Watching the March sisters giggle over paper chains and share dreams while curling each other's hair is like visual comfort food.

Strong female characters shine in classic book adaptation.

It's hard to find many weaknesses -- manly or otherwise -- in this latest take on Little Women.

What resonated for me in Part I is that bravery takes many forms.

This is a production that's deeply affectionate toward its characters, the lives they lead, and the time and place from which they've emerged.

Stream it! It's charming, family-friendly fun that brings new pathos to some classic characters.

It's equally exciting to watch the offspring of Beatrix Kiddo herself - Jo's portrayer Maya Hawke calls Uma Thurman "mom" - tear up a screen with her own defiant rage.

Beautifully produced and faithful to the original story, the miniseries also captures the joyful spirit of the novel despite its many heartaches.

When [Angela] Lansbury is onscreen, Little Women makes you go, "Oh. This is why we needed this."

The casting is solid, with Emily Watson particularly affecting as Marmee. The star, though, is Maya Hawke, who captures the spirited Jo nicely as she grows into a committed writer and uncompromising lover.

This Jo was magnificent through all three nights, and made you able to believe again that Louisa May Alcott, for all that her book was written off in many quarters as rose-spectacled civil war hokum, was in fact a rather spiky feminist.

Happily, as with the best cover versions, the writer Heidi Thomas reminds us why we love it and shows us the classic in a bright new light.