CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

jzc008 It is inevitable that there will be comparisons with the earlier 1980's production and I agree that some of them are justifiably unfavourable and many would agree that the cast of McEwan/Scales/Hawthorn etc. was a tough act to follow.However I think it is unfair to compare the two as its often the case that we deem subsequent productions of any TV show or movie to be inferior to the original because we form our opinions on the first one that we see. It would be interesting to get a consensus of reviews for the new series from people who have never seen the original to see what they thought without being influenced by it.I've read the books several times and also have the original series on a set of DVD's but still enjoyed this new series. Having said that I did find some of the acting a little unconvincing at first but I felt this did improve as it progressed. I also thought that bringing in the Guru (from a prior time in the book) was a great mistake but then it was nice that the vicar's wife 'Evie' was included as she was omitted in the original. Many things in the book were not included in the first series which ran for ten episodes so it was always going to be difficult to do justice to the book in just three episodes, although perhaps there will be further episodes if this series is successful.Hopefully the new production will introduce E.F.Benson's Mapp and Lucia to a wider audience who may then read the books and view the original series.

artistmuse It's too bad there aren't more programs like this instead of the mind numbing talentless wannabe cry fest shows like Brittan is talentless or yawn factor.....Great characters and witty scripts. I hope they make another series. I can understand why many don't get this as it is clever and intelligent. If you have a discerning taste in comedy then you will love it! If Borat is more your style you will be bored and miss the point all together. Steve Pemberton is very talented and he works so well in an ensemble cast full of talented actors and actresses. I would love to see more from Steve Pemberton. This reminds me of Agatha Christie and PG Woodhouse and it is a very similar to Blandings in tone and character.

Btonchav A truly masterful portrayal of what is around us in parochial England . Having enjoyed and seen the previous 1980s series the acting is faultless in the 2014 series with careful referencing to EF Benson in style . The set for the reconstruction of the garden room is exquisite and direction pulls no punches in showing the viewer what exists in middle class england with folk that are bored minds and think up mischief. I found it highly amusing in true style of the league of gentleman team . I do hope that another series will follow from Rye to compliment this series . Very glad that messrs Gatiss and Pembertpn have contributed to this genre of comedy

Prismark10 The BBC version of Mapp & Lucia was adapted by Steve Pemberton who also appeared with his The League of Gentlemen collaborator, Mark Gatiss.Miranda Richardson plays Mapp with a shark like toothy smile, Anna Chancellor is Lucia a manipulative woman trying to pass as accomplished and both ladies vie in a game of acidic one upwomanship as outrageous snobs in the town of Tilling.The version has been compared unfavourably to the Channel 4 version from the mid 1980s and frankly this was a misfire. The first episode dragged with the highlight being Chancellor dressing up as Elizabeth the First in a parody of Richardson's own portrayal as a brattish Elizabeth in Blackadder 2. The second episode was better as the cook from the Bengali restaurant pretending to be a guru and swindling everyone but by this time the audience had dwindled and they did not return for the final episode where Lucia tried to pass as a fluent Italian speaker as she puts on a music recital.The episodes were bitty, never really flowed and never truly engaged and even after the poor first episode had a tendency to be heavy going. After the recent poor version of Blandings by the BBC, this was a notch above that but this types of acidic-comic adaptations of books are more a state of mind, difficult to bring to the screen for a mass audience to enjoy and this serial should had gone out on BBC2.