It's interesting to see Shakespeare works told in a modern way. Especially when they are as conscious of it as the BBC version of Much Ado About Nothing. There were many hints and references to Shakespeare's time period and his other works, making this retelling even more fun than it already was.
Changing the language to a more contemporary one was a good idea. As good as the Joss Wheadon adaptation was, it still is a bit odd hearing people in a contemporary setting not speaking contemporary English. Even if the dialogue wasn't exactly the same, it still worked and told the same story. It's a testament to Shakespeare's stories and characters. You can literally remove all the dialogue, change the setting, and even modify character names but the story and way the characters act can stay the same and still work.
It's great seeing an adaptation like this, of a Shakespeare work, that works so well. It is made accessible with the language change and setting modification, and in that a whole new audience can learn to enjoy it. The audience daunted by reading Shakespeare can find a great version that is easy to understand and great fun all the way through.
