Desperate Romantics:
modernising the classic mini-series
Brenda Hamlet investigates the recent BBC reconstruction of the raunchy rompings of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and its relevance for modern audiences as a case study on the relationship between art and celebrity.
Question: What do a group
of nineteenth century artists, the Sex Pistols and Jade Goody have in common? Based on the popular
best selling book Desperate Romantics by Franny Moyle (2009), the series of the same name was broadcast as a six one-hour weekly classic mini- series on BBC 1 at 9pm on Tuesdays throughout August and September.
Historic context & institutional factors The practice of adapting heritage texts by
the Brontë sisters, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and Henry James has been characteristic of the BBC ‘classic mini-series’ for the last fifty years. But it is only since 1990 that the BBC has tried to extend its reach beyond the typical target audience for BBC classic drama (30+ ABC1). The 1990 Broadcasting Act required that 25% of all television network production be commissioned from independent producers. Initially, this enabled the BBC to offload some of its production responsibilities as well as enter into lucrative global partnerships with American and Australian producers. However, the Broadcasting Act also removed some of the more stringent regulations restricting ownership, popular programming and financing in the commercial sector. As result, the BBC has come under increased pressure to compete with independent producers for niche audiences and specialist groupings within its mainstream demographic. The new Digital Economy Bill will provide further challenges to the BBC as proposals include top slicing the license fee to pay for the costs of ITV regional news. On the other hand the possible partnership under consideration between BBC Worldwide and C4 would provide the BBC with the under-30 demographic necessary to its survival as a public service broadcaster.
Genre and text Desperate Romantics
is in many ways a conventional BBC ‘classic mini-series’. Adapted from a novel, set in Victorian England amongst a group of artists, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, its themes are associated with British society and high culture. The £4,000,000 estimated budget reveals the high production values normally associated with ‘the best of British’ television. Detailed and authentic mise-en-scène, expensive sets and sumptuous costumes construct the ‘filmic quality’ attractive to global audiences. As is the case with the cinematic costume drama, the cast includes an impressive array of experienced television actors lending the genre its value added prestige credentials. John Ruskin, a celebrated art historian and critic is played by the television and film actor
Tom Hollander whose credits include In the Loop, Valkyrie and Elizabeth: The Golden Age. The younger, more celebrated poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti is played by Aidan Turner, the young star of Being Human. Though the deftly crafted
narrative, which condenses over twelve years into six suspenseful one-hour episodes, is characteristic of the genre, Peter Bowker’s lively writing makes the most of the rivalry and affection between John Ruskin, John Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Holman Hunt, William Devrell, William Morris and Ned Burne-Jones: the artists who founded the Pre- Raphaelite Brotherhood. In doing so, Bowker simultaneously deals with two important issues for the BBC classic mini-series. Firstly, he distances himself from the ‘heritage’ label associated with the genre
english and media centre | December 2009 | MediaMagazine 43
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