Still Dickensian

Almost two years ago, back on October 30, 2016, I wrote about an absolutely tremendous mini-series from the BBC called Dickensian.  I discovered it from an unexpected direction.  Through I my tech columns, I dealt with a number of British PR firms who I'd get a chance to visit with at trade shows.  We became friendly, and one of the women from our conversation became aware I'd written a spoof, called A Christmas Carol 2:  The Return of Scrooge, which carried the story forward and did so with about two dozen characters from other Dickens novels who crossed paths in the tale. At CES this one year, she told me about a recent series she had loved on the BBC called Dickensian, which she thought I'd enjoy because it used a similar technique.  The story took place in one particular London neighborhood around 1850 around Christmastime (being Dickens, of course!) and wove together dozens of characters from Dickens novels interacting with one another.  In part it's a murder mystery, lead by Inspector Bucket, from Bleak House, played by Stephen Rea (from The Crying Game).  But it has a half-dozen other storylines that intersect and include such characters as Fagin, Bob Cratchit, Lady Dedlock, Ebenezer Scrooge, Miss Havisham, Jack Dawkins (the real name of the Artful Dodger), Little Nell, Mr. Bumble and many, many more.

With efforts much too convoluted to explain, I was able to get a copy of the 10-part series, though it wasn't shown in the United States. The program was gloriously wonderful, and you can read my original, detailed piece about it here. 

I bring this up again for a particular reason.

​At the time, I wrote that I hoped the series would become available on Netflix or perhaps shown on BBC America.  Why this magnificent series hasn't made it to BBC America is beyond me.  But good news!  You can stream the series now if you have an Amazon Prime account.

The direct link to the series on Amazon Prime is here. [Update: This link is up-to-date on Sept. 3, 2026. The series is also available on Peacock. And it appears to be on Britbox, as well.]

Know that you do not have to know Dickens at all to enjoy the series, even any of those iconic characters.  It's written so the murder mystery, gothic romances, business intrigues, family conflicts and comic interludes stand on their own.  If you do know Dickens, it just adds more fun to the goings-on.  (I found that what helped, too, is that after an episode, if I didn't know who a character was, I'd just jot down the name and look it up online, and then would know the connection for the rest of the series.  Or even easier, you can check out the show's page on Wikipedia which has a convenient sort of "Who's who" chart here.)

Here's the trailer, followed by an extended scene.  Neither does the series justice, the trailer focusing mostly on the murder mystery and Big Dark Drama, and the whole show itself is far more graceful and vibrant, even at times funny.  But this trailer is attention-getting. It also gives away the murder victim (as does the following scene), so if you don't want to know, then skip them.  But really, there's no reason not to know, especially since you learn who is killed within about 15 minutes of the start.  (Side note:  I actually was able to guess who the victim would be, and was giddy with joy that I not only was right, but the cleverness of who it was.)

And here is a longer scene.  It largely involves the Bumbles, who are relatively minor characters in the series, but the clip gives you a better sense of the quality of the writing and acting.  So, for those reasons I think it's worthwhile to include.