Monday, February 4, 2008

My Name is Jolene and I am a Hypocrite or Miss Ridd Regrets

For the last three or four Sundays I have watched and then posted about how much I am loving the PBS Masterpiece Complete Jane Austen series. But something happened last night that has thrown a wrench in my routine. My husband called me out on my hypocrisy.



See, we kind of have a no tv on Sunday rule. So, when the kids got home from church -- where apparantely all of their friends and Sunday School teachers (ahem) were talking about the Super Bowl -- they wanted to turn it on. Alan was busy with meetings at the church but I stuck to my guns about the game. At dinner the kids were telling Alan all about how cool it is that the Super Bowl was taking place right here in our own valley and how their Social Studies teacher was going to ask them about all of the commercials etc... I piped in with a "hey kids, I already told you that we don't watch tv on Sundays" - mostly so Alan would know that I am upholding virtue while he is out counting tithing checks.



So, kids in bed by 8:30, Masterpiece starts at 9:00. Alan has had two very early mornings in a row and is headed to bed. I ask him if he wants me to go downstairs and watch Jane Austen or if I can stay up there and watch it in our warm bed. You see it coming - he says, "I thought we don't watch tv on Sundays." I say, "but it is Jane Austen and the kids are all asleep - they won't even know." He gives me the look, I set the VCR and tape it. What I should have told the kids in the first place is that we practice more of a Jewish Sabbath - you know - it's over at sundown.



I watched it this morning in my warm bed. It was not one of Jane's stories but a drama based on Austen's life. It was called Miss Austen Regrets. I really liked it. Of course, I really liked Becoming Jane and I know a lot of Jane Austen superfans did not. It was hard to get over James McAvoy as Tom LeFroy in that film - I just kept seeing Mr. Tumnus. Anne Hathaway was a beautiful Jane Austen when I believe she was probablly more plain. For the next three weeks they will be showing Pride and Prejudice, I'm looking forward to that.

3 comments:

Jenny-ology said...

That is funny- I hate being caught in a double standard- but I love and will probably adopt the term Jewish Sabbath.

Still haven't seen Becoming Jane- I missed it in the theater and always forget to go rent it.
I am still a week behind on Masterpiece- but I am enjoying this weekly ritual as well. I have never seen any of them except Sense and Sensibility. I am such a newbie.

Cheryl said...

Darn the inability to set a double standard! :)

I haven't seen Becoming Jane, either --the previews alone made me seethe. But I did watch "Miss Austen Regrets" and I'm blogging about my reaction tomorrow.

One Sassy Mama said...

You know that I enjoy observing the Jewish Sabbath (every Sunday night at 9 pm) - add that to an follower of Fat Tuesday (generally right before my diet starts) -- and you'll see that I'm a self-indulgent, Sabbath breaker. hehe