Oliver Twist

From spot-on casting and one extraordinary performance after another, to a bold adaptation by Sarah Phelps, to Coky Giedroyc's energizing direction, to a toe-tapping musical score (that probably doesn't belong here, but fie on that - it's fun), this Oliver Twist is a thrill ride for anyone who still believes that TV can be entertaining.

The humor is wilder, the penury sadder, and Sophie Okonedo a winsome Nancy. The only bad twist is the overwrought score.

The casting is effective. William Miller gives Oliver the requisite vulnerability and steeliness.

Director Coky Giedroyc's grittier, reality-based approach to Sarah Phelps' adaptation contrasts sharply the popular and nostalgic musical account "Oliver!" Nevertheless, this version does stay true to Dickens' original intent to call attention to social evils in harsh times.

Timothy Spall steps onto the screen as one of Dickens' most ambivalent villains in a largely unexceptional version adapted by Sarah Phelps.

The two-part miniseries makes missteps aplenty, with tone and plot changes from the novel that will likely offend purists. But it nonetheless has a warm spirit and an original vision, which is more than I can say for Roman Polanski's rote 2005 version.

Their response is a conventional condensation that sticks to the broad outlines of the book while scrambling characters and events in myriad small ways guaranteed to enrage Dickens purists.