History Series / AChristmasCarol2019

* WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency: [[spoiler: Scrooge believes he's a good person because he chose not to rape Mrs. Cratchit after forcing her to undress, The Ghost of Christmas Past doesn't accept this as Scrooge's epiphany.]]

* CoversAlwaysLie: The promotional image depicts Scrooge with the Ghost of Christmas Future in is traditional visage - a thinly veiled 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.

* FlawlessToken: [[spoiler: In the series, women are depicted as protectors of victims of sexual assault, while the men are depicted as either self-serving cowards or the source of all the evil in the series. Mrs. Cratchit's change of ethnicity doesn't really make sense in the historical context, since black people only got civil rights in 1965 through the "The Race Relations Act 1965".]]

** [[spoiler: Mrs. Cratchit was lead to believe that she was going to be sexually assaulted by Scrooge and her monologue 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.]]

* 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".]]
* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Scrooge is coldly logical with everything and can't comprehend love or compassion, believing that humanity is naturally evil. [[spoiler: His backstory reveals he had a father who prioritised money over everything else and even sexually extorted Scrooge to his boarding school headmaster in exchange for waiving tuition fees. He was so traumatised by the experience that he couldn't see how his sister saved him by using a gun to force the headmaster into releasing him.]]

* WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency: [[spoiler: Scrooge believes he's a good person because he chose not to rape Mrs. Cratchit after forcing her to undress, The Ghost of Christmas Future doesn't accept this as Scrooge's epiphany.]]

* 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.]]

** Downplayed with Mrs Cratchit, [[spoiler: who seemingly used the power of prayer to summon ghosts to scare Scrooge into atoning for forcing her to sell her virtues to gain money for Tim's medical bills. The ending implies that she plans to become a protector of women by punishing the men who abuse them.]]

* RewatchBonus: [[spoiler: The feminist theme changes the interaction with The Ghost of Christmas Past; when Scrooge's sister saves him from the boarding school by holding the headmaster at gunpoint, it's initially portrayed as if the ghost is showing how much his family actually loved him. With the ending in mind; the scene changes into the ghost shaming him for becoming just as bad as his headmaster for sexually extorting Mrs Cratchit, despite being in a similar situation when he was a child.]]

* WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency: [[spoiler: Scrooge believes he's a good person because he chose not to rape Mrs. Carchit after forcing her to undress, The Ghost of Christmas Future doesn't accept this as Scrooge's epiphany.]]

** 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.

** [[spoiler: Scrooge followed in his father's footsteps, becoming cold-hearted and objectifying. He lost the love of his life and chance of redemption because he cared more about money than his wife. He sexually exploited Mrs. Cratchit by leading her to believe that she was prostituting herself for money so she can pay for Tiny Tim's medical bills. The ending indicates Mrs. Cratchit was the one who summoned the ghosts as a curse to punish Scrooge for this and plans to become a protector of women by punishing the men who abuse them.]]

* WhatMightHaveBeen: Creator/RutgerHauer was originally cast as The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, but couldn't film the part due to the illness that eventually led to his death.

* 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.

** 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 Christmas Eve mine collapse that kills thirty workers, having reduced the amount of wood propping up the mine's roof in order to save money.

->''"This is not a game of reason against fancy Ebenezer. I will put hot tweezers to your soul and remove the splinters. I am gonna take you on a long journey, measured not in yards and miles but in days and years...Come with the Ghost of Christmas Past who feels your heart beating."''

* AdaptationalIntelligence: Scrooge is never said to be especially bright in the original novella, but this version is a mathematical savant who runs a much more expansive business empire.

A DarkerAndEdgier 2019 miniseries based on [[Literature/AChristmasCarol the classic novel of the same name]] by Charles Dickens, written by [[Series/PeakyBlinders Stephen Knight]]. This version takes many liberties with the original story, adding and subtracting plot elements while placing a new emphasis on Marley and the Spirits.

* AgeLift: Scrooge and Marley, usually depicted as elderly men, are played by 52-year-old Guy Pearce and 46-year-old Stephen Graham respectively.

* DemotedToExtra: Nephew Fred appears in only one scene, while Scrooge's lost love Elizabeth (usually called Belle) appears only in a vision the Spirit of Christmas Past shows to Scrooge and does not even have any lines in said vision.

* FeministFantasy: [[spoiler: The series is themed around sexual abuse and the women in the series are portrayed as stronger and more powerful than the men, while the men are depicted as cruel and objectifying (with the exception of Bob Cratchit). Scrooge's father was a cruel materialist who sexually exploited Scrooge to the paedophile headmaster for waiving tuition fees. While Scrooge's sister, Lottie, saves him after their father dies by holding the headmaster at gunpoint so he'd be forced to release Scrooge. Scrooge, however, was too traumatised to recognise this and followed in his father's footsteps which lead to him sexually exploiting Mrs. Cratchit so she could pay for Tiny Tim's medical bills. Mrs. Cratchit is revealed to have cursed Scrooge and it's suggested that the ghosts themselves were actually part of her curse to punish Scrooge for what he did to her. With the ending also implying that she plans to do this again to punish other sexual abusers who objectify women.]]

* AdaptationalIntelligence: Scrooge is never said to be especially bright in the original novella, but this version is a mathematical savant and runs a much more expansive business empire.

** 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 Andy Serkis.

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

** The Ghost of Christmas Past is no stranger to being adapted to the screen in a multitude of ways, but thwe miniseries version is a haggard, intimidating warlock with a crown of thorns and the commanding screen presence of Andy Serkis.
** As a profoundly negative example, Scrooge is far more obstinate and less intimidated by the Spirits' attempts to get through to him in this version.

* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Scrooge is coldly logical with everything and can't comprehend love or compassion, believing that humanity is naturally evil. [[spoiler: His backstory reveals he had a father who prioritised money over everything else and even sexually extorted Scrooge to his boarding school headmaster in exchange for waiving tuition fees. He was so traumatised by the experience that he couldn't see how his sister saved him by using a gun to force the headmaster into releasing him.]]

* AdaptationalBadass: Scrooge's sister, who [[spoiler: pulls a gun on the schoolmaster to force him to release her brother.]]
** Bob Cratchit in this version is much less submissive and far more willing to stand up to his boss.
* AdaptationalNameChange: Scrooge's sister, while typically named Fan, is named Lottie in this adaptation. Additionally, his long-lost love is named Elizabeth rather than Belle.

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

* JerkassHasAPoint: Scrooge, despite his many, ''many'' shortcomings, does make the good point that people should be kind to each other all year round, rather than just Christmas Day.

* SequelHook: [[spoiler:According to Mary there's still work to do even after Scrooge changes his ways.]]

* TheEndingChangesEverything: [[spoiler: The ending suggests the ghosts themselves were actually instruments of Mrs. Cratchit's curse towards Scrooge for sexually exploiting her as part of a private social experiment (he didn't rape her, but scared her into believing that he would).]]

* FeministFantasy: [[spoiler: The ending reveals that the miniseries has feminist themes by having Mrs Cratchit curse Scrooge for sexually extorting her so she get the money to save Tiny Tim's life. The reveal that the ghosts were in league with Mrs Cratchit changes the story from a Christmas plot to a pro-feminist revenge plot. Scrooge's sister is another example; after Scrooge's father suddenly dies, she gets the will to save Scrooge from his paedophilic headmaster by holding him at gunpoint. However, Scrooge was too traumatised to realise this or show gratitude, leading to him becoming just as abusive as his father in his adulthood.]]

* RewatchBonus: [[spoiler: The feminist theme changes the interaction with The Ghost of Christmas Past; when Scrooge's sister saves him from the boarding school by holding the headmaster at gunpoint, it's initially portrayed as if the ghost is showing how much his family actually loved him. With the ending in mind; the scene changes into the ghost shaming him for becoming just as bad as his headmaster for sexually extorting Mrs Cratchit, despite being saved by a woman when he was in a similar situation.]]