Jamaica Inn attracts complaints over sound blunder

Jessica Brown Findlay’s new TV adaptation of Jamaica Inn attracted a flood of complaints after it aired in the U.K. due to the poor sound quality. The Downton Abbey star plays the lead role in the small screen version of Daphne Du Maurier’s classic novel about smugglers in Cornwall, England and the first installment of the three-part drama was broadcast in Britain on Monday (21Apr14).
However, BBC bosses received 117 complaints from angry viewers, many of whom claimed they were unable to understand the dialogue due to sound problems. The project’s screenwriter, Emma Frost, also complained about the problems, insisting the sound on the TV show was dreadful and very different to an advance screening she had seen.
In a series of posts on Twitter.com, Frost writes, “It sounded like listening through mud… The director and execs were on the phone to the BBC from the off yelling ‘Why can’t we hear it???’… Complaints were relentless – quite rightly. None of production team know what happened with the… sound. It was fine before… Something went VERY wrong on transmission… My TV was at full volume and I was still struggling… Last night’s sound was completely different to the advance screening copies watched by previewers & me. All cast were audible.”
A spokesperson for the BBC says, “There were issues with the sound levels… and for technical reasons, they could not be altered during transmission. We are adjusting the dialogue levels in episodes two and three to address audience concerns so they can enjoy the rest of the drama, and would like to apologise to those viewers who were affected.”