Jane Austen Month: Review: Emma Approved (2013-2014)
Last year, I took a look at the wonderful online series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Bernie Su, the co-creator for that series (other co-creator is Hank Green) came back two years after that series wrapped, with another modern Jane Austen adaptation for YouTube. This series is Emma Approved, based on Austen's novel Emma. Although neither of these series are are chick flicks, they do both carry a strong essence of one and I thought it would only be fair to look at Emma Approved, after I had broken my rule of "films only" for The Lizzie Bennet Diaries last year.
Before we examine Emma Approved, let me quickly provide a synopsis of the series:
The seventy-two episode series based on Austen's 1815 novel Emma follows Emma Woodhouse (played by Joanna Sotomura) as she works as a life and dating coach at her company, Emma Approved. Her co-worker Alex Knightley (based on George Knightley from the book and played by Brent Bailey) is her friend and voice of reason, as he encourages her to hire young Harriet Smith (Dayeanne Hutton). Emma takes Harriet under her wing and tries to guide (but more so subconciously control) Harriet's love life. As Harriet's confidence grows, Emma's personal issues make her reconsider her own ideals and passions in life.
The production value of Emma Approved is higher than that of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, but ironically, this doesn't work in the shows favour. For a start, Emma's office scenes are always shown in either one of two shots. That may sound limited, but The Lizzie Bennet Diaries only ever used one fixed camera position for its shots. While Lizzie is simply keeping a video blog and Emma is trying to film a record of her work progress, Lizzie's videos feel more real because they only have the one shot of footage to edit, just as a normal person with a video camera would. It's never explained in the series how Emma has two cameras established in her office at once, and so close together. Additionally, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries had the quirky benefit of "Charlotte's" editing, in which Lizzie's best friend Charlotte would occasionally pause a frame to draw a moustache on Lizzie, or dub over her as she speaks. This gave it a more personal, organic touch. Even when I rewatch The Lizzie Bennet Diaries now, I will still ask myself for a second "Why did Lizzie allow Charlotte to keep that in?" Then I remember I'm a twit and that it's pretend. Emma Approved is a grander production, which makes sense as Emma is a more extravagant character than Elizabeth is, and yet the downside of this is that when the actors come into Emma's office to say their lines, it does more consciously feel like actors entering to say lines. It feels just a bit too clean. The lack of authenticity that Emma Approves offers in its directorial style in contrast to Bernie Su's previous webseries is one of the reasons why I feel that this series did not succeed with a fanbase on the level that fans of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries did.
Another issue I can see is the character of Emma herself. For me, I had no issue here. This the first modern day version of Emma Woodhouse since Cher in Clueless, and it succeeds as a respectful interpretation in its own right. A large part of this is due to Joanna Sotomura's strong performance in the titular role. Emma does appear calculated at first, but Sotomura plays the character with such beautiful subtlety in her development that I found it easy to understand her.
However, Emma Woodhouse is one of Austen's least enjoyed characters, let alone protagonists. Austen herself said about writing Emma that "I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like." Emma is vain, manipulative and spoilt among her most negative traits, but she does learn and improve as the story develops. Unfortunately, this character always remains flawed in these ways which makes it harder to resonate with her in the first few episodes, particularly if you begin watching with the expectation of another witty, kind and funny Lizzie Bennet.
This is one of the reasons why I think Emma Approved, despite winning an Emmy for Outstanding Original Interactive Program like The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, is overlooked and underappreciated by potential audience members. This, alongside the fact that Pride and Prejudice will always be Austen's most beloved work and the one people will flock to see in any sort of retelling (yes, even Unleashing Mr Darcy may be sought out by some very enthusiastic fans).
However, while I agree that The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a stronger series and admittedly the one I personally prefer, I think it is a shame that not more people are interested in Emma Approved.
My favourite part of the series? Brent Bailey as Alex Knightley, and the chemistry he shares with Sotomura's Emma. I will proudly state and stand by my belief that Alex Knightley is more attractive than The Lizzie Bennet Diaries William Darcy or almost any Darcy really, he was never my type, (apart from Matthew Macfadyen in the 2005 film, that Darcy should be kept safe and cherished). Alex gets the best one liners and Bailey is just so charming and sincere in the role. He actually auditioned for both Wickham and Darcy in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, but got called back for Alex's role, which he is far more suited for. Another fun real life fact is that Bailey and Sotomura began dating during production. While I don't know when in production this occurred, or if they are even still together, these two make a compelling duo to watch as they share wonderful chemistry together.
It's also well-written (although pacing quality can be a bit hit or miss at times regarding the plot), and quite humourous. Emma's alternative phrase for cock-blocking ("the rooster obstacle") has stuck quite nicely with me in particular.
Overall, I recommend this webseries which is available for free on YouTube (as are the episodes of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries). If you are entering it as an Austen fan, a fan of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries or as someone just wanting to try a fun webseries, I think that although the first couple of episodes feel a bit slow, most viewers will be charmed and glad to have seen this.
