Top Ten Book-Related TV Shows/Movies

 

The Top Ten Tuesday meme is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is favourite movies and TV shows, and I'm picking ones that are based on books in some way.

TV shows:

1.) Once Upon A Time – this is one of the shows I'm most obsessed with at the moment. In a nutshell, its premise is "fairy tales meet the real world." The show has taken some weird turns lately (with Peter Pan and the Wicked Witch of the West) and some of the plotting is pretty sloppy, but I still keep on watching, lol. Partly because a lot of the exterior scenes in "Storybrooke" are actually filmed in the town of Steveston (Richmond, BC), so it's sort of in my own backyard. 

 

2.) Murdoch Mysteries — based on the series by Maureen Jennings. I haven't read any of the books, but I love the TV show. It's a wonderful mix of mystery, science, history, comedy, and romance — and it's Canadian, to boot! Yannick Bisson does a fabulous job of embodying the character of William Murdoch. (Has anyone read the books? How do they compare to the show?)

 

3.) Bones — based on the series by Kathy Reichs, another one I have not read. I've been following Bones for years now. In general all the characters are enjoyable and well fleshed-out (love the pairing of Booth and Bones!), and the murder mystery aspect is balanced well by the emotional/relationship side of things.

 

4.) Lark Rise to Candleford — this show is over now, but it was a BBC period drama series loosely based on Flora Thompson's novels. This was one of those sweet, old-fashioned shows full of heart, with something for everyone. A bit of comedy, a bit of drama, distinctive characters, romance, family...what's not to love? (Just the fact that it ended too soon!)

 

 

5.) Little Mosque on the Prairie — okay, the only connection that this show has to a book is in its title (obviously a shout-out to Little House on the Prairie). But I'm throwing it in here anyway. This show was both educational and humorous, shedding light on Islamic culture (and what happens when it crosses paths with Western culture) without getting preachy about it. Plus, again, Canadian! :D

 

Movies: 

 

Okay, I could put a bunch down here that I have listed on previous Top Ten Tuesdays (like any number of Jane Austen movies, for starters), but I am going to try to pick some that I haven't highlighted before.

6.) My Fair Lady — based on the play Pygmalion. I loved this musical so much when I was younger. I suspect I'll love it even more now that I'm in the field of speech-language pathology! 

 

 

7.) Ever After — a retelling of Cinderella. This one's a pick-me-up feel-good sort of movie, sweet and romantic with some funny one-liners.

 

8.) Bringing Up Baby — a bit of a stretch, but it is based on a short story by Hagar Wilde. This is a classic example of a screwball comedy, and it is just hilarious. One of my favourite movies starring Katharine Hepburn, and of course Cary Grant delivers a fantastic performance as well. (By the way, this cover may be in colour, but the original film was in black-and-white.)

9.) 10 Things I Hate About You — a modern version of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. I've watched this so many times and it's still entertaining! Snappy dialogue, enjoyable characters, and Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger carried off the leads with aplomb. 

 

10.) Stardust — based on the book by Neil Gaiman. I think I ended up skimming most of the book, and from what I've heard this is actually one of those rare cases where most people think the film is better than the book in any case. The movie is really pure escapism in the best, almost campy sense; it's full of humour and swashbuckling and magic and scheming and, of course, a good dollop of romance.

What movies/TV shows made it onto your Top Ten list?