Web Series Wednesday: Emma Approved

Emma Approved is the next web series in line from Pemberley Digital, a storytelling company that attempts to retell familiar stories in an unfamiliar and modern setting. They're known for their success with The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, one my personal favorites and also the web series that got me hooked on web series. You should definitely check out The LBD, if you haven't already.

Emma Approved is Jane Austen's Emma, retold through vlogs. Emma Woodhouse is a career matchmaker/lifestyle expert. In nine words: She makes your life better, and she never fails. However, after she inevitably fails at setting up one of her clients, she questions her problem-solving skills, and decides to test them out on a variety of non-clients (aka, her sister, and her business partner's friend).

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I think that Emma Approved works well if you do not compare it to The LBD. A lot of the Pemberley Digital fandom has been up in arms about EA, because they're looking for it to be exactly like The LBD. But it's not, and it never will be. Lizzie's stories were told on a private vlog, and Emma is documenting her greatness for future...people. (That's never quite clear.) There is a certain point where you have to suspend your disbelief in order to enjoy the series, but that's okay. I don't use Twitter, so the transmedia problems don't bother me.

Emma is my personally favorite Austen novel, and I'm glad that the heart of the story is portrayed beautifully. The details, however, are a bit…different. I do understand how this is necessary, as Emma wouldn't really be recording her personal life, but her work with her clients. EA is arranged around Emma's clients (Annie Taylor, Harriet Smith, State Senator Scumbag Elton, her sister Izzy, and now Maddie Bates), rather the details of Emma's personal life, which makes sense. However, it does make for long deviations from the original story (since when did Izzy and John Knightley have marital problems?!), and I wish that they would find a way to stay more closely to the original plot line, instead of veering off track to follow side characters that I don't really care that much for.

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The main reason I enjoy Emma Approved is because of the characters. The acting in this show is really good, and although I find Dayenne Hutton's portrayal of Harriet Smith to be a little over the top, especially in the first few episodes, overall the characters are interesting, exciting, and entertaining. The chemistry between Emma and Alex Knightley is completely believable (and also totally adorable to watch). Even though some of the characters shouldn't have been featured so prominently in the show (see: Izzy's relationship drama), they're fun to root for.

Overall, although Emma Approved has some issues that it needs to work out, it's an enjoyable show if you're willing to suspend some disbelief to let the plot work for you. The characters are fun, the story is entertaining, if not accurately following the book, and there are some great hilarious lines.