Last night I finished the 8-part series available on the PBS app, and I'm happy to recommend it with some minor reservations.  The storyline created by Dumas is of course enormously complex and detailed (the Modern Library version of the novel in our library runs to over 1,400 pages), and that complexity has always presented difficulties for screenwriters of the almost countless adaptations on film and television.  Even with the luxury of almost 8 hours of broadcast time, there are huge sections of the novel that have to be skipped over or severely compressed.  Edmond Dantès' social education by Jeremy Irons in the Château d'If is compressed to a matter of minutes.  The discovery of the treasure is depicted in a couple minutes, and then moments later he's a wealthy man riding a horse.

On the other hand, the resources available for the current production are extensive and lavish.  The estates and castles must have been a godsend for the cinematographers.  The quality of acting is excellent through out.  I'm so happy to see cinema with cast members unfamiliar to me; the world is full of superb actors - it's not necessary to ride the coattails of celebrities as Hollywood does.

I believe the series will drop on public PBS channels near the end of March.  For now it can be viewed on the PBS app.  I welcome comments from readers who have seen this.