GREAT EXPECTATIONS

BBC Radio dramatizes Dickens's famous melodrama about orphan Pip, who rises from poverty to sudden great fortune. Not only is the acting high quality, but the voices seem matched to their parts with special care and intelligence. Cuts in the story are hardly noticeable, except for occasional abrupt scenes in which plot points must be made willy-nilly. Another weakness is the music: generic (it seems familiar from other BBC programs), repetitive, at times inappropriate to the action, but, like most wallpaper, easily ignored. All in all, a fine rendering of Pip's story--but the names of the cast that makes it fine should have been listed. W.M. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 06/ JAN 07]