‘THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF NICHOLAS NICKLEBY’ (2001)

Please feel free to comment on my review.

A Dickens Classic with Charles Dance and James D’Arcy

This is a Charles Dickens TV adaptation at its best! 🙂

Now and again, I do enjoy seeing this TV adaptation of ‘The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby’ on DVD. There are other film and TV adaptations of this story, but this is the one I grew up with. It’s pretty gripping, as are many of the stories by Charles Dickens adapted for TV and film. 🙂

This TV production is based on the original book by Charles Dickens, which was published in 1839. Sometimes it’s called just ‘Nicholas Nickleby’ or ‘The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby’. I’ve not read the book myself, but I can imagine the plot in book form is gripping and complex at times. 🙂

In my opinion, the 2001 TV adaptation of ‘The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby’ has been engaging to watch. The director Stephen Whittaker has done a sterling job with depicting this story in a mesmerizing manner from its beginning to its end, ranging from plot to costumes to actors, etc.

On the original DVD release, the story is divided into two 1½ hour episodic parts, running up to 194 minutes in total length. When my parents and I saw this TV drama production recently, we saw ‘Nicholas Nickleby’ over the course of two days. It’s nice to do that in order to space out the viewing.

The story is about a young man called Nicholas Nickleby. He, his mother and sister have lost their father. They seek help from Ralph Nickleby, the father’s brother, in London, but he happens to be a cold and vengeful man. Nicholas faces trials and horrors in order for him and his family to be happy.

I greatly enjoyed how this TV drama production depicts the horrors of Dickensian London as well as the Yorkshire countryside school which Nicholas goes to for his first job as a teaching assistant. He witnesses the cruel horrors of the schoolmaster Mr. Squeers and learns of the cold-heartedness of his uncle. 😐

This TV production also features a stunning cast, including the likes of Charles Dance, Gregor Fisher, Pam Ferris and James D’Arcy. I’ve enjoyed the characters and their journeys featured throughout, especially in terms of seeing how the story unfolds with its unique complexities by Charles Dickens. 🙂

Charles Dance stars as Ralph Nickleby, the cold and vengeful uncle who’s almost like Scrooge, except there’s no redemption for this character. This TV production was the first time that I saw Charles Dances in anything, and this was way before he became famous in the TV show ‘Game of Thrones’. 😀

Very often, Charles Dance is notable for playing villains and I do enjoy his approach to playing them, as he often brings a quiet menace to any villainous role he plays. I’d like to see him as a ‘Doctor Who’ villain someday. I’ve cast him in a forthcoming ‘Doctor Who’ story I’ve yet to share on my blog.

James D’Arcy stars as Nicholas Nickleby. James is brilliant, since he portrays Nicholas well when he’s witnessing horrors such as the cruelty being inflicted at the boys’ school in Yorkshire. He’s a caring, kind-hearted man who has his father’s spirit, and becomes angry by his uncle’s cold hearted manner.

Over the years, James D’Arcy has been in many things, ranging from guest starring in a Big Finish audio of ‘Doctor Who’ called ‘Paradise 5’, starring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. He’s also been in the ‘Agent Carter’ series with Hayley Atwell and he was in 2007’s ‘Mansfield Park’ with Billie Piper. 🙂

Gregor Fisher stars as Wackford Squeers, the horrible schoolmaster of the boys’ school in Yorkshire. The first time I saw Gregor Fisher is anything was in a 2000 TV film adaptation of ‘The Railway Children’. In that, he played a nice character called Perks. That is quite a contrast to Mrs. Squeers. 😐

In ‘Nicholas Nickleby’, Squeers is very mean and spiteful to the boys at his school, especially Smike, whom he bullies constantly. I liked the scene where Nicholas Nickleby stood up to Squeers when he was beating up Smike. I’d feel the same and would want to stop Squeers when he was being so mean.

Pam Ferris stars as Mrs. Squeers, the wife of schoolmaster Wackford Squeers. For me, Pam played the villainous Miss Trunchbull in the 1996 film ‘Matilda’. She’s also played nice characters such as in the ‘Doctor Who’ audio story ‘The Eternal Summer’ as well as the first five seasons of ‘Call the Midwife’.

Like Miss Trunchbull, Mrs. Squeers is an equally nasty character. You can see that Squeers and his wife are made for each other. As well as flaunting each other, they both share in bullying the boys at the school. Mrs. Squeers makes it clear that she hates Nicholas Nickleby when the family are at dinner.

The rest of the cast are equally brilliant, and there are some recognisable faces featured in this TV drama production. It’s amazing how you spot familiar faces in period drama productions whether in film and TV. Sometimes, you often see people who have been in ‘Doctor Who’ in these productions.

There’s the lovely Sophia Myles as Kate Nickleby, Nicholas’ sister. Sophia would go on to play Lady Penelope in the 2004 ‘Thunderbirds’ film and she’s been in the ‘Doctor Who’ episode ‘The Girl in the Fireplace’. Kate is Nicholas’ beautiful sister, who becomes the victim of drunken men lusting for her.

There’s Diana Kent as Mrs. Nickleby, Nicholas and Kate’s widowed mother; George Innes as Newman Noggs, Ralph Nickleby’s clerk; and Lee Ingleby as Smike, the young boy at Squeers’ school whom Nicholas befriends. There’s an intriguing backstory regarding Smike’s character, which gradually unfolds.

Debbie Chazen stars as Fanny Squeers, the daughter of the family who lusts after Nicholas Nickleby when working at the school. After ‘Nicholas Nickleby’, Debbie Chazen would go on to guest star in the 2007 ‘Doctor Who’ Christmas Special called ‘Voyage of the Damned’, which is so extraordinary. 🙂

There’s Tom Hollander, who I’ve seen in the 1999 BBC TV production of ‘Wives and Daughters’, as Alfred Mantalini, along with Marian McLoughlin as his wife Madame Mantalini. There’s Dominic West as Sir Mulberry Hawk, who lusts after Kate Nickleby twice and gets into a fight with Nicholas. 😮

Malcolm Tierney, who’s been in the ‘Doctor Who’ story ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’ and the Big Finish audio ‘1001 Nights’, stars as Vincent Cummles, who employs Nicholas and Smike in his theatre. There’s also Liz Smith, who’s been in ‘The Vicar of Dibley’, playing Peg Sliderskew in this TV production.

Donald Sumpter stars as Mr. Brooker, the man who brought Smike to the Yorkshire school for boys run by Mrs. Squeers. He’s had his fair share of ‘Doctor Who’ credits, including playing Enrico Casali in ‘The Wheel In Space’, Commander Ridgeway in ‘The Sea Devils’ and President Rassilon in ‘Hell Bent’.

The story’s cast also includes Chris Roebuck as Wackford Squeers Jr., Hannah Storey as Tilda Price, Tom Ellis as John Browdie, Berwick Kaler as Mr. Snawley, Abigail McKern as Miss La Creevy, Rosalind March as Miss Kang, Roderic Culver as Lord Verisopht, and Jacqueline Tong as Mrs. Crummles. 🙂

Ruth Chapman stars as Ninetta Crummles (the ‘Infant Phenomenon’), Richard Katz as Mr. Lenville, Jonathan Coy as Charles Cherryble, Simeon Andrews as Ned Cheeryble, JJ Field as Frank Cheeryble, Frank Mills as Arthur Gride, Katherine Holme as Madeline Bray, and Phillip Bond as Mr. Walter Bray.

Madeline Bray ends up being Nicholas Nickleby’s love interest in the story. Philip Bond once played Ganatus the Thal in the first ‘Daleks’ story of ‘Doctor Who’ with William Hartnell. JJ Field has been in 2007’s ‘Northanger Abbey’ with Felicity Jones and ‘The Sally Lockhart Mysteries’ with Billie Piper.

And would you believe that Tom Hiddleston, who would go on to play Loki in the ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’, plays a ‘lord’ in this TV production of ‘Nicholas Nickleby’. How uncanny is that?! There’s also John Dallimore playing the Vicar, both at the beginning and at the end of this drama production.

The original DVD special features are as follows. There are cast filmographies on Charles Dance, James D’Arcy, Sophia Myles and Diana Kent. There’s a photo gallery, a biography on Charles Dickens and a Dickens booklist. There are interactive menus and a scene index for the two parts of the story.

‘The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby’ is a very good TV adaptation of a Charles Dickens’ novel. I do enjoy watching this 2001 TV production in its two parts with my family, as it has superb performances given by the cast, including Charles Dance as the villain and James D’Arcy as the hero.

If you’re into Charles Dickens, both in terms of his novels as well their TV and film adaptations, I highly recommend checking out this one. It’s still engaging after all these years and it’s amazing to see how many familiar actors and actresses are featured in this TV drama playing their characters. 🙂

‘The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby’ (2001) rating – 10/10

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