Why BBC costume drama needs to go beyond bodices

Here's a great article from which I shamelessly stole today's post title.

I can't watch Little Dorrit because I haven't read the book yet, and I have to read Hard Times before I read any other Dickens, but maybe by the time the new series makes it to DVD I will have earned the ability to watch it...by my rules.

I loved the way the article opened with an invocation of Bleak House and all that fog.

I enjoyed the description of Andrew Davies as "...that tireless workhorse of classic adaptation," and for sheer fun I give 10 stars to the description of the new Little Dorrit: "This heritage drama plumbs unprecedented depths. One thick slice of histrionic ham drops on another, wedged between turgid doorstops of unfathomable plot. Costumed camp addles the senses of its twee antiquarian followers. This reactionary rabble would nominate the cast and crew of Emmerdale for Baftas if only they snuck in some crinolines, bustles and the odd steam-engine.

I must confess, though, I was perplexed by this bit in which the author suggests that there are other authors who could provide plots for the BBC:
"From romantic Scott and satirical Peacock to grimy Gissing and sensual George Moore, many other likely fictions from the 19th century alone lie waiting for Auntie's kiss."

Who are Peacock, Gissing, and George Moore? I thought I knew Victorian authors to some degree. Must Google later.

At any rate, enjoy this fun article.