A mostly perfect adaptation of Oliver Twist, and with all of my favorite literary classics, I have been tracking down every film version since I was little, so trust me, I've watched them all. The only problems with this series is the Monks storyline, Henry and the Maylies and Oliver being related to Brownlow, but all that is Dickens' doing, not the writers of the series. Oliver being related to Brownlow feels very contrived and forced, and I think it is a better story if Brownlow simply takes pity on the half starved and sickly Oliver because he is a good person, instead of the weird bloodline spiritual connection from the book. I also must say, with everyone in the supporting cast being PERFECT, Nancy, Bill, Fagin, Rose, Brownlow, Bumble and Corney, The Dodger, the one casting choice that isn't perfect is Oliver himself. The first actor who plays the younger Oliver was good, but the older version of him wasn't the way I would have preferred. He is quite forgettable, and his accent is oddly muddled, and what I think may be Irish of some kind, it was a little distracting, and he didn't come across as very sympathetic as say Jackie Coogan or Mark Lester were. Anyway, it didn't bog down the series as much. My biggest problem with this series is the boring romance between Rose and Harry. Compare this to the romance between Bill and Nancy, and you have some real drama at hand. Everything else involving Fagin and Dodger, Nancy and Bill of course, Mr. Bumble and Mrs. Corney etc. It was all perfect. I love the story of Oliver, I have since I was 9 years old, and watched the 2005 version all the way through, after that from the age of 9-11, I watched every version out there, like I do with all my favorite stories, and the only one I haven't seen is the 1962 BBC one. I saw this miniseries when I was 9, and liked it okay, being a huge fan of other BBC literary miniseries like "The Secret Garden" and "A Little Princess". I watched it again the other day and loved it enough to where I want to watch through all 5 something hours of it again. The BBC is great because they let things play out, as if you are actually watching the lives of human beings play out.
