Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Seraherrera The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

mindbird I was captivated by the bits of this I've gotten to see (it comes on just before I am leaving for work) and then I was completely taken by the episodes I got to see the few days I was out sick or on vacation.I confess I was at first interested in the books in order to see how these themes had been covered (the laudanum, kidnapping, etc) and as I suspected they were add-ons, and probably necessary to hold the audience. But the books are absolutely delightful, and the writing about nature is absolutely magnificent.So: Watch the series, then read the book. (All ages--I am well beyond the original target audience age, I think).

juliroo Not only does this series utterly fail to stay true to the characters, plot lines, and simple joy and beauty of the novels, it also fails to stay true to the time period in which it is set, and to the basic tenets of good story-telling and film-making. After I watched the first episode or two alone, my roommate asked if we should watch an episode together one night. I said, no, it was late and the episodes were too long. Imagine my surprise when it was revealed that they were only ~45 minutes each. My response: "Well, at least, they feel too long."Perhaps if the writers weren't trying to jam-pack each episode with divergent plot lines, abrupt changes of mood and character motivation, and (silliest of all) some ghostly mystery or other for Emily to "solve", this series would be bearable. As it is, it's an unholy mess. To make matters worse, more often than not I find myself wondering if the best Canadian actors all go to Hollywood, as that would help to explain the acting, which typically ranges from wooden to melodramatic to simply awful. I give it two stars rather than one only because, every once in a while, one of the actors (usually one of the children) manages to do something legitimately endearing.

sparkyjaffe Unlike most of the other reviewers, I'd never even heard of Emily of New Moon before I stumbled on the TV series. I was amazed and astounded--didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Dead mother; heinous school teacher; father loses job after confronting heinous teacher; father falls off roof and dies trying to catch kitten so it can be taken to new home. Holy crap. And all that happened in the first two episodes. Then on we go to more pain and horror. I've never seen a kid's show with so many thoroughly mean characters, both of the adult and child variety--people totally lacking in compassion. So we have ghosts (I failed to mention them from the first two episodes but they were there), attempted cat murder, a child who is treated in a way that could only be considered abusive (forbidden to read and write except for school work), and then we get into jilted lovers and illegitimate kids and 19th century drug addiction. And yet, it's somehow compelling. Maybe just because you can't believe that so many bad things will continue to occur and you keep hoping for some kind of redemption. I'm only in the middle of the 2nd season, so perhaps redemption is just around the corner, or another 17 episodes away.

waivedwench As a longtime fan of Emily of New Moon (much better than that Anne girl!) I was looking forward to this series when it first aired. I wasn't disappointed by the first season because they stuck quite well to the book and the characters were all believable and well-done. But the rot began to set in after Aunt Elizabeth died at the beginning of the second series. The screenwriters basically rewrote the whole story and it wasn't good. There were some good episodes, but some of the stories must have come out of a not-very-good-magician's hat. In the end I gave up on it. It would have been a lot better if the screenwriters had either gone on with the rest of the series, using the books, or just left it at the end of the first season. I must say, though, the kids playing the parts were good.