"ShakespeaRe-Told" Much Ado About Nothing (2005)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Brian Percival

Writers:

David Nicholls (writer)
William Shakespeare (play)

TV Series:

"ShakespeaRe-Told" (2005)

Original Air Date:

7 November 2005 (Season 1, Episode 1)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Tensions mount in the TV studio when a take-charge anchor is reunited with a man she has a "history" with.

Plot Keywords:

Love | One Liner | TV News | Use Of Phrase Bad Hair Day | William Shakespeare

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Sarah Parish	...	Beatrice
Damian Lewis	...	Benedick
Andrew Barclay	...	Taxi Driver
George Couyas	...	Waiter
Martin Jarvis	...	Leonard
Olivia Colman	...	Ursula
Tom Ellis	...	Claudio
Derek Riddell	...	Don
Patrick Ryecart	...	Keith
Billie Piper	...	Hero
Nina Sosanya	...	Margaret
Anthony O'Donnell	...	Mr Berry
Rasmus Hardiker	...	Vince
Michael Smiley	...	Peter
Henrietta Clemett	...	Girl in Club

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:12 | Australia:M

Company:

BBC Drama Group

Goofs:

Continuity: At the fancy dress party for the new crew, Margaret Ursula and Hero are seen in the room upstairs talking. As Don is seen going upstairs towards the room you can see Ursula dancing at the foot of the stairs. When he reaches the room he hears them talking and the door opens. He runs away. Ursula comes out of the room with Margaret and Hero, but only seconds ago Ursula was downstairs and she had not come up whilst Don was there.

Quotes:

Benedick: [talking to himself] Love's just one of those things a man grows into, like jazz and olives. I'm not going to let a few sarcastic remarks change the way I feel. After all, the world must be peopled. When I said I'd die a bachelor I just didn't realize I'd live this long!

Movie Connections:

Version of Much Ado About Nothing (1967) (TV)

Soundtrack:

True

Much Ado About Nothing

A fan of Kenneth Branagh's version, I tuned into this accidentally, not expecting very much. Boy, was I wrong. Usually when some fool tries to do a modern remake of Shakespeare it's awful to the point of cringing, but I loved this! Not only was it clever, Beatice and Benedict worked in a newsroom and their biting comments were laugh-out-loud-hilarious, but there was more sexual tension than that in Branagh's version - where he was actually married to Emma Thompson playing Beatrice to his Benedict! The actor playing Benedict was emulating Branagh slightly, but came off rather better and to be honest, hotter. Beatrice was a 21st century independent woman with some edgy one liners that she delivered amazingly - her personality coming through perfectly, and there is this amazing scene where Ben had me in stitches, crawling across the floor...oh man, was that funny! Definitely worth a watch!