Program Review: Emma Approved

 

The folks at Pemberly Digital scored big a couple nights ago at the 4th Annual Streamy Awards, with it's ground-breaking Lizzie Bennet Diaries (LBD).

 

This vlog version of Pride and Prejudice was my first exposure to the works of Jane Austen. 

 

Now my latest video venture into the world of Jane Austin is:  Emma Approved, an adaptation of the novel Emma.

 

Meet Emma Woodhouse, (played by Joanna Sotomura), lifestyle coach not-so extraordinaire, and her business partner Alex Knightley (played by Brent Bailey).

 

She's on a quest to "improve the lives of those around her," while he struggles to keep the business afloat.

Yeah, you guessed it, conflict ensues.

(An Emma Approved version of American Gothic?)

Oh, Emma means well, and her grandiose schemes are successful--for the most part.  But, more often than not, Emma leaves hard feelings and heartache in her wake, because she's blind to the obvious.

I enjoyed the series, and from the comments I read on YouTube, the other viewers did too, and looked forward to each new episode.  Emma Approved seemed to be a rebound from Pemberly Digital's LBD spin-off Welcome to Sanditon. 

However, there's more to these webseries than posting videos on YouTube.  Apparently, Emma Approved didn't work as well as LBD, in part because Emma Approved didn't utilize the full range of transmedia that LBD did.

Other than Facebook, I didn't delve into any other media platforms during my viewing times.  I guess having an "in-character" blog, which includes womens' fashion advice isn't enough anymore.

Well being the Y-Chromosome tainted Luddite that I am, I'm still giving Emma Approved 4 out of 5 stars, or for those who like using the IMDb Scale, 8 out of 10.

I think Emma would approve.