The show ‘Baby-Sitters Club’ is actually based on the books written by an amazing writer Anna M. Martin of the same name. In spite of that, there are striking differences seen between the TV adaption of ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ in comparison to the books. It highlights all the aspects of being based in a modern setting to the actual process of baby-sitting. One major difference is the gap in the time period or even the storytelling gap. The books were famous during the time frame of the 1980s wherein it instantly became famous after it was written.
The show comes to life around forty years after the book was written. Moreover, no matter how hard one tries, it is humanly impossible to include all the elements of each novel from the book series into a single episode. This is why avid readers stand by the fact that “Books are better than the movies/ shows.”The TV adaption of the show has been beautifully crafted by Rachel Shukert.
She shared her personal fan following for the book series before converting it into a show. She basically infused life into those characters lying in the pages of Martin’s books. We are now familiar with the lively characters like Kristen who has a passion for leadership which is apparent through her bossy attitude. Another character is Marry- Anne who is shy by nature and highly sensitive. Moreover, we see a striking difference is the style of handwriting which is displayed in the opening credits of the show. In order to connect with each and every character, and to know who is narrating the story in a particular episode, the handwriting of that character is displayed exactly from the one in the books. But in the final two-part episode we see to and fro perspectives of all the characters. The episode “Hello, Camp Moosehead!” entails all the characters in prime focus giving us different perspectives.
What are the striking differences between the book and the show?
Firstly as we see that there is a jump from 1980 to 2020 from the book to TV adaption, we can see the effect of technology, language, and culture influencing the series which we will not see in the book. Secondly, the order of the episodes which is based on each series of the book is changed. Initially, we can see it in order but the sixth book being Kristy’s big day is actually the eight-episode in the show. This surely leads to a turn in the storyline but more or less the plot remains the same. In fact, their babysitting jobs especially multiple of them have been shortened in order to fit it in a thirty minutes long episode. All of this surely leads a reader to read the series of the book in order to get a better hand at the show. So have you read the books or watched the show?