{"id":43986,"date":"2024-01-17T13:09:23","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T12:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1961877"},"modified":"2024-01-17T14:04:29","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T13:04:29","slug":"the-artful-dodger-is-not-what-youd-expect-and-its-better-for-it","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/the-artful-dodger-is-not-what-youd-expect-and-its-better-for-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The Artful Dodger is not what you\u2019d expect \u2013 and it\u2019s better for it"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new series is Dickens, but not as you know it. <\/p>

By Morgan Cormack\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 17 January 2024 at 12:09 PM<\/p>

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When the phrase \u201csequel to Charles Dickens\u2019s Oliver Twist\u201d is uttered in relation to The Artful Dodger<\/a>, you wouldn\u2019t be alone in thinking that perhaps the new Disney Plus<\/a> series may not be the most exciting watch.<\/p>\n

Following on from the events of the well-known Dickens tale, the eight-part series<\/a> has been created by James McNamara, David Maher and David Taylor to chronicle what happened to Jack Dawkins (aka Dodger) after he was arrested for pickpocketing and sent to Australia at the end of Oliver Twist.<\/p>\n

When Dickens tales spring to mind, they can often bring with them thoughts of dreary school classrooms, rewatches of some of the classic adaptations and an altogether rather serious tonality.<\/p>\n

Well, politely throw away your trepidations, because The Artful Dodger is far from what you\u2019d expect of a Dickens adaptation \u2013 and it\u2019s honestly all the better for it.<\/p>\n

The new drama is fast-paced and throws you right into the action from the offset, quickly flitting from a confronting poker match to a bloody surgery scene, bringing with it the kind of chaos you can come to expect throughout.<\/p>\n

The surgeries themselves pop up often (as is to be expected), so while they\u2019re not for the faint of heart, they do chuck you right into the 19th century \u2013 with amputations put on in the theatre in front of a watching audience like a live performance.<\/p>

Thomas Brodie-Sangster fronts the cast as Jack, who is leading something of a double life, keeping his ties to criminality but forging a new path for himself as an esteemed surgeon.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s 1850s Australia, and we learn that Jack had worked in the navy as a surgeon, but now works as a respected doctor in the<\/span> lively colony of Port Victory.<\/p>\n

However, Jack\u2019s not as far from his past as he would hope, as Fagin (David Thewlis) soon turns up in his town, having been sent from the UK for his own crimes.<\/p>\n

Jack is far from happy to see him, but soon the pair are reunited, as Fagin convinces Jack to let him be his personal servant.<\/p>\n

Will Dickens purists perhaps not get on with this series? Possibly. But really, if you\u2019ve read Oliver Twist, or if you\u2019ve watched an adaptation of it, it\u2019s surely time to reinvent the wheel and welcome in some vibrancy with this sequel.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an inventive swing to take a classic and turn it on its head with characters that many already know, and it does<\/em> pay off here.<\/p>\n

\"Maia\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Maia Mitchell, David Thewlis and Thomas-Brodie Sangster in The Artful Dodger.<\/span><\/figcaption> Disney Plus<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

As much as the sparring and jibes between Fagin and Jack underpin the episodes, so too does their rocky relationship, and Jack\u2019s lingering feelings of abandonment by this unlikely father figure.<\/p>\n

David Thewlis positively excels in the role as the ever-suspicious Fagin, providing a wit and darkness to the character \u2013 but at the same time being totally watchable and hilariously pedantic over his crumpets.<\/p>\n

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Part of the thrill of a series like this, though, is seeing themes from the original tale pull through into the new format, like those to do with class, wealth and betrayal.<\/p>\n

While we\u2019re in a different setting, The Artful Dodger maps out what society was like at the time, and although Jack is an English doctor who is very much respected, his fears over his background being exposed create an innate suspicion of the gentry within him.<\/p>\n

Even so, Jack soon works closely with the governor\u2019s daughter, Lady Belle Fox (Maia Mitchell), who is as intrigued by medicine as Jack, and has dreams of becoming a doctor.<\/p>\n

But, of course, that\u2019s no role for a lady, she\u2019s told. Despite her family not being the most supportive, she strives to work, and has no desire to get married and have children like the other women in her family.<\/p>\n

As is to be expected from the offset, really, there is a natural spark between Lady Belle and Jack, with the pair bickering almost as much as Jack and Fagin, but with a warmness that starts to develop as the episodes go by.<\/p>\n

A romantic undertone may not be expected in a series like this one, but it offers a breath of fresh air in among the blood, gore, fraud and deception.<\/p>\n

Self-assured and confident in his own life, Jack isn\u2019t the most loveable of protagonists, but there\u2019s something endearing about an unlikely lead, and one who many may not gel with initially.<\/p>\n

Brodie-Sangster brings an electricity to the role and an unpredictability that is woven throughout the series, meaning you never quite know where this tale could take you.<\/p>\n

The finale is worth holding on for, without question, with the last episode bringing with it a final dose of heartfelt emotion, drama and the climax of Fagin and Dodger\u2019s criminal plots.<\/p>\n

And really, the series does a grand job of broaching the heavier topics of the time without ever really diving fully into them, meaning if you\u2019re after a slice of pure TV escapism, The Artful Dodger is simply ideal.<\/p>