BBC’s “Mr. Norrell” Comes To America
Mike Hale looks at a new period TV drama: ‘The question with regard to “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell,†a seven-part mini-series beginning Saturday night on BBC America and starring Bertie Carvel (pictured), is whether the people involved had the magical ability to capture the spirit of the outsize (846 pages in paperback), allusive 2004 fantasy novel by Susanna Clarke on which it’s based. The answer, almost inevitably, is no — asked to produce more enchantment, they’ve countered by making a largely unremarkable mini-series. That’s not to put down this BBC production, which makes its premiere in the United States a month after its debut in Britain, but to warn those who enjoyed the best-selling book to temper their expectations.’
