December meme

halotolerant asked: "You have the power to comission a high-budget HBO series dramatizing any book/turning movie into series/updating TV series of your choice. What do you choose? Who is cast? What is so great about it and why does it win Emmys?"

Although I nearly changed my mind at the last minute in favor of a good adaptation of Pat Barker's Regeneration (the existing film is dreadful), I have to go with my first impulse: Mary Renault's The Charioteer. I've wished for ages that there were a film or miniseries of this book.

One important point: this has to be a BBC/HBO co-production, with HBO mostly just putting up the cash. The actors and the screenwriter(s) must be English.

The difficulty with details like casting, etc. is that I need a time machine. In an ideal world, Arden Winch writes the adaptation, a young Benedict Cumberbatch plays Laurie (if you've only seen Cumberbatch as Sherlock or as Khan, you'll have to trust me that he does vulnerability and quiet strength extremely well), a young Ralph Fiennes plays Ralph, and a young Steven Mackintosh plays Andrew.

Lacking a time machine, I'm only sure about Laurie, who should be played by Shaun Evans:

( Click here for image and the rest of the discussion )

ISO Yuletide beta

My Yuletide story isn't done (*laughs nervously*) but I'd like to get a beta lined up. It may be kind of a last-minute request (I'm hoping to avoid the "post five minutes before the deadline and edit later" thing, but I can't be absolutely sure I'll manage it), so please let me know if there's a date after which you would not be able to beta.

Please let me know which of the following fandoms you could beta for, and whether you can Britpick:

Aubrey and Maturin books
Biggles
The Charioteer
Doctor Who (Eighth Doctor Adventures)
Endeavour
Foyle's War
King Rat
Lewis
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Lord Peter Wimsey
Raffles
A Study in Emerald
Twelfth Night


All comments are screened; I'll reply to the person who can do the fandom I'm actually writing in. Many, many thanks in advance to everyone who's willing to help!