Reader's Digest

So 'Phwoar and Peace' is underway, with a story by 79-year-old Andrew Davies from an idea by Tolstoy, produced by global taste-maker Harvey Weinstein, who has let the BBC make it. The Twittersphere seemed to judge things were moving a little fast in the first hour. This could be because the production only requires six hours in total.

Last time out on the BBC, starring Antony Hopkins in a Jack Pulman adaptation, there were 20 episodes, totalling nearly 17 hours, running from late September 1972 to early February 1973. Davies' view ? "Watching the 1972 version it seemed incredibly stodgy to me, except for Hopkins’s performance, which seemed modern and vibrant. I couldn’t watch much of it. It didn’t feel real, so I hope ours does."