbc once again throws up its arrogance in an appalling adaption. Shame… BBC 1 so-called Great Expectations is actually poor expectations. Utter rubbish. A waste of licence payers’ money…
Screen: Written by Peaky Blinders creator Stephen Knight, the series stars Fionn Whitehead as Pip and Olivia Colman as Miss Havisham
Shocking: The penultimate episode only managed to draw in 1.5 million, some 2.9 million down on the first instalment – it has been mired in controversy over accusations of wokery and the inclusion of opium addiction and sadomasochism
‘Who commissioned this garbage?… Well call me a traditionalist if you like, but that last installment of the new ‘Great Expectations’ on BBC last night took far too many liberties with the story for my liking. I spent most of it going “that’s not what happened!”. Much preferred the last one…
‘I’ve been reading Dickens since I was 10, and watching TV adaptations and films of his work since I was 8, in the 1950s. I’ve never seen anything as bad as this, terrible script, wooden acting from several of the actors, I hate it! What a turkey!…
‘Agreed, some of the acting was awful- felt I was watching Am Dram actors reading lines. Struggled to watch it and get engaged/keep up with plot lines…
‘Let’s just say that examiners marking essays on #GreatExpectations are going to find it pretty easy to tell which candidates read the book and which just watched it on telly…. I don’t even know why I continue to watch #GreatExpectations…
‘Hysterical’: Low expectations: BBC’s woke adaption of Dickens classic loses nearly 2m viewers (Fionn Whitehead pictured with Shalom Brune-Franklin as Estella)
‘I think I just want to get to the end. This adaptation is not an improvement. If the intent was to attract a younger crowd, I don’t think it will. I taught the novel several times over the years, and this is too much.’
Despite fury from some, others were much more favourable, writing: ‘I love it , i noticed the character Jagger was so much like the character in taboo played by Tom Hardy then realised Tom Hardy produced Great Expectations…
‘Loved every episode. Great cast, ok they changed the ending but why not.’
In the penultimate episode, viewers were startled to witness a bare-bottomed Mr Pumblechook, played by Matt Berry, being spanked over a bed by house-wife-turned-dominatrix, Mrs Gargery, played by Hayley Squires.
Miss Havisham was portrayed as an opium addict who smokes with Estella.
The show was also criticised for repeated references to the British Empire’s connections to the slave trade and the use of profanities.
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