Sex presented pastorally*?
Broadcasters are experiencing the trouser/skirt thrill of the Bridgerton Effect
With the success of Netflix’s Jane Austen influenced nookie-fest Bridgerton, there appears to be a new wave of period bodice/hose/plus fours/doublet-rippers either onscreen or in varying stages of production.
‘And what better time?’ some might say, as the prospect of a post-Covid world with a return to personal ‘interaction’ appears certain to be accompanied by a libidinous wave of lust.
The BBC looks to be amongst the beneficiaries, with their adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love wowing both critics and viewers, aided by a generous helping of onscreen fornication.
The ‘Bridgerton Effect’ is very probably the chief reason for BritBox joining PBS in resurrecting Andrew Davies’ poorly received Sanditon, the writer’s mediocre attempt at joining the dots of Jane Austen’s unfinished final novel, of which only 11 chapters had been completed.
Presumably, the economics of the co-production deal appealed to BritBox, and ITV Drama chief Polly Hill also used the rationale that “I’m so glad that the success of Sanditon in the U.S. has paved the way for its return"
Which doesn’t really make any sense, as Stateside success for a flop UK series doesn’t necessarily translate into a British ratings triumph when revived here.
Sanditon star Theo James has bailed on coming back, which took some of the shine off the announcement:
"Although I relished playing Sidney, for me, I’ve always maintained that his journey concluded as I wanted it to.”
That’s yer lot and Goodnight Vienna, James might as well have said.
Anyway, Davies is back on board, in a lesser role this time, scripting a few episodes and exec-producing, whilst Justin Young (Death in Paradise, Ripper Street) effectively becomes Sanditon’s showrunner.
Expect the Davies smut-machine to be cranked up as per usual though; before the first season the 84-year-old writer tried to get down with the kidz, fire-hosing Love Island jargon such as “crack on”, “fanny flutters”, and “pied off” in interviews.
FFS.
Of course, the trend has been there for some time pre-COVID-19, with the likes of The Favourite, Poldark, Outlander, Jamestown, The Scandalous Lady W, The Great, Harlots and Gentleman Jack (returning for a second season this year) all supplying healthy lashings of onscreen sex and nudity.
The Favourite and Gentleman Jack (also filmed in 2010 by BBC2 as The Secret Diary of Anne Lister) both had a sapphic twist as did Farewell my Queen and the earlier Tipping the Velvet.
These kind of vaguely torrid period dramas have been popular almost from the advent of the silver and small screen; witness The Scarlet Empress (Catherine the Great), Forever Amber, Tom Jones, Moll Flanders, Clarissa, Joseph Andrews, Haggard, Fanny Hill, The Duchess, Haggard, Plunkett & Maclean and many others.
The UK’s famed 1940s bodice-rippers produced by Gainsborough Studios (The Man in Grey, Fanny by Gaslight, Madonna of the Seven Moons etc) are surely ripe for remakes – although there are two stark warnings from history.
Back in 1983, Michael Winner remade The Wicked Lady (1945) as a soft-core mix of Carry On meets Pasolini’s Salò (1975), where we are treated to a scene Faye Dunaway whipped a half-naked Marina Sirtis (Star Trek: TNG).
According to my sources, this was to the vast amusement of extras and ogling Hertfordshire locals.
Uber-thespians John Gielgud, Denholm Elliott and Alan Bates all took part in the movie, which played to Winner's depressing obsessions with violence, nudity and laboured off colour humour.
Later in the decade, Lew Grade revived Gainsborough Pictures with a slate of flaccid Barbara Cartland period romances, which featured (to their eternal shame) future stars Hugh Grant and Helena Bonham-Carter.
On the horizon, there’s a veritable torrent of shows in the pipeline that could fill the gap between seasons of Bridgerton, including Dangerous Liaisons (Starz), The Empress (Netflix), Persuasion (Netflix), A Very British Scandal (BBC1), Josephine and Napoleon (TBC) and A Place of Greater Safety (BBC).
And finally…what historical period does a bodice-ripper actually cover?
In my book, it’s from Charles I to the mid-Victorian age, but it's up for debate.
* Stephen Schwartz – Magic to Do, from Pippin (1972)
