The Possessed (TV series)

The Possessed is a 1969 British drama television serial, produced by the BBC and based on the novel Demons by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was directed by Naomi Capon from a screenplay by Hugh Leonard and stars Keith Bell, James Caffrey and David Collings. The story takes place in a mid-19th century Russian provincial town and follows its middle-class liberals upon the arrival of a man determined to instigate a revolution.^[1]

BBC2 aired The Possessed in six parts from 25 January to 1 March 1969.^[1] It was shown in the United States as part of the Masterpiece Theatre programme on PBS.^[2]

Raymond Williams praised Collings' acting but criticised the serial for lacking the passionate beliefs that define the original novel, calling this a recurring problem in English adaptations of Russian literature. Williams described the BBC adaptation as "interesting, quiet, domestic; its ideas angular and idiosyncratic rather than passionate and common".^[3]