History Series / AChristmasCarol2019

* AmbiguousDisorder: Scrooge is clearly traumatised by the abuse his father and the headmaster inflicted on him, and has flashbacks that might be a sign of PTSD. He also counts everything (often out loud to himself as if he can't even help it), memorises numbers to an obsessive degree (such as the total income and expenditure for ''every year'' that he's run his business), and when he's counting out the coals in the first episode he seems overly concerned about the smudges they leave, leading several reviewers and fans to suggest he might have OCD or similar.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Scrooge is clearly traumatised by the abuse his father and the headmaster inflicted on him, and has flashbacks that might be a sign of PTSD. He also counts everything (often out loud to himself as if he can't even help it), memorises numbers to an obsessive degree (such as the total income and expenditure for ''every year'' that he's run his business), and when he's counting out the coals in the first episode he seems overly concerned about the smudges they leave, leading several reviewers and fans to suggest he might have OCD or similar.

** Scrooge's and Marley's business is also far more despicable in this adaptation. They prey on struggling small businesses, buying them for less than they're worth via blackmail and demolishing them for a profit. They are also directly responsible for a factory fire the killed and maimed several workers and a Christmas Eve mine collapse that kills thirty miners, having reduced the amount of wood propping up the mine's roof in order to save money.

** [[spoiler: Mrs. Cratchit was lead to believe that she was going to be sexually assaulted by Scrooge, and her monologue is a firm indication that she was responsible for summoning the ghosts to haunt Scrooge. In the novel, Jacob Marley wanted to help Scrooge atone so he didn't suffer the same fate as him when he dies. Mrs. Cratchit was still a prominent character and a source of moral support for Bob Cratchit. Mrs. Cratchit's change of ethnicity doesn't really make sense in the historical context either since black people only got civil rights in 1965 through the "The Race Relations Act 1965".]]

* AdaptedOut: There is no mention of [[ShooOutTheClowns Fezziwig]] in this version.

** The Ghost of Christmas Past is no stranger to being adapted to the screen in a multitude of disparate ways, but the miniseries version is a haggard, intimidating warlock with a crown of thorns and the commanding screen presence of Creator/AndySerkis.

** Mrs. Cratchit, who [[spoiler:uses the power of prayer to curse Scrooge into redeeming himself.]]

** While Scrooge in other adaptations is cruel and miserly, he never inflicts psychological harm on other people for his own amusement (or "experimentation"). This version of Scrooge, on the other hand, [[spoiler:gets Mary Cratchit to perform sexual favours in exchange for money for a life-saving operation for Tiny Tim]]. [[spoiler:While he does not actually follow through on this threat and does give her the money, it is only after she has stripped to her undergarments in his presence and he has taunted her with the knowledge that she would have performed said acts. All this happens on Christmas Day, to boot.]] The Ghost of Christmas Past even calls this Scrooge's "act of greatest evil."
** Scrooge and Marley's business is also far more despicable in this adaptation. They prey on struggling small businesses, buying them for less than they're worth via blackmail and demolishing them for a profit. They are also directly responsible for a factory fire the killed and maimed several workers and a Christmas Eve mine collapse that kills thirty miners, having reduced the amount of wood propping up the mine's roof in order to save money.

* CoolBigSis: Lottie Scrooge, who [[spoiler:pulls a gun on Scrooge's schoolmaster]] when the latter refuses to let him go home for Christmas.
* CoversAlwaysLie: The promotional image depicts Scrooge with the Ghost of Christmas Future in is traditional visage - the Grim Reaper - hovering ominously behind him. In the actual movie, the Ghost of Christmas Future looks nothing like this, instead an eerie gothic man with his lips sewn shut.
* DarkerAndEdgier: '''Extremely''' so. This version amps up Scrooge's cruelty to a degree that it nears the MoralEventHorizon, gives him a horrendously tragic past and cuts out almost all of the original story's lighthearted moments.

* FanDisservice: Mary strips for Scrooge [[spoiler:who offers her money to pay for her son's medical care. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Though he does not actually touch her]] the whole situation is played explicitly like rape.]]

** [[spoiler: Mrs. Cratchit was lead to believe that she was going to be sexually assaulted by Scrooge and her monologue is a firm indication that she was responsible for summoning the ghosts to haunt Scrooge. In the novel, Jacob Marley wanted to help Scrooge atone so he didn't suffer the same fate as him when he dies. Mrs. Cratchit was still a prominent character and a source of moral support for Bob Cratchit. Mrs. Cratchit's change of ethnicity doesn't really make sense in the historical context either, since black people only got civil rights in 1965 through the "The Race Relations Act 1965".]]

* ScarpiaUltimatum: Scrooge's "experiment". He offers to provide money to Mary Cratchit to save Tim's life if she agrees to give up her virtue. He stops her after she's half-undressed, not being interested in actually having sex with anyone, but is satisfied that she was willing to humiliate herself for the sake of her son. [[spoiler: She was not happy, and indeed his putting her through this ordeal may have been the reason that Scrooge encountered the ghosts in the first place.]]

** Interestingly, even after his redemption, Scrooge still has elements of this; unlike most adaptations, where he immediately turns into someone warm-hearted and empathic, this Scrooge now focuses entirely on good ''deeds'' rather than any emotion attached to them. The possibility of changing his future from one in which he dies alone and unloved doesn't interest him in the slightest, whereas the opportunity to achieve the concrete action of saving Tiny Tim arouses enough passion to earn him a second chance. Likewise, he is not in the slightest bit upset that Mrs. Cratchit explicitly tells him she welcomes his new generosity but does not forgive him, and says he has little interest in forgiveness while pledging to ''do'' more to help others.
* WomenAreWiser: [[spoiler: The women in the series are portrayed as strong, in control, and more powerful than the men, while the men are depicted as cruel, weak and objectifying (with the exception of Bob Cratchit).]]

* YoungerAndHipper: Most of the characters are aged down in this adaptation. Bob Cratchit is notably changed from a humble, dumpy and submissive middle-aged worker to a younger, handsome and assertive man with an open attitude against Scrooge.

* RealityEnsues:
** The series delves into and shows the natural consequences of cutting costs in factories and mines and other places of hard manual labor. Fires and collapses and losses of livelihood abound.
** [[spoiler: Even though Scrooge has learned the errors of his ways and learns to accept the goodness in humanity. He still has a long way to go in order to fully redeem himself or atone for his actions. As shown by the Cratchit family expressing their confusion/resentment towards him.]]

** Played straight with The Ghost of Christmas Past; who assumes the identity of Ali Baba, Scrooge's childhood hero from the story Literature/AliBabaAndTheFortyThieves.

* Mrs. Cratchit, who [[spoiler:uses the power of prayer to curse Scrooge into redeeming himself.]]

* AdaptationalHeroism: Both Lottie and Mrs. Cratchit gain heroic roles in the story. [[spoiler: Lottie saves Scrooge from his paedophilic Headmaster by holding him at gunpoint, whereas, Mrs. Cratchit uses the power of prayer to curse Scrooge into redeeming himself.]]

** Scrooge and Marley's business is also far more despicable in this adaptation. They prey on struggling small businesses, buying them for less than they're worth and demolishing them for a profit. They are also directly responsible for a factory fire the killed and maimed several workers and a Christmas Eve mine collapse that kills thirty miners, having reduced the amount of wood propping up the mine's roof in order to save money.

* DroppingTheBombshell: [[spoiler: "I will... and I will say a prayer, that someday, some power of justice will grab you by the throat and drag you to a true, bright mirror that you might see the truth in your reflection and that the truth will be known to the world. I am a woman, and I have the power to summon such spirits... and I fucking will".]]

* WhamLine: [[spoiler: "I will... and I will say a prayer, that someday, some power of justice will grab you by the throat and drag you to a true, bright mirror that you might see the truth in your reflection and that the truth will be known to the world. I am a woman, and I have the power to summon such spirits... and I fucking will".]]

* DroppingTheBombshell: [[spoiler: "I will... and I will say a prayer, that someday, some power of justice will grab you by the throat and drag you to a true, bright mirror that you might see the truth in your reflection and that the truth will be known to the world. I am a woman, and I have the power to summon such spirits... and I fucking will".]]

* SequelHook: [[spoiler:According to Mary there's still work to do even after Scrooge changes his ways. The fact that she [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou looks at the camera after she says this provides a hint that said work may be done in the real world]].]]