Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Good concept, poorly executed.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

To begin, I enjoyed this miniseries. The setting was incredible, it was shot wonderfully, and I'm a fan of a lot of the cast members. However, it's very clear that this takes place only at the shallowest level of the Pride&Prejudice world. The characters share the same names and relationships (for the most part), but there were scenes that were so out of character that it jars you out of the action for a moment. For instance, Georgina collapsing to the floor sobbing in front of servants is just too far from believable, especially considering the cause of her tears. (She's upset, yes- but upset enough to ignore all of the manners and excessively uptight social restrictions she grew up with? Hardly.) Elizabeth's wit peeked through at a few points, but overall she was far too passive for the character- she was afraid to contradict Darcy, which goes directly against a pretty large portion of their relationship in the novel. He also reverted back to the bullheaded character he was when the two first met, which erased a lot of characterization and also became a little confusing when the character jumped around from being open to Elizabeth and ignoring her. Jenna Coleman was excellent, and while her self-awareness was a departure from the book it was one that I loved. The secondary characters introduced for the mystery (namely Will and his family) were interesting and played well. I do wish there had been less anachronisms in the trial, but it could have been far worse and somewhat fit Henry's characterization as a man ahead of his time. Overall, a 7/10 and a fun watch once you separate it a bit from the novel it draws its characters from.

If you are like me and enjoy your Pride and Prejudice, and a good murder plot, then you would love this series! The choice of the victim is good, but the one of the suspect is very smart, and I also love the way it delves into the soft points of the characters - Darcy's possible regret of marrying Elisabeth, or her not understanding of duty. I was fascinated by the re-creation of an inquest and trial from that period (who knew that judges were allowed to drink brandy during the trial?) and particularly by the depiction of the characters. Elisabeth in particular is just like I would have imagined, she is the same spirited outspoken person we know and love, while Darcy is more brooding, quiet and responsible (while I may have chosen other actors in terms of appearance, I think they portray the characters very well as reactions). I also enjoyed the way Lady de Bourgh is portrayed, and remarkably, I even grew a different understanding of Wickam!All in all, definitively worth to watch by P&P wit a murder twist lovers!

you would know who Captain Denny's murderer is and why Denny was extremely angry with Wickham. You would know that the story came to a satisfying end; and there was never an estrangement between Darcy and Elizabeth; that they have two sons - Fitzwilliam and Charles; or that Mrs. Bennet never arrives at Pemberley being her idiot self, and finally you have the pleasure of reading about the Gardiners and their home on Gracechurch Street. In the book - Hardcastle never discovers the real reason Wickham was in Pemberley grounds, he never learned about Wickham's affair with Louisa Bidwell because he doesn't care - that is who his character.Death Comes to Pemberley was PD James tribute to Jane Austen and reads extremely well - finished it in about 3 hours because PD James knows how to tell a story, keeps you engaged and I have to say she skillfully continued the Pride and Prejudice story that was about 8 years after Darcy and Elizabeth marry.But alas, the PBS series made a hash of an excellent book and created something that doesn't fit the characters we know and love from Pride and Prejudice. I wonder if it was done all for an assumed need to modernize? The only reason I'm not trashing the entire series is well the acting isn't bad for what is it - otherwise if you want to enjoy an awesome tribute to Jane Austen - I highly recommend the book.

Let me just preface this by saying that I am a fan of both Anna Maxwell Martin and Matthew Rhys. Anna is a beautiful, wonderful actress. I've found her enjoyable in Bleak House (2005) and The Bletchley Circle. Matthew is a talented, insanely attractive Welshman with a beautiful, robust singing voice (as evidenced in the Mystery of Edwin Drood). They are both very skilled at what they do when they are in their element.Regency England is NOT their element.There are a lot of problems with Death Comes to Pemberly. Some I can't even put my finger on.The biggest problem is that Anna and Matthew don't feel like Elizabeth and Darcy. We'll start with Matthew - he's too high-strung for this part. As the conflicted John Jasper, he works. As the Upright and dignified (but still slightly awkward) Darcy - No. He's handsome, but in a very unconventional way, which does not at all fit with tall, dark and striking Darcy. He swings about quite a lot which, apart from being improper for the time period, is simply not a way one would describe Darcy as moving.Watching Anna in this was not unlike watching her performance in the Bletchley Circle or Bleak House - the parts she plays in both of the aforementioned are women who have been through trials. That's what Anna Maxwell Martin does. But Elizabeth has spent most of her life in comfort without any greater trial than an insufferable mother and a sister running off and eloping. She shouldn't look this tired. The past six years of her life has been spent living in her dream home with her loving (filthy rich) husband. And then there's the way SHE moves in the part. Setting aside the manner in which they have her speaking, there's her body language. The way she walks and holds herself is quite simply NOT ON for the Regency. At one point she faces a pillar and leans against it with one arm over her head and her other hand ON HER HIP. It's a very masculine post and not at all appropriate for a well bred woman of the era. At another point (when she is speaking with Lady Catherine no less) she is sitting at a table, leaning forward (once again) with her hand on her waist. I half expected her to cross her legs. To top this all off, when she walks away from Lady Catherine, she swings her hips.Now let's consider Georgiana and the way she falls - sobbing - to HER KNEES in full view of the SERVANTS. This is another unladylike thing for a woman as demure and well-brought-up as Georgiana. Also it seemed like an overreaction considering the situation. Maybe she would react like that if she'd, say, just received news that her brother had died.We see Lydia (who at least was well cast with Jenna Coleman) wearing QUITE a lot of scarlet. While I'm sure well all amuse ourselves imagining her pushing boundaries without a though for convention, wearing scarlet dresses in that time period is a bit much, even for her.The story seems to waffle quite a bit as far as the "true character" of Wickham goes. Also, Lydia is way too self aware. Then of course we have magistrates talking about "tampering with evidence" and completely convoluted subplots concerning Darcy's Great-grandfather nearly losing Pemberly (?), Making Col. Fitzwilliam judgmental and of poor character (he's the frickin' nicest guy!) and Mrs. Young being Wickhams half-sister? What in the name of all that's holy?!Basically, what this all boils down to is that this is an adaptation of... well fanfiction. Published fanfiction by a well respected author, but fanfic nonetheless. And fanfiction (especially of the Mystery genre) get's way to convoluted, way too fast.