I don't know how a miniseries could ever have done this justice. I haven't seen the original abridged version so I have no idea how much and what parts were cut. There were several rather irritating moralising sections (I found Deb's character overall quite irritating) but I think they were probably important to show the views and social tensions in place the the time. It's amazing to think that all this really went on, and even more impressive that a pair of young women were brave enough to write and publish it!