Dodger

[carolegif]

Was looking forward to this until I saw that the mill owner was a man of colour! Never in a million years was there a Master of colour!

[douglas9401]

Not even in the black country?

[Mamyalynne]

I'm sure it will be very popular, another cracking role for Billy Jenkins.

[gness]

Looks fantastic! One day we'll see people and not colour. Won't that be just bliss..... :-)

[Mamyalynne]

It will.

[carolegif]

The actor playing Dodger was very good. But trying to rewrite history isn’t. I am willing to accept that the street children were of colour and oriental, but until someone can come up with an African mill owner, it is not realistic.

[Mamyalynne]

Does it matter?

[gness]

It really shouldn't matter one jot.... it looks so good. Just enjoy it... :-)

[carolegif]

I read the book a few years ago and enjoyed it. I wasn’t aware in the book that Dodger worked in a mill! He was a street child and lived on his wits. There is a reference to someone called grandad because he is nearly 30 and old. I also recall he meets some famous people too!

[pastafreak]

Why not? There were black men who were business owners then.

[TheChair]

"The Greatest Story Ever Told". Was looking forward to this until I realised that Jesus was played by Swedish-French actor. I'm pretty sure that Jesus was Jewish.

[carolegif]

Pastafreak, if you can find any black mill owners then I will stand corrected.

[Mozz71]

So, seeing this black man stopped you from looking forward to the show.

Hmmm. I think you know how that makes you sound.

[barry1010]

Is it a documentary?

[Mozz71]

Barry, no it's a comedy drama about The Artful Dodger

[barry1010]

In that case it really doesn't matter.

[Mozz71]

Agreed.

[EdmundD]

Doesn't matter at all. I don't recall seeing any complaints when Dev Patel played David Copperfield........

[carolegif]

Mozz, I enjoyed it, the child actors were great! I do like history portrayed correctly though. Christopher Eccleston isn’t Jewish, but played Fagin. No problem with that! It was just a surprise to portray an evil mill master as a man with African heritage. Now that could be called racist - why was he cast as the villain!

[Mozz71]

Carole, as we've established, this is a work of fiction, so it doesn't have to be historically factual. Just treat him as an actor and ignore his colour, it seems irrelevant to the role.

[Barsel]

Wasn't there an outcry when a black woman played Ann Boleyn a while ago?