Don't look for Margaret Dashwood in this BBC version of , because you won't find her. For some inexplicable reason, they opted to write her out of this 1985 adaptation of Jane Austen's first published novel. Still, despite the absence of the youngest Dashwood sister, this is an otherwise faithful adaptation of Austen's original. Sense and Sensibility concerns the unfortunate Dashwood family, who, at the death of the patriarch, are forced to move out of their home and into a cottage on the property of relatives. Sensible Elinor falls quietly in love with Edward, her sister-in-law's brother, while impetuous Marianne (Tracey Childs) rejects the respectable courtship of Colonel Brandon (Robert Swann) for the flashy (and ultimately destructive) Willoughby (Peter Woodward).

Those wowed by Emma Thompson's more sumptuous 1995 version may complain that Bosco Hogan (yes, that's his real name) isn't nearly as yummy as Hugh Grant. But they may fail to remember that Edward Ferrars, was, from Jane Austen's plume, a nondescript guy, and yet Elinor (here, Irene Richards) still found something wonderful about him.

Childs is a beautiful, passionate Marianne and her performance, as well as Richards's, and the rest of the cast, is topnotch. Accurate detail is given to settings and costumes (if not the existence of Margaret) and it's easy to get swept away in this BBC version.