The third Emma was the A&E production of 1996 or 97. It was written by Andrew Davies, the same person who wrote the adaptation for the famous A&E Pride & Prejudice, and the script for Bridget Jones Diary (with that other guy, richard whassisname who wrote four weddings, etc). It was an okay attempt--it starred Kate Beckinsale (they didn't bother making her blonde, haha) and was very much Andrew Davies' bit of self-indulgence after P&P. He said once in an interview that he didn't like Mr. Knightley as a character, and thought that he was too hard on Emma, and that's glaringly obvious in the film, where Mr. Knightley has bad teeth, a receding hairline, a thick jowl, and a prominent frown on his face--so that even before he says a word you're like, "you expect me to believe Emma falls in love with this guy?" It naturally stays truer to the books than the other versions in terms of getting all the major events, especially the strawberry-picking outing and how that segued into the Box Hill incident; but the canonical accuracy also makes Davies' hand more apparent and intrusive. It's a good film to watch if you're bored and needing a change--I recently bought it, but more from the desire to complete my Austen film set than because I was eager to see the film again.

I have seen Northanger Abbey, and I really didn't find it that endearing--it's been a long time since i've seen it, but all I can really remember about it is that everyone keeps leering at Catherine. :))