have you been watching...

masterpiece classic lately? little dorrit has been on for the last few weeks, and i'm loving it. it's making me glad i have a t.v., even though sometimes i think we should just give ours away.

here is the synopsis from the pbs masterpiece website:

Amy Dorrit's (Claire Foy) gentle spirit has never been dampened by the confining walls of the Marshalsea Prison she's lived in her whole life. Despite the dark shadow of debtor's prison, Amy lovingly cares for her father William Dorrit (Tom Courtenay), the longest serving inmate. A possibly redemptive light unexpectedly shines in the form of Arthur Clennam (Matthew Macfadyen), who has been left with the intriguing threads of a mystery after his father's death — threads that will intertwine his family and fate with the Dorrits. Clennam's exhaustive search for answers involves murder, fortunes gained and lost, the upper echelons and lowest dregs of society, and most surprising of all, a tender romance. Adapted by Andrew Davies (Bleak House, Pride and Prejudice), Little Dorrit, based on the book by Charles Dickens, is a sprawling story as timely as it is moving.

in most of dickens' stories that i've read/seen produced there is at least one character that is just amazingly good. you know, the kind that almost seem too good to be true; completely selfless, sweet, kind, concerned for everyone, devoted. in this novel/movie there are at least two of those characters. 

when some writers attempt to create characters like this it can end negatively. the person seems too perfect, maybe a little "goody two-shoes." but i really enjoy they dickensian characters i've seen who are like this. amy dorrit and arthur clennam in this story, agnes in david copperfield, and a lot of others i can't really think of right now. but i find that when i'm reading these stories i'm inspired and i want to be a better person. i want to work industriously and serve selflessly. plus, let's face it: no one can interweave dozens of characters and plot lines in such an entertaining and convincing way as dickens. (in my opinion, at least.)

the last of the little dorrit series is on tomorrow night, sunday, on pbs. or you can view the entire series online, i believe until may 3rd.