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Web Video: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
*Cheerful intro tune*

Lizzie Bennet is a normal young woman, pursuing a Master's degree in communications and desiring nothing more than to be her own person. This is in clear contrast to her mom, who just wants to get Lizzie and her two sisters married off to someone rich as soon as possible. She even got them all shirts saying "It's a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Lizzie doesn't buy it, and is going to explain exactly why to the whole internet in the form of video blogs.

When the handsome and rich Bing Lee moves into town, with his infuriatingly snobby and even-richer friend Darcy in tow, Lizzie's life is thrown into disarray as her entire family starts clamouring for his attention. Thankfully, armed with a camera, her friend Charlotte's editing expertise and a healthy dose of snark, Lizzie is ready to document this social catastrophe as it unfolds.

If you haven't realized yet, this is a modernized, loosely inspired from the original, Vlog Series adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, written by Bernie Su and produced in part by Hank Green. Though it's scarcely the only update of P&P, what was surprising was the exciting and devoted fan reaction: the show boasts close to 200,000 YouTube subscribers and its DVD release raised 500% of its goal on Kickstarter within just one week of its month-long fundraising drive. It can be found on YouTube or at its own website.

Though the series ended after 100 entries, a Jane Eyre web series adaptation referencing the L. B. Ds in its first episode appeared on YouTube, and a Spin-Off has been aired- Welcome To Sanditon.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries Provide Examples of:

  • Acting for Two: Since there are a lot of people Lizzie can't typically get in front of the camera, she, Jane, Charlotte and Lydia stand in for just about everyone else.
  • Actor Allusion: In Episode 73, Lydia says "Being grown-up is totes Squaresville, Sis." Squaresville is the name of another web series starring Mary Kate Wiles.
  • Adaptational Angst Upgrade: The books didn't portray Lydia particularly sympathetically and would have probably been criticized if they did. In this series, we get to see a heartbroken Lydia sobbing in Lizzie's arms in episode 87.
  • Adaptational Attractiveness: Charlotte and Mary
  • Adaptation Distillation: Kitty and Mary Bennet are cut from the sisterhood to better focus on the contrasts between the three more prominent sisters. It's later revealed that Kitty is actually a cat and Mary is a cousin that Lizzie "always forgets about".
  • Adaptation Name Change: Several
    • Mr. Charles Bingley becomes Bing Lee, therefore also turning his sister Caroline Bingley into Caroline Lee. This coincides with a Race Lift
    • Charlotte Lucas becomes Charlotte Lu to go along with her Race Lift. Her sister, Maria, is similarly renamed Maria Lu and also gets a Race Lift.
    • Fitzwilliam Darcy becomes William Darcy
    • Probably to avoid confusion with Darcy, William Collins has become Ricky Collins. Lizzie and co. also refer to him as "Ricky" instead of "Mr. Collins" like his book counterpart (not that he doesn't want to change that).
    • Darcy's sister's full name is still Georgiana, but she goes by Gigi for short.
    • Colonel Fitzwilliam is Fitz Williams, and he also has a Race Lift.
  • Added Alliterative Appeal: Some episode titles are alliterative.
    • "Friends Forever"
    • "Convertible Carpool"
    • "Swimming with Scissors"
    • "Staff Spirit"
    • "Sisterly Support"
  • Adorkable: Gigi, Mary, and Maria. Darcy and Bing also show flashes of this. Many think Mr. Collins is this too. And Lizzie herself.
  • Age Lift: The series' modern setting wouldn't fit with 15-year old Lydia or 16-year old Georgiana. Lydia's two older sisters are several years older than their book counterparts as well. Inverted with Charlotte, who was 27 in the book, but is Lizzie's age, 24 years old, in the adaptation.
  • Angrish: Lizzie, when confronted to Mr. Collins.
  • Anguished Declaration of Love: What, you didn't see this one coming?
  • Annoying Younger Sibling: Lydia. Some of Gigi's antics could make her one as well.
  • Armor-Piercing Question: Maria asks Charlotte why she always calls Ricky "Mr. Collins." Charlotte can only reply with a series of facial expressions.
    • Jane asks Lizzie what she plans to do with herself after her degree, and (on a greater level) what she wants from her life. The normally-voluble Lizzie is not much more eloquent than was Charlotte.
  • Ascended Extra: Charlotte is much more important than her book counterpart ever was.
    • Caroline has been expanded as well and is arguably the main villain of the story now (after Wickham, natch).
    • In the novel, Fitzwilliam sort of drops off after his big scene. There are several hints here that the Fitz character will be expanded and is playing matchmaker.
    • Maria is an unimportant minor character in the novel who is usually left out of most adaptations. Here she gets her own spin-off and helps reconcile Charlotte and Lizzie.
    • Gigi is much more prominent here, helping Fitz play matchmaker, revealing what happened between her and Wickham on her own, and getting her own spin-off too.
  • Bad Bad Acting: Whenever one of the characters steps in to play a different one, this happens to some degree. Their acting styles also say a lot about themselves:
    • Lizzie caricatures and exaggerates, at least partially.
    • Lydia overacts. Flamboyantly.
    • Jane starts out as an Adorkable Deer In The Headlights every time the camera lands on her, but Character Development allows her to showcase her growing thespianism. (Must go with the red hair!)
    • Charlotte gives realistic but emotionally toned-down and uninterested performances.
    • And the one exception to all of this is when any of the above do impressions of each other, which are typically very good. Which you'd expect from, you know, sisters (or as-good-as, in Charlotte's case).
    • Mary's attempt at costume theatre is melodramatic, and she breaks character twice.
    • Darcy finds it too hard to imitate his sister, but is excellent as his best friend Fitz.
  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: Who do you think?
  • Big Damn Kiss:
    • Between Lydia and Wickham in episode 21 of Lydia's spin-off.
    • Aaand, much more awaited, Jane and Bing in episode 92.
    • And the Foregone Conclusion that we've been waiting for, Lizzie and Darcy in episode 98. Twice.
  • Big "NO!": Episode 30.
  • Big "WHAT?!": Gigi's reaction on Twitter upon discovering that Darcy's surprise appearance at Lizzie's house.
  • Black Best Friend: Fitz (the former Col. Fitzwilliam), to Darcy. And, evidently, to Lizzie as well.
  • Book Worm: The only thing Lizzie does with her time, by her own admission, is make vlogs, read and study.
    • Mary Bennet as well, the first time we see her she's reading through all of Lydia's antics.
  • Breather Episode: Episode 65 and onward, coinciding with the Thanksgiving holidays, take us away from the plot for awhile. Culminates in Episode 69, starring Lydia, Lydia-as-Lizzie and Jane-as-Lydia.
    • Episode 83, in which Darcy and Lizzie flirt cutely and he praises her work. It sits between Episode 82, in which Gigi reveals the truth about Wickham and herself, and Episode 84, which then reveals that Wickham intends to publish a sex tape of himself and Lydia.
  • Butt Monkey:
    • Darcy.
    • Mr. Collins gets a moderate version of this, for being anvilicious, self-important, blunt and unspontaneous (because he is socially awkward, career-driven to a fault and slightly self-involved).
    • Initially, Mary was this in Lydia's vlog. It Got Better.
  • Catch Phrase:
    • Each episode before the intro tune has Lizzie saying: "My name is Lizzie Bennet, and ..."
    • Lizzie's "I forget nothing!" She says it whenever somebody is baffled by her extraordinary memory. She remembers every word of every conversation.
    • Jane's "Hi, it's so good to see you." She greets viewers with this line, and Charlotte claims that's how she greets her friends, mortal enemies and the mail-man alike.
  • Celebrity Paradox:
  • Cerebus Syndrome: Starting at Episode 40 or so, the plot really takes off.
  • Character Blog:
    • The whole series is Elizabeth Bennet's vlog.
    • Most of the characters have Twitter feeds.
    • Characters have Tumblrs.
    • They also have Facebook accounts.
    • The characters are quite convincingly established across the internet, overall.
    • Wickham's money-making scheme is an actual, accessible website.
  • Creator Cameo: Lizzie meets Hank at Vidcon.
  • Character Development: As they go through their trials and tribulations, Lizzie and Lydia in particular are growing more aware of the mistakes they've made and the potential problems in their judgement and attitudes towards others.
  • Character Exaggeration:
    • In the source material Lizzie is a pretty good judge of character with the exception of Wickham and Darcy. In the vlog Lizzie is a lot more prone to being a a bad judge of character because of her personal biases. This forces more Character Development.
    • Jane as well, especially after she moves to L.A in episode 50.
  • Composite Character:
    • Mr Bingley originally had two sisters. Obviously, just the one suffices quite well. Caroline is also fulfilling the role of Anne de Bourgh.
    • Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner have been combined into Dr. Gardiner, Lizzie's professor who gets her set up at Pemberley. Fitz and Gigi also seem to be partly fulfilling the Gardiner's roles.
    • After episode 87, Lydia's storyline and future prospects are closer to book-Kitty's, rather than book-Lydia's.
  • Chekhov's Gun: Gigi proudly describes Domino, Pemberley's latest prototype, as being able to auto-edit and auto-upload anything it captures. George Wickham downloads Domino without thinking in the 5th demo video, making himself traceable...
  • Continuity Cameo:
    • Kitty Bennet in Lydia's spin-off.
    • Lydia's friend Denny gets a passing mention in the spin-off as well.
    • The name Carter's Bar is a reference to Captain Carter, a minor character in the original novel.
  • Continuity Nod:
    • Lydia takes over the videos for episode 69 and she has Jane portray her. Jane enters wearing the same clothes Lydia wore in episode 20, the last episode Lydia took over.
    • Lydia wears Jane and Lizzie's birthday necklace in several videos.
  • Cool Big Sis: Jane for Lizzie and Lydia, Charlotte for Maria. Occasionally Lizzie shows flashes of this, but for the most part she's annoyed by Lydia.
  • Coordinated Clothes: In episode 59 "Staff Spirit", Charlotte Lu wears a Ketchup costume for Halloween work event, while her direct supervisor Ricky Collins is dressed in a Mustard outfit.
  • Could Say It But: Lizzie does not wish to reveal private information concerning Darcy's treatment of Wickham, so she tells a story about "Dar...vid" and "Batman" instead.
    Darcy:If I knew a Darvid, perhaps he would feel differently.
  • Curse Cut Short:
    • Episode 10 "Cats and Chinchillas" ends with Lizzie's fff[bleeeeeep].
    • Episode 53 "Annie Kins" starts with "What the [cut to the opening theme]".
  • Damned by Faint Praise:
    • The only compliment Jane has in regards to Darcy is that he is "very tall".
      Lizzie: Okay! For the record, when the nicest thing Jane Bennet has to say about you is "tall", you have personality problems.
    • Lizzie herself feels like Darcy is employing this on her. Evidently she's "decent enough" for him.
  • Dangerously Genre Savvy: Both Caroline and Wickham are smart enough to discover the videos and then use them to their advantage, broadcasting their sides of the story and attempting to portray themselves in a positive light. Wickham briefly appeared to be the only character watching both Lizzie's videos and Lydia's videos as well.
  • A Day in the Limelight: Though Lizzie is the main character, she doesn't show up in every video:
    • Charlotte and Jane take over Episode 15.
    • Lydia takes over Episode 20 and Episode 69.
    • Ricky Collins first shows up in-person in Episode 25 by crashing the Vidcon filming.
    • Caroline Lee shows up in Episode 27, and reveals that she's been aware of the diaries.
    • Bing and Jane finally share an episode together (Episode 28). Squee ensues.
    • Mary shows up when Lydia does her own spin-off videos during the Netherfield arc.
    • Kitty Bennet gets a day in the limelight on Lydia's blog.
    • Lydia and Mr. Collins have an episode to themselves after Lizzie storms out.
    • Charlotte and Mr. Collins do Episode 41. The result is, surprisingly, a Drama Bomb.
    • Lydia and Jane solo while Lizzie writes a paper.
    • Mary hides in Lizzie's video.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Lizzie herself.
    • Darcy as well. From episode 80:
    "Well, that will certainly make the costumes easier to obtain."
  • Death Glare: Lydia gives Lizzie an especially long and angry one after realising that they're not going out partying like she thought.
  • Deer In The Headlights:
    • Lizzie has this look when Lydia sneaks up behind her and wraps her hands around Lizzie's neck with very big, sharp scissors.
    • Episode 60: Darcy
    • Lizzie, in episode 78.
    • In the first episode of the Maria Lu spin-off series, Charlotte Lu warns her younger sister not to do this in a vlog.
  • Demoted to Extra: Kitty Bennet, who was the fourth Bennet sister, has been adapted into an actual cat named Kitty, while Mary has been turned into a cousin seen mainly in Lydia's spin-off videos (although she has appeared in Lizzie's videos).
  • Department of Redundancy Department: Lizzie in episode 33, talking about Darcy: "The only thing he wanted was for me to say that I liked popular music so that he could mock me with his mocking words, and his mocking face and BEADY little mocking eyes."
  • Distracted by the Sexy: Lizzie, walking in on Wickham with no shirt on, forgets to castigate Lydia for "accidentally" spilling water on his shirt (hence the no-shirt-on thing) and instead gives a series of disjointed giggles. Well, it's either this or Heroic BSOD at the realization of what she let Lydia do.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: Lydia says she felt sorry for the youngest boy she babysat. The older boys were so mean to him, and he seemed so lonely... (cue to the Lydia fandom cursing Lizzie).
  • Drama Bomb: Episode 41 (Collins' proposal to Charlotte) and 42 (fallout thereof).
    • Episode 47 (Bing leaves town) and 48 (Jane breaks down before announcing she too is leaving).
    • Episode 60: Darcy first appears on the videos to declare his love for Lizzie. Lizzie shuts him down.
    • Episode 73: Lydia has her 21st birthday and Lizzie accidentally reveals her opinion that Lydia could stand to act more grown-up. Regardless of whether she was right or not, Lydia doesn't take it well.
    • Episode 84: Darcy asks Lizzie out on a date but before she can answer she finds out that Lydia has been dating George Wickham and he has been advertising a sex tape of the two of them and Lizzie has to return home.
  • Drop-In Character: Initially, Jane and Lydia but they're such staples of the show now that that's not true anymore. Definitely the case for Mr. Collins, Caroline and Bing. Bing doesn't even know about the vlog he's appearing on until episode 81.
  • Eating the Eye Candy: Both Lizzie and Lydia thoroughly enjoyed shirtless Wickham.
  • Fiery Redhead: All three sisters are red-heads, but only Lydia fits the trope.
  • Flower in Her Hair: Jane and Gigi get a pink flower for their costume theatre and it accurately captures their femininity. However, they don't seem to be wearing flowers in hair in real life.
  • Four Girl Ensemble: Jane is definite the "sweet, naive" one, and Lydia is definitely the "sexy" one (of the Really Gets Around type). Charlotte's mostly the Deadpan Snarker, which leaves Lizzie as the Wild Card, which fits her accurately, to a point.
  • Freudian Excuse: The Lydia vlogs heavily imply that Lydia acts out and is obnoxious at least in part because she feels jealous of Jane and Lizzie's bond and ignored by her parents. Interestingly, the writers seem to take this less seriously than the vast majority of the Lydia fanbase.
  • Freudian Slip:
    • If we ever doubted that Lizzie's impersonation of her mother was close from her, we can rely on it now.
      Jane: No, Mom ! Mom... ahem... Lizzie !
    • Quite possibly this, from episode 46:
      Wickham: I've got people to do and things to see. (looks ill-at-ease)
    • "I would never do that. I can't stand that jerk." Oh, Lydia.
    • Lizzie's "what if we missed our chance?" from Episode 91. The previous rhetorical questions refer to Bing and Jane as "they", but the wording of the last one implies that she's thinking about Darcy.
  • Genre Savvy: Darcy. When Gigi calls him on Domino (a device that can record calls and post them online) he immediately asks if she's calling him on the demo, and hangs up promptly.
  • The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: A tame version exists between Lizzie and Lydia. For the most part, the get along and they are kept in check by Jane. Plus, it's obvious that they really care about each other. The Lizzie-Lydia feud finally erupted in episodes 73 and 74.
  • Goth: Mary is a downplayed example of the "Gloomy Goth" variety, mixed with Emo Teen.
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: Lydia. Lizzie sometimes, usually when it relates to Collins and Darcy.
  • Heroes Want Redheads: It is certain this is where the story is going to end up, as all three sisters have varying shades of red hair.
  • Heroic BSOD: Lizzie has one in the 8th episode, complete with an editorial aside by Charlotte lampshading and/or foreshadowing Lizzie's Fatal Flaw and the entire plot that results from it:
    Charlotte: "Hey, everyone. Lizzie is having a bit of a crisis because her sister Jane actually likes the guy her mother wants her to marry. A guy who, it turns out, is actually pleasant, and nice, and funny, but that Lizzie had already made up her mind to hate. And Lizzie hates changing her mind."
    • Lydia has one in Episode 85.
  • Horrible Judge of Character: Lizzie thinks that a lot of other people fit this trope: "And yet another example of lively, outgoing people inexplicably being friends with Darcy!" The truth, of course, is that she fits the trope; Episode 61 basically revolves around nothing else, with both Charlotte and Darcy himself dropping in to debunk her assumptions on Darcy.
    • In Lizzie's defense, episode 81 makes it clear that Darcy is unusually stiff when he's around her.
  • Iconic Outfit: Used in-universe for Costume Theater whenever someone is standing in for someone else.
    • Darcy's bowtie and newsie cap.
    • Lizzie's plaid shirt.
    • Jane is represented by a pink flower worn in someone's hair.
    • Bing is represented by one of those stereotypical-head-mirror thingies that doctors have.
    • Wickham is represented with swimming goggles.
    • Mr. Bennet has a pipe and short-brimmed hat.
    • Mrs. Bennet has a rainbow scarf, chandelier earrings and a large floppy garden hat.
    • Gigi is represented by Darcy's newsie cap plus Jane's pink flower.
    • Fitz is represented by a big poufy wig provided by Darcy.
    • Charlotte has a knit purple hat, pig tails and a book that says "Charlotte costume" on it. Lizzie had to improvise. Charlotte lampshades the Stylistic Suck the very next episode:
    "You had ninety-six episodes to think up a costume for me, and you came up with... pigtails and a book?"
  • I Like My X Like I Like My Y: Who else?
    Mary: "How about you? If you're so keen on oversharing people's personal lives on the Internet, why don't we talk about your Love Interest?"
    Lydia: "Love interest? Ha Ha Ha No. That's way too boring. I like my boys like I like my data plans: readily available, unlimited, and something I never signed a contract for."
  • It's All About Me: Mr. Ricky Collins, when not being obsessed with Catherine de Bourgh.
  • Ironic Echo: In Episode 2, Lizzie uses the comment "Argh, Lydia's being a stupid whorey slut again!" as an hypothetical example of what she might say in a future videos. In Episode 87, Lydia says sincerely that "None of this would've happened if I wasn't acting like a stupid whorey slut again, right?"
  • Incompatible Orientation:
    • Lydia and her friend Denny. When Mary speculates about the two of them, Lydia retorts that he has a boyfriend.
    • Also, Lizzie and Fitz. Lizzie tells the audience not to expect a romance between them because Fitz is gay.
  • Jerk Ass:
    • Darcy, of course. ...but he is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
    • George Wickham, albeit of a more subtle and deeply heinous variety.
  • Jerkass Realization:
    • Lizzie thinks she has one in episode 43. However, it is made clear at the same time that Lizzie didn't know Charlotte was unhappy with her taking most of the credit for the vlog, making the moment rather moving and redeeming.
    • Lizzie has a major one in episode 87.
  • Kick the Dog: Lizzie, without realizing the extent of it, towards all the characters whose private lives she reveals. It divides as follows:
    • Cases ending with My God, What Have I Done?: Caroline Lee, Bing Lee.
    • Cases begining with serious provocation or indifference towards her well-being: Darcy, her mother, the Team Swimmers, Mr. Collins.
    • Lydia does the same as a part of her Sibling Rivalry with Lizzie, but at least, she is very affectuous towards her. She does the same to Mary but wants to help her and they finally end up being friends.
    • Darcy's statements are demeaning to about 80% of the base. Those who haven't read the book have a hard time to see him being redeemed (unless they think Lizzie's exaggerating).
  • Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Collins may talk a good game, but it is quite fair to say that he has zero understanding of what the "point" of social media is.
  • Large Ham: Lydia
  • Laughing Mad: Lizzie, upon getting a look at George Wickham's abs.
  • Leaning on the Fourth Wall:
    • Charlotte saying that people like the DIY look. "It makes the video feel more authentic if it's not too polished."
    • Lizzie and Charlotte:
      Charlotte: "Could you get back on-script? No one cares about my aunt."
      Lizzie: "Yeah... We seem super-authentic now."
    • Mr. Collins: "I find [your vlog] inherently unique, perhaps it's the complex narrative you're telling."
    • Lydia winks at the camera in Episode 24 when she explains to Lizzie and Charlotte that she got into Vid Con because she "has friends in high places"...
    • Lizzie is aware that her viewers ship her and Darcy and she makes comments about not wanting any crazy fan fictions. Cue commentators claiming that one chick named Jane Austen wrote a fan fic in historical setting and that it's pretty good.
  • Love You and Everybody: Jane.
  • Meta Twist: Episode 87, the biggest Drama Bomb of the series, does not play the cheery theme tune over the ending panel.
  • Mockbuster: In-Universe. One of the shows produced by Collins & Collins is Game Of Gourds. Taglines include "Winter gourds are coming" and You win or you're gourd."
  • Mood Whiplash:
    • One episode 48, where Jane comes in with an embroidery for Lizzie, and when re-enacting a scene between Lizzy and Wickham, suddenly breaks down remembering how Bing never called to explain why he left town.
    • The Care Package episode. Fitz brings up how caring Darcy is by talking about how Darcy intervened between Jane and Bing, not realizing that Jane was the girl Darcy warned Bing about and that Lizzy is sending a care package partly because of the entire situation.
    • Episode 84. Lizzie is gleefully showing off her new phone and Darcy is on the verge of asking her out on a date when Lizzie learns from Charlotte that Wickham intends to publish a sex tape featuring himself and Lydia.
  • My Girl Is a Slut Lizzie opinion of Lydia is that she's a "Whorey Slut" when she is called out about slut shaming her sister by fans she modifies this to say that Lydia is immature and impulsive. In light of Wickham publicizing a sex tape of Lydia without her knowledge or consent, Lizzie's first reaction was that Lydia was being a stupid whorey slut, and then finds that Lydia didn't know about Wickham's plan she starts victim blaming Lydia and saying that Lydia was being reckles "allowed" herself to get conned by Wickham, when in fact Wickham manipulated Lydia because he was abusing her.
  • My Greatest Failure: Lizzie has this reaction in Episode 84. This is somewhat egocentric, but also shows the depth of her remorse over the gulf that has opened between herself and Lydia.
  • Mythology Gag:
    • In the first Q&A episode, Lydia shows Lizzie her fake ID with the name "Mary Crawford," a character from another Jane Austen novel, Mansfield Park.
    • Charlotte and Lizzie's mothers went into labor while reading Sense and Sensibility.
    • The "Truth universally acknowledged..." T-shirts, which Mrs. Bennet takes completely seriously.
    • Kitty Bennet was originally one of the Bennet sisters. Here, she's a literal kitty.
    • Lizzie jokes that Annie Kins the dog is a perfect match for Darcy. In the original novel, Darcy and Anne were intended to be betrothed by their mothers.
    • Jane: "I'm moving to Los Angeles, not London." London is where she moved in the novel.
    • Jane prepares tea and scones for Lizzie, to which Lizzie says: "Did we turn British?"
    • Lizzie stated that she always felt drawn to England and she cyber-shadowed a company in London.
    • Fitz and Gigi's close relationship is a nod to the novel where Col. Fitzwilliam, along with Mr. Darcy, was Georgiana's guardian.
    • In one of the question videos, Lizzie says the past version of her would enjoy walking and probably have a lot of muddy dresses.
    • She tells the Darcys that she likes to walk, despite the difficulty in the city.
    • Lizzie and Gigi are both mystified at how people always assume they play the piano. Elegant Classical Musician was a thing to take very seriously in Regency England.
    • Pemberly Digital is named after the Darcys' ancestral estate of a Big Fancy House Pemberley in England.
    • In the first episode, Lizzie mentions that she likes films starring Colin Firth; Firth played the role of Mr. Darcy in the BBC miniseries adaptation of P&P.
    • In the last episode of Gigi's spin-off, Gigi tells Darcy to go and have a swim. This brings to mind the famous Wet Sari Scene in the 1995 BBC adaptation.
    • In a Twitter post, Fitz mentions going to Italy for "Brandon's bday". Colonel Brandon is a prominent character in Sense and Sensibility.
  • No Social Skills:
  • Not So Different: Episode 55 revolves around this. Charlotte compares Lizzie to her mother (see the next trope down for her response), and Lizzie quite innocently compares herself to Mr. Collins ("I wonder where Charlotte learned her Politeness Judo?") and then, more subtly, to Darcy (taking note of the friends they both have, which by her calculations shouldn't be true).
    • Jane points out that Lizzie and Lydia are not so different, being incredibly stubborn and more willing to talk to the internet than to each other.
  • Oh Crap:
    • Lizzie's reaction to finding out Caroline Lee watches her vlog in episode 27.
    • Her expression when she not only lets slip about her blog to Darcy, but also realises the camera was still on all the way through her confrontation with him in episode 60.
    • When she discovers that her "tour guide" in Pemberley Digital is really Gigi Darcy and that she not only knows about the videos, she watches and loves them.
    Lizzie: Bye, Gigi...[to camera] otherwise known as Darcy's sister... who watches my videos. Why do I feel like I'm in major trouble right now?
    • Charlotte, when Lizzie gets an assignment to shadow Pemberly Digital and has trouble figuring out why that name is familiar.
  • One Head Taller: Darcy and Lizzie.
  • One-Hour Work Week: Bing's very flexible med school schedule is lampshaded by Lizzie. An explanation is offered in Episode 92: He quit med school after realising he needs to live his own life for himself.
  • One-Liner, Name... One-Liner: Lizzie to Charlotte in Episode 55: "Low blow, Lu. Low blow."
  • One of Us: Maria Lu is a quintessential fangirl for pretty much every nerdy show out there, while Gigi Darcy, as one YouTube commenter stated, "Is the captain of [the Lizzie/Darcy] ship!!!"
  • Only Sane Woman: Lizzie sees herself as this in relation to her sisters, but the plot dents this perception somewhat. The real source of wisdom is Charlotte, who knows enough about everyone to foreshadow their Character Development.
  • Opposites Attract: Lizzie's view of her parents's marriage.
  • Pet the Dog: Without her kindness to Jane, her friendship with Charlotte, her concern with her viewers, her feminist opinions, and her Anger Born of Worry towards Lydia, Lizzie's harshness towards her mother, Darcy, Mr. Collins and (originally) Caroline would be much harder to forgive.
    • Lydia has moments with Mary which make them more sympathetic.
    • In Episode 61, Darcy apologizes for upsetting Lizzie, unprompted and of his own will.
  • Portmanteau Couple Name:
    • Lydia dubs Jane and Bing "Jing".
    • Fans have also embraced "Dizzie" (Darcy/Lizzie), and "Lyckham" (Lydia/Wickham), although neither have been said in the videos.
  • Pragmatic Adaptation:
    • Due to budget and storytelling constraints, only a few members of the cast appear onscreen. Lizzie's extra sisters Mary and Kitty have been transformed into a cousin and an actual cat (respectively), and Bing's two sisters have been condensed into one.
    • In amusing behind-the-scenes facts: Lizzie's room is producer Jenni Powell's actual apartment, and the lead actresses costume themselves out of their personal wardrobes.
      Ashley Clements: "At this point I own very, very little that has not been on the show. Basically if I wanted to wear something that I haven't worn as Lizzie, I could wear pajamas or a bridesmaid's dress."
  • Promoted to Love Interest: Inverted by Mr. Collins, who goes from proposing marriage to Elizabeth (and later, Charlotte) to offering Lizzie (and later, Charlotte) a job.
  • Punny Name: Kitty Bennet
  • Race Lift:
    • Charlotte Lucas becomes Charlotte Lu. Naturally, her sister Maria as well.
    • Mr Bingley has been re-imagined as Bing Lee. Caroline Bingley becomes Caroline Lee as a result.
    • Colonel Fitzwilliam is black in this version.
  • Really Gets Around: Lydia (by reputation, as such exploits are unlikely to be captured in-vlog)... until the 84th episode of Lizzie's vlog, when it's revealed that George Wickham made a sex tape.
  • Redheaded Hero: The Bennet sisters.
  • Red Herring: The videos concerning Lydia's trip to Las Vegas all drop heavy foreshadowing that she might have some sort of Accidental Marriage there, as in the source material. Even Lydia teases it in her first video of 2013. But it never happens. (The actual way it plays out is even more horrifying.)
  • Running Gag: Lydia's list of why Lizzie is perpetually single, and Lizzie's confusion over whether it's real or not.
    • Whenever someone questions the veracity of Lizzie's recollections, Lizzie responds, "I forget nothing."
  • Setting Update: P&P in modern America, as a vlog. The Bennet sisters are now university students who are probably going need a man in possession of a good fortune to dig them out of the debts their family has. Mr Bingley is now a medical student and Darcy is a media mogul's son and a hipster.
    • And Kitty Bennet is actually a kitty.
    • And Collins' proposal is a business proposal instead of a marriage proposal.
  • Separated-at-Birth Casting:
    • The Bennet sisters, who really do look like sisters. Jane in particular really looks like both her sisters.
    • Inverted with Wes Anderhold's George Wickham, whom many people supposed to be Mary Kate Wiles's real life brother.
    • Daniel Gordh and Allison Paige as William and Gigi Darcy both have the same eyes and nose.
  • Shrinking Violet: Jane and Darcy.
  • Ship Tease: Quite possibly the 2nd video of Maria's spinoff, for Mr Collins and Charlotte.
  • Shipper on Deck: Naturally, Gigi and Fitz for Lizzie and Darcy, judging by their tweets and Gigi's conversations with Lizzie. In episode 78, Gigi orchestrates the infamous awkward Pemberley scene by unceremoniously shoving Darcy into the room and sitting Lizzie and Darcy in front of the camera. Her tweets with Fitz show that they were both in on it. They were using Spy Speak.
  • Shirtless Scene: Episode 45 courtesy of George Wickham. Invoked by Lydia. She spilled water on his shirt and persuaded him to take it off. He gladly obliged.
  • Shout Out:
    • in episode 10, Lizzie has to scrutinize Jane's face for more information. When this proves insufficient, she uses a Vulcan mind-meld.
    • Lizzie describes Jane as Practically Perfect in every way!
    • In the Q&A, one of the names Lizzie suggested for the session was "Lizzie explains it all". This is perhaps inadvertently a shoutout to a website called Lissa Explains it All, which teaches children about HTML and which has been around for over 10 years. (The website may have originally been called "Lizzy Explains it All"), or the tv show Clarissa Explains It All.
    • In Episode 29, Lizzie bemoans her fate of living in a van down by the river.
    • Additionally in Episode 29, Lizzie advises Bing on movies. She declares the period drama a good call, but warns against the one with zombies.
  • "Shut Up" Kiss: Episode 98.
  • Sound Effect Bleep : Hilariously used in episode 8, when Jane lets Lizzie know that she will have to chaperone Lydia.
    Lizzie: F...
    (cut to chinchilla and kitty picture Lizzie had planned to show and a big beep sound)
  • Southern Belle: Mrs. Bennet
  • Spin-Off: There have been three spin-offs, all run by the baby sisters of the show.
    • Lydia gets her own YouTube channel and creates her own video diaries featuring her and her cousin Mary, and later George Wickham.
    • Charlotte's sister Maria's got one as well thanks to an intership at Mr Collins.
    • Gigi has one too, where she is demonstrating the Domino app.
  • Spot of Tea: Jane keeps bringing Lizzie tea when she's distressed. When she brings also scones, Lizzie lampshades the trope by asking whether they have turned British with a nod to the original source.
  • The Stinger: Episodes 20 and 37 have one, both involving Lydia.
    • Episode 100: Mrs. Bennet shows up.
  • Take That: Lydia to Lizzie, In-Universe.
  • Tempting Fate:
    • Episode 59, when Lizzie angrily says that she never wants to see Darcy's face again and that it'll be too soon if she does. Ten seconds later, we see Darcy's torso in the doorway.
    • Gigi proudly describes in her Domino demonstration that the app can auto-edit and auto-upload anything it captures whenever she uses it. The second demo video shows that Darcy is not pleased that she's talking about personal matters on the demo.
  • Undying Loyalty: Darcy, as vouched for by Fitz and Gigi.
  • Unreliable Narrator: Lizzie claims her mom dressed her up as a spinster for Halloween once. Charlotte has to point out that in fact she was dressed as a witch.
  • Valley Girl: Lydia.
  • Viewers Are Morons: How else do you explain Collins & Collins's minute-long tutorial video on light switches?
  • Wet Sari Scene:
    • Part of Mrs. Bennet's "convoluted plan" is to stage one. It's supposed to rain and the jelly from a disgusting cake-thing would dissolve and it would stain Jane's dress...
    • Lydia stages one with George Wickham, leading to him going actually shirtless on-camera.
  • WHAM Episode:
    • Episode 42. Charlotte accepts a job from Mr Collins and she and Lizzie get into a rather heated argument over it.
    • Episode 58 through 64 are the real Drama Bomb, coinciding with the apex of the story. First we learn from Fitz that Darcy orchestrated Bing's breakup with Jane. In the next, Darcy himself breaks into the series. In 60, he sits down with Lizzie and delivers his Anguished Declaration of Love. In 61, having watched her video diaries, he apologizes for his actions and gives her a letter. As she relates in 62, this letter contains his motivation for breaking up Jane and Bing, and—because his actions actually make sense given the information he had available—Lizzie's opinion of him begins to change. Finally, 63 and 64 have Caroline return, get called out on lying, and be firmly planted as an antagonist in Charlotte and Lizzie's mind. No more false friends here.
    • Episode 73. Yeeeaaaah.
    • Episode 82. Gigi reveals the truth about what went down between Wickham and herself. Wickham was using Gigi for Darcy's money.
    • Followed almost immediately by the revelation that Wickham is publishing a sex tape of himself and Lydia.
    • Episode 97: Darcy shows up at Lizzie's house.
    Darcy: Excuse me, Lizzie.
  • What the Hell, Hero?:
    • Charlotte to Lizzie in Episode 42, according to some viewers. Though others would place Lizzie as the one chastizing the other one. The latter is probably the writer's main goal.
    • Lizzie finds out about Lydia's sex tape and then doesn't bother to ask her sister about it but leaves her job shadowing gig to come home and berate her about it without bothering to ask if Lydia even knew or consented to doing it.
    • Episode 2 on the Pemberley Digital channel has Gigi call out Darcy when it seems like he either won't be helping the Bennet family in their crisis, or will leave her out of the loop when he does.
    • Lizzie confronts Bing about his leaving Jane in episode 90.
  • Where the Hell Is Springfield?: Somewhere in California, evidently:
    • Bing and Co exit to Los Angeles, pursued by a bear. Err, Jane.
    • Pemberley Digital is in San Francisco. Fitz claims to have "a corner office in the city, overlooking the bay," and can see "two bridges" from his office, suggesting he works in the same city.
    • The Collins & Collins website claims it's based in Hunsford, California.
    • Mr. and Mrs. Bennet go off to a Chanukah party in Sacramento.
  • Word Of God:
    • If we are to believe Maxwell Glick's opinion (expressed here), Ricky honestly means well, but he suffers from a lack of social skills and doesn't understand that he hurts others (whether it is because he is awkward or because he is too centered on his career and himself is still up in the air).
    • Even after getting called out in episode 64,Caroline Lee is still plotting against Lizzie according to the lead writer, Bernie Su.
    • Charlotte's remarks about working on Lizzie's diaries rather than her own videos in episode 42 were said in the heat of the moment. She really did consider the videos "their project" rather than just Lizzie's.


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alternative title(s): The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
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