I have long been an admirer of great writing, and the works of Jane Austen and PD James are among my favourites. But sadly, this series was not. Other commentators have described many of the objections to costume, plot and characters, and I can only agree. There seemed little of the 'sparkle' and panache that was evident in Austen's writing, and particularly apparent in Andrew Davies' memorable Screen Dramas. PD James is one of the best crime writers our country has ever known - and we can be proud of so many - but whilst crime is her forte, period drama in the fashion of Jane Austen is not. So, after reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, in which she created such vivid characters and credible dialogue, in-keeping with the period and the strata of society, we could be forgiven for expecting more of the same though, sadly, not from the late Jane Austen of course. Perhaps it was one of Austen's skills to give us so much, but leave us hungry for more....To do justice to PD James, Jane Austen is an extremely hard act to follow. And, while Ms. James has a proved track-record in her own genre, and did a splendid job on its' own merit, it seems likely that most viewers would be familiar with Jane Austen's work and, almost certainly, Andrew Davies' memorable and excellent TV dramatizations. If there be criticism of the TV version of 'Death Comes to Pemberley', then it must rest as much with the writer who, curiously, is not credited on IMDb? It is a rare skill, indeed, to take good writing on the page and translate it into the different medium of television. Many works of PD James have proved successful on television but, regrettably, this is not the best. She has taken Jane Austen's characters, and woven a skillful plot that stands well on its' own merits, but it's not Jane Austen. Unfortunately, using Austen's characters only makes us expectant of her style and her words, and sadly, they are not there. I'd happily watch it again, but maybe next time I'll do so expecting a good PD James, which it is, rather than a pastiche of Jane Austen.

I would like to start by saying I am a huge Austen fan. I've read Pride and Prejudice multiple times and the Keira Knightly version of the movie is a favorite of mine. That being said, I loved this adaptation of the Bennets/Darcys. I think the casting is excellent. As for Lizzie being too old, I disagree. Lizzy would have been close to 30, and the actress playing her is well within appropriate age. I also think her "fairness" is closer to the novel's version of Elizabeth than Keira Knightly. In this adaptation, Darcy is truly his broody self, not a pretty, sad, misunderstood gallant. The actors have been chosen not for their "beauty" but for their acting. The rest of the cast plays their parts with easy believability. The story line is wonderful mix of murder-mystery and flashbacks to the original novel. The story gives plenty meat for the characters and satisfies in many ways the relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth that was not continued in the books. I was happily surprised by the ending, it caught me by complete surprise and that made the wait all the better. I only wish this excellent cast could create more story for this beloved novel. I've watched it 3 days in a row, no regrets!

I really wanted to like this. I loved the original book by Jane Austen but was intrigued by the idea of a twist in the "happily ever after" ending.A great spoof could have been made, something like Monty Python and the Holy Grail for the Georgian era. Or it could have been a very genteel black comedy like Kind Hearts and Coronets or Arsenic and Old Lace. They could have played it straight and have Lizzie as Miss Marple...But instead we get a slow, turgid, lifeless, incoherent story that takes nearly an hour before anything happens. And by the time it does, you just don't care...

I had anticipated this series coming to American television, given the fine productions of Jane Austin's novels that have appeared over the years. While it is an imaginative storyline, it is one of the most boring "mysteries" ever presented on "Masterpiece Mysteries." The cast is outstanding, as are the costumes and settings. Those have become a given in recent years with such period pieces. However, the story takes forever to get organized, with people you really don't care for very much. I get the feeling that the producers had so much invested in the backgrounds, with the costumes and settings, that they felt it had to be a longer series. It didn't. This would have worked much, much better as an hour and a half, or maybe two hour, production. Instead, it became a tedious piece of television. The cast deserved better.