Top 10 Differences Between One Day: TV Show & Book
A show you can stream in one day! Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the biggest changes made between the source material of David Nicholls’s “One Day” book and Netflix’s 2024 smash-hit TV series.
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00:00 "What time does the seminar start?"
00:02 "Oh, depends. How long will it take you to learn how to read?"
00:06 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the biggest changes made
00:12 between the source material of David Nicholl's one-day book and Netflix's 2024 smash hit
00:18 TV series.
00:20 Spoiler warning, this video will explore key plot points in the novel and show.
00:25 "Have you even read it?"
00:27 "I started to, I just didn't get past page four."
00:32 Number 10. The Introduction.
00:34 "I've seen you around."
00:37 "I've seen you around too."
00:41 In the show's opening 1988 episode, we see the students at the University of Edinburgh
00:46 celebrating graduation with a blowout party. And on that fateful night, Emma Morley and
00:52 Dexter Mayhew hit it off, eventually going back to her place and starting a lifelong
00:58 connection. Well, in the book, we begin with the two already in Emma's bedroom chit-chatting
01:03 about the future.
01:04 "When you're, I don't know, 40 or something. Where do you want to be when you're 40?"
01:10 "I don't know, not 40?"
01:13 At the same time, we learn many of the reveals in the first episode that the book doesn't
01:17 explain until the end. This includes Dex calling the talking clock instead of speaking to his
01:23 parents, the two ascending Arthur's seat, and Emma meeting his parents. But they did
01:29 keep one secret until the end, that kiss on the steps.
01:33 "See you around."
01:35 "Yeah, I hope so."
01:38 "I hope so too."
01:40 Number 9. Quick Trip.
01:42 "Not forever, just for a weekend. You don't have to."
01:48 "Yes, yes, I would. Yeah, I'd like to, I will, yeah."
01:51 During the 1989 episode, Dexter is in Italy for his version of a gap year, and by 1990,
01:58 he was a TV presenter. However, in the novel, Dex isn't there yet. Instead, he was in India,
02:05 even getting a yin and yang ankle tattoo against Emma's advice.
02:10 "What?"
02:11 "That's your plan for the future. Just go on holiday."
02:14 "No, it's not a holiday. It's travel."
02:17 During this chapter, Dex writes a long letter to Emma, where he essentially confesses to
02:22 some feelings for her and asks her to come to India. He then places it into a copy of
02:27 E.M. Forster's Howard's End that Emma gave him. However, Dex left the book at a bar.
02:33 Another woman found it and the letter. But with no return or send address, the novel
02:38 with the letter is still on her bookshelf decades later.
02:41 "This is coming from someone who's been reading Howard's Way for the past 15 years."
02:46 "You mean Howard's End. Howard's Way is something different."
02:49 "Whatever."
02:50 Number 8. Tilly's Role
02:52 "Have we met?"
02:55 "Dexter."
02:56 "Hi, Dexter. Tilly. Right, uh, breakfast?"
03:05 In the series, Tilly is a vital character as Emma's close friend from her uni days.
03:11 She uses humor, kindness, and enthusiasm to encourage Em in her relationship with Dex,
03:17 all while getting married and having a family.
03:19 "I'm just really curious. I have to live vicariously because I can never do that again."
03:24 "I swear if Graham even looks at me."
03:26 If there was a third main character in the one-day show, it would definitely be Tilly.
03:32 Yet in the novel, Emma and Tilly have a vastly reduced connection and remain distant uni
03:38 friends.
03:39 For example, Em doesn't give a speech at Tilly's wedding and isn't sat next to the
03:43 couple.
03:44 Instead, she's placed at a table with the groom's obscure family members from New Zealand.
03:49 Tilly is less caring and more flaky towards Emma.
03:52 "Well, it's not a party. There's certainly no evidence of any dinner."
03:57 Number 7. The Foot Rub
03:59 Speaking of the wedding in the 1997 episode, when it opens, Sylvie jabs Dex with a comment
04:06 that he's looking around the room and mentally noting all the people he had relations with.
04:11 "It's not true."
04:12 "It is true."
04:13 "It's not. I barely know anyone here."
04:16 "Then why do you keep knocking on the door?"
04:19 Well in the book, there is one illicit incident mentioned that we never saw in the series,
04:24 that of the infamous foot massage.
04:26 At one point, Dex rubbed Tilly's feet when it spun out of control and got more intimate.
04:32 "Sex? Do you sex?"
04:35 "Yeah, but…"
04:36 "But what?"
04:37 While he believed Emma never knew about it, she always did.
04:41 Thankfully, with Tilly and Emma having a stronger relationship, this saucy and scandalous storyline
04:46 was dropped from the show.
04:48 "You two should go without me. I need to feed the guinea pig."
04:56 Number 6. The Awkward Interview.
04:58 "Don't read over my shoulder, Eeyore."
05:00 "Oh, so sorry, so very sorry. Thought you might need a reader."
05:03 "He doesn't deserve a reader. It's crap."
05:05 In most careers, there are plenty of professional setbacks, but few are more embarrassing than
05:10 what happened to Emma in the book that was skipped over in the show.
05:13 "So long I wondered, lonely, lost along your dusty, musty streets and tunnels, and
05:19 wondered, where are you?"
05:22 As Dex is dealing with his own career issues as he loses his TV job, Emma's off to meet
05:27 the legendary publisher, Marsha Francombe, about her novel.
05:32 And the questions Emma gets are very weird. As it turns out, she wasn't invited there
05:37 to discuss publishing her work. Instead, it was all a misunderstanding, as Marsha thought
05:42 she was there to interview for the position of nanny in her household.
05:46 "Oh, I feel nothing."
05:53 Yikes. Apparently, she hadn't gotten around to reading Emma's material, and the meeting
05:58 was meant to be rearranged.
06:01 Number 5. Steamy Moments.
06:03 "To one-night stands?"
06:04 "Are we drinking to one-night stands in the future? Because we didn't actually have one."
06:12 A few months before the show was released, author David Nichols was interviewed about
06:16 what would be different from the source material. His biggest reveal was the series would feature
06:21 a lot more intimate scenes.
06:23 "Well, there goes rule number two."
06:25 Nichols stated he tended to fade to black during those moments, while head writer Nicole
06:30 Taylor stayed in color on screen. And that was pretty obvious early in the show. By 1989,
06:37 Dex was getting risque in Italy, while Em was getting sort of steamy in a minibus. The
06:43 show stuck with this adult format for Em's affair with the headmaster, and when she and
06:47 Dex got it on in Paris.
06:49 "What position, mainly?"
06:50 "Is that relevant?"
06:51 "No, I'm just really curious."
06:54 Number 4. The Non-Robbery.
06:56 "I closed my eyes, I can still picture it."
06:59 "Oh my god."
07:01 "Yep. Our one night of love."
07:04 Early into their blossoming relationship, Dexter and Emma head off to Greece for a nice
07:08 trip with plenty of guidelines to keep their friendship intact. And during the evening,
07:14 the duo go skinny dipping. But instead of things getting steamy, it gets awkward with
07:19 Dex's "friends with benefits" offer.
07:21 "I just don't think I'm ready for a relationship. I think, um, I think we'd want different
07:31 things."
07:32 While all this is going on, he suddenly spots someone running off with his clothes and the
07:37 cash in his wallet. After chasing them, Dex returns to the beach, in the buff, having
07:42 not found the thief, while Emma's stuff is untouched. Dexter had to walk to the apartment
07:48 with a blue trash bag he had made pants from. Sadly, the show skipped this humiliation,
07:53 which could have been quite entertaining in live action.
07:56 "Alas, we're prevented by rule 4. No nudity."
08:00 "It's not a rule, it's a guideline."
08:03 "No, it's a rule."
08:06 Number 3. Ian's message to Dex.
08:08 "Penny for your thoughts."
08:10 "Penny for your thoughts. Idiot."
08:18 Known for his social media comedy skits about being an actor, Johnny Weldon knocked it out
08:23 of the park with his portrayal of awkward comedian and Emma's ex, Ian. In the final
08:28 episode of the show, as Dexter goes into the garden during the second anniversary of Emma's
08:33 death, Ian follows him. He then tells Dex about his life in Taunton, and how happy Dexter
08:39 made Emma.
08:40 "I always thought you were a bit of a twat. As I'm sure you know. Really just overrated.
08:48 But, Emma, she loved you so much."
08:57 It's a touching moment for the former rivals for Emma's affections, showing their connection
09:01 in grief. In the book, after Dex is thrown out of the strip club, we read Ian's letter
09:06 to Dex on the first anniversary. It's the same touching content from the show, offering
09:12 closure between the two characters.
09:14 "What's in Taunton?"
09:15 "It's where we live."
09:16 "Isn't that three hours away?"
09:20 "Oh, give or take."
09:23 "And you came all this way?"
09:27 "Look after yourself, Dexter."
09:30 Number 2. Maddy?
09:31 "Just a human being, Maddy. Don't forget the lights and the shutters, okay? Did we
09:39 have an old umbrella?"
09:41 In the show, Maddy has a brief cameo as a worker in Dexter's cafe as he heads off to
09:45 meet Emma at the ill-fated house viewing. For the people who didn't read the book,
09:50 she held no significance.
09:51 "They will be disappointed not to see you. I hear you're a local celebrity."
09:56 But in the novel, Maddy is a big part. After Emma's demise, Maddy is there when Dex is
10:02 grieving, trying to support her friend. Eventually, this leads to the two getting together. Maddy
10:08 helps him process the devastating event while also respecting Emma's memory. It shows
10:13 that life does go on. In the series, Dex's dad is with Dexter and Jazz in Edinburgh before
10:20 ducking out when the duo goes up to Arthur's seat. In the book, that role is played by
10:25 Maddy.
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10:49 Number 1. Mourn Together
10:56 In the final episode, during the second anniversary of Emma's passing on St. Swithin's Day,
11:01 the characters close to Emma arrive to support Dex. Those involved include Ian, Dex's dad
11:07 Stephen, Killy, Sylvie, and Jasmine. It's a heartwarming moment that shows how loved
11:13 she was. And Dexter is. In the book, Dex speaks to some of these people over the phone. Preferring
11:28 to be alone, he goes through a list of people to check in with them. He chats with Emma's
11:33 parents, his sister and father, Sylvie, Jasmine, Tilly, and Ian. When it gets too much, and
11:39 Dex is tempted to drown his sorrows, he finally calls Maddie, who calms his spiral. Having
11:45 everyone turn up is more uplifting, while the novel version is arguably more realistic.
11:57 What's the best TV show that was previously a film? Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Westworld?
12:03 M*A*S*H? Or something else? Let us know in the comments.
12:22 [music]
12:30 [BLANK_AUDIO]