Mapp & Lucia (2014)

I'm a bit late in the day, having only just seen part of the 2014 series on the Freeview Drama channel. I'm afraid this was inferior to the 1980s version...but that had the advantage of 10 episodes. Three episodes means compression - and that usually means distortion. Sorry to say, this 2014 version completely missed the books' flavour which was so well caught in the earlier series.I was puzzled by some changes: for example, on the page and in the earlier version Irene Coles is an impoverished artist who, for part of the time, lives in a shack; in the three-parter she is as expensively dressed as the object of her (made explicit) affection. The books are not hard to find, so do please read them: you will find them a constant source of pleasure.

As an Australian born in the mid 1980s, I admit I never saw the previous Mapp & Lucia TV adaption and I haven't unfortunately come across E.F. Benson's novels.Having made that disclaimer and confessed my ignorance, I have to say I love watching this BBC version (even if only on my iPad in bed late at night). Having read other reviews, I am now inspired to read the novels and (time permitting) dig out the 80s TV adaptation. I think the casting and acting is fabulous. The town is colorful, picturesque and exiting. The take on 1930s fashion (costume design) I find eccentrically appropriate and exciting to behold. Overall very fun and amusing viewing!

I really didn't think I would like this but as each episode played I grew to love it more and more and was actually quite upset when it finished. I've been to Rye and so got a lot out of watching the series and trying to familiarise myself with the streets and the extraordinary church. I thought each character was well cast and I loved the cat and mouse games between Mapp and Lucia and not knowing what plot each one would come up with next. I thought Miranda Richardson was fantastic in her portrayal of Mapp, including her fake teeth and the way it forced her to talk.... very funny. The characterisation was brilliant, as was the set and the way Tilling looked exactly as you would imagine. Had I seen the 1980's version I would be able to understand why a few of these reviews favour the former series, however I feel in love with it and just wish there were another series to follow.

Something of an acquired taste this sumptuous feast of cloche hats,monocles,unrestrained snobbery and raised eyebrows,"Mapp and Lucia" digs deep into the British tradition of self - mocking Camp,with arch characters few of whom bear any resemblance to anybody living or indeed anybody living in the period it's set in. But don't let that spoil the fun of watching some fine thesps exceeding their wildest dreams of theatricality as they chew the scenery with unaccustomed relish. This particularly applies to the eponymous characters played with joy unrestrained by Mesdames Chancellor and Richardson who can rarely have had so much fun and remained sober. The great Mr S.Pemberton has tweaked the script and(who can blame him) given his part as Georgie Miss Chancellor's GBF a bit of a flip,and as is his wont,manages to steal the whole show from under the noses of those higher up the bill. It is the story of rivalry between two not particularly likable middle - class women in a small Sussex town apparently stuck in the Edwardian era.Each desperate to outdo the other in social climbing,it could well be adapted to the 21st century,but happily,Mr Pemberton has resisted that temptation and we are treated to a procession of glorious automobiles,wonderful dresses and cobbled English streets,a Vicar from the Black Country who assumes a Scottish accent to increase his credibility,and a number of sexually ambivalent characters who are a little more subtle than might be more usual today. There are also some subtleties in the writing that repay attention to the dialogue when the temptation is to be swept away by all the frivolity. I recommend this wholeheartedly to those seeking respite from the annual Christmas assault on the sensibilities that the TV companies seem to think their captive audience will endure whilst munching mince pies.