Mapp & Lucia (2014) User Reviews

Worth watching

[jzc008 · 7/10 · 6 January 2015]

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.

Inspires me to read the books!

[helenbrennecke · 8/10 · 5 June 2015]

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!

good stuff, but

[manschelde-1 · 8/10 · 1 January 2015]

Good script, fast paced. Altogether entertaining. Colour palette seems rather dark and sombre compared to the insouciant sweet lightness of the C4 original. Anna Chancellor: a bit too butch for the part, too threatening, a bit sour, missed a fragility and joyfulness that McEwan got. Actress portraying Irene (Gemma Whelan) was much better and more credible than the original actress. Miranda Richardson very good, copied some mannerisms of Prunella Scales interpretation I thought. Pemberton also very good, copied Hawthorne's mannerisms in places. Chemistry between Pemberton and Chancellor was not right or credible somehow. Frances Barber - hammy over the top but delightful. All other actors and actresses worked really well. The final shot of Pilsen and Irene apparently bonded surprised me.

I loved Geraldine McKewan and Prunella Scales

[wheatgrp · 28 March 2020]

This was a minor disappointment. The cast really doesn't hold a candle to the original. The costumes of the first were much better although in this version they looked more like 1930's clothing.

Superb brilliant excellent

[cliffmacdev · 10/10 · 3 December 2015]

It's been a long time since I've thoroughly enjoyed anything this good. I'm an extremely discerning viewer and I'm at a complete lost re what some reviewers were watching. Queenie, Miranda Richardson, was simply brilliant and so too was the scrumptious Anna Chancellor. Every character was brilliantly cast. I would certainly like previous reviewers to state other shows that could possibly match this level of viewing. I would so be eternally grateful. It's faultless television and probably better than Jeeves and Wooster. How has the acting world bypass Miranda Richardson whose talents are simply stupendous. Her facial expressions were magnificent and too funny. The wittisms, OMG!! Absolutely brilliant. Au Reservoir!

Wonderful satire of female one-upmanship in a small town

[Cheeseandchocolatemonster · 10/10 · 1 January 2015]

Set in the chocolate-box town of Rye in Sussex, this English comedy of manners was easily the best thing on British television this Christmas, as far as I am concerned. I just wish the BBC had produced more than three episodes of "Mapp and Lucia", although I have a sneaky suspicion there will be more in the pipeline.

Based on a series of humorous novels written by EF Benson in the 1920s and 1930s, series one begins with the pretentious Lucia arriving to spend the summer in Tilling (Rye) with her effeminate male friend Georgie in tow. Lucia renews her acquaintance with bumptious Miss Mapp, the queen bee of Tilling (in her estimation anyway), and from there on in, the two ladies lock horns.

"Mapp and Lucia" has a cast of the most eccentric characters, who create the most absurd situations. This could be dismissed as pure froth in pretty scenery, except the author has created (for me anyway), instantly recognisable people and written the most wonderful lines for them. English middle-class aspirations and affectations are ridiculed, as the protagonists compete socially, involving the hapless inhabitants of Tilling in their increasingly frenetic plots.

The critics have compared this TV series unfavourably with an earlier one starring Prunella Scales and Geraldine McEwan. Having neither read the books or seen the 1980s version, I am not in the position to comment. However, I shall immediately be watching all three episodes again on BBC iPlayer, and ordering the DVD when they are out.

"Au Reservoir"

Cheeseandchocolatemonster

Life and times in small town Sussex

[dan.adams · 7/10 · 10 January 2015]

I think I know my "Benson(and Holt etc)".I watched this entertaining contemporary take on Lucia's progress with great interest.Longitudinally,Mapp is Lucia's nemesis.What ever is going on in Lucia's busy social life there is always an awful possibility Mapp will pop up.She,well,is not a nice person.One thing I'd like to suggest to the makers of this current series,your production is absolutely sumptuous with fine views of Rye and environs,please don't truncate stories to fit time slots.Two tales ought never be abridged,"War and Peace" and "Mapp & Lucia". That said,there is now surely enough written material to make a longer series than "Downton Abbey"!

Anna Chancellor Is The Star In This Production

[lynnkear · 8/10 · 24 January 2021]

I have seen both Mapp & Lucia adaptations and prefer this one. The two leads, Anna Chancellor and Miranda Richardson, are excellent. Also, since this is a 21st century version it has a more modern feel.

The 1980s version feels like a stage play, while this seems more like what it is--a limited TV series. The previous adaptation is also ten episodes as opposed to three. The story in the 2014 version is charmingly told. The conclusion is satisfying, though it leaves the possibility for a sequel.

The key difference between the two versions for me is the Lucia character. I normally love Geraldine McEwan, but McEwan's performance is hammy, while Chancellor is the better, more subtle performer as Lucia. For some reason, perhaps direction, McEwan decided to use a baby talk voice that eventually became unbearable to me. I cannot stand to hear a grown woman talk like a toddler, and McEwan's performance became cringey.

Another important difference between the two is how the gay subtext is handled. In the 2014 version the gay characters have a lot more depth and poignancy. Overall, as I said, this is the better version to me, but watch both and reach your own opinion.

Characters & Costumes are splendid.

[prodsol · 7/10 · 28 October 2020]

1930's in UK, English humor, proper-educated persons who enjoy a good amount of gossip. The polite scarcasim is an experience that only few can carry on! The inclusion of Guru to teach yoga proves that saying "everything old is new again"

The return of "Silly - Ass" comedy with 100mph delivery.......

[ianlouisiana · 10/10 · 1 January 2015]

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.

Having not seen the Channel 4 80s series I LOVED this

[abbieb0809 · 8/10 · 15 January 2015]

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.

A typical example of dumb-down TV

[grumbla · 2/10 · 3 January 2015]

This production goes down as one of the worst adaptations I have ever seen. I would urge all those who have given it positive reviews to read E. F. Benson's Mapp and Lucia books, and ask themselves which is the more potent and skilfully crafted version, Benson's original, or the current BBC version. I think it would also help to compare the current version with the one produced by LWT in 1985.

The 1985 adaptation of the final three books kept faith, on the whole, with the original masterpieces, although some of the material - and subtlety - had to be left out, presumably due to dramatic and time constraints.

The 2014 offering consisted of a mishmash of threads drawn not only from the later novels set in Tilling, but also from the first one, set in Riseholme. I really can't see the point of transplanting the guru/curry cook from an earlier Riseholme story into a much later one, set in a completely different location, with different characters (apart from Lucia and Georgie). Sadly it seems to be all too fashionable these days to distort the original material to such an extent that the result becomes almost meaningless.

However, I also take issue with the quality of acting in the 2014 version. I usually admire Anna Chancellor's work, but her 'take' on Lucia I found unconvincing; it was rather two-dimensional, and paled in comparison with Geraldine McEwan's and Benson's creations. Steve Pemberton's portrayal of Georgie I found quite insipid and shallow - a charge I would level at nearly all the cast. The worst disappointment, though, was Miranda Richardson. Her representation of Elizabeth Mapp I found to be quite ridiculous, and often embarrassingly over-acted to the point of farce. I am puzzled as to how she could possibly interpret such a skilfully drawn character in this clownish way? All in all, here was a missed opportunity, and, dare I say, a waste of money. To my mind, this is a classic example of 'dumb-down TV'.

Thoroughly Enjoyed this series

[Btonchav · 10/10 · 2 January 2015]

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

Loved It!

[artistmuse · 9/10 · 4 January 2015]

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.

Fabulous

[bowmansarah-71823 · 9/10 · 16 December 2018]

Just the most hilarious comedy about two busybody social climbers. Costumes are to die for. Lightweight but perfectly executed. I wish there were more episodes.

Tellingly Excellent

[lee-27878 · 10/10 · 26 August 2016]

M&L, a show I would normally not even give the time of day, however, I 'stumbled' across it, & just watched the 3 part series for the second time. Normally, I am not a person who writes reviews on anything, food, hotels, but was horrified to read several very sad and damming reviews. I thought this series was hilarious, seems like the crew involved in getting this up and running were in-sync to capture the audience, even in a northern, tropical, coastal town in Australia. I was cringing (with joy) at the antics the characters were led, to create their deceptive ways. Thought all the characters were a brilliantly cast group, the plots & schemes totally hilarious. There is one very unfortunate item. The series has such a flowing, strong, story trail to continue production on further shows, but, apparently, and sadly, this is not happening. I think the network here in Australia that ran the series, made a gross error in running the 3 episodes over 3 days. Perhaps, to enhance the experience should have run one episode per week. Initially, I had no idea there were only 3 parts. For what it's worth, that's my take on this delightful production .... brilliant, 5 star!!

Fabulous adaptation, only one minor criticism

[graham_duell · 9/10 · 12 May 2021]

I loved the 1985 ITV production and was delighted when the BBC decided to bring their own delightful version to us in 2014. It's a shame there are only 3 episodes, it would be great to see more, but I think the moment may have passed now. At the risk of sounding pedantic, I checked the Bank of England calculator tool that gives today's monetary value year by year. The figure quoted for the weekly rental of 'Mallards' by Mapp is 15 guineas. During the mid 1930s, this would equate to about £1400. As beautiful a house it is, surely this figure is a bit over the top? Just a thought....

Not in the spirit of Benson's books

[ApolloBoy109 · 5/10 · 3 June 2021]

There is a mean streak throughout episode one like a fly buzzing around my head. The light, humor-sprinkled delightful dialog is missing from this version. We have two very talented actresses playing down the humor. Were they directed in this fashion?

The original Mapp & Lucia (1985) was brilliantly performed by all quality actors who understood the material. Character Quaint Irene was a poor lesbian artist wearing manly attire. The new Irene isn't anything. Major Bengi was a humorous drunk but not weirdly creepy as the new one.

I was so let down, almost as much as the remake of All Creatures Great and Small which I stopped watching after the second episode because it did not have the spirit of the relationships from the book that the original version embraced.

Utterly wonderful

[reeves-51861 · 10/10 · 14 October 2021]

Charming, hilarious, eccentric and thoroughly enjoyable. It has been a long time since a show has given me so much pleasure. Miranda Richardson is amazing as Mapp. More please.

Brilliant

[barrymcleod-21773 · 10/10 · 25 February 2024]

All I can say is that this version is a pure pleasure. I have read the books and the previous TV series, which was also excellent. However, the glorious sunny feel to this production just feels particularly special. I wish the cast could recreate some of the other books. If only. Must have watched this 5 or 6 times! Difficult to pick any in the cast who stand out, as the whole cast work brilliantly together. Also yearn to visit some of the locations as the place looks idlyic. Stephen Pemberton, who I think adapted this story for this TV version has done an amazing job. Come on Stephen, get cracking on the next one.

Great fun!

[Kay777 · 9/10 · 13 June 2022]

I was introduced to the Lucia series mwfmty years ago and have read the books many times over the years. I thoroughly enjoyed the earlier series, so watched this one predisposed to find it lacking.

I was delighted to to discover it was as much fun as the earlier series.

The actors do Benson proud, imho. If you enjoy Benson, don't miss this series.

Thank God...

[wjacobs-64804 · 2/10 · 10 August 2022]

.. that there were only three episodes of this over acted disaster. How such talented people could together produce such tripe is puzzling. Every character is exaggerated to the extreme. The scenery is its only saving grace. Do yourself a favor and watch the original 1980's series and see how it could/should have been done.

A travesty

[dolly434 · 1/10 · 1 January 2015]

I love the works of E F Benson - he wrote beautifully with razor sharp and believable characters. No one involved with this production has a clue or the ability to translate this with subtlety or elegance. One question - will Miranda Richardson with her new teeth be able to do public appearances for Ken Dodd? Just look how Prunella scales achieved a more dramatic effect with her own!! There is nothing like the performances of the 1985 version - at least Major Benjy was bumbling and likable - not creepy!!! The 2014 version would make a great pantomime. Shows how times have changed - dumbed down to the lowest level. What a shame.

A try, but not a hit.

[ekontrovitz · 4/10 · 26 September 2021]

Not nearly as good as the original! It lacked the delicious catty styling and the pettiness that made the original hilarious. Miranda Richardson is just not as good in the part of Miss Mapp as Prunella Scales was, even though she obviously is trying to copy her style. The interior designs of the houses are awful as well. The rest of the cast is also dull by comparison to the originals.

On measuring enjoyment I gave this BBC series 3 out of 10

[irishsounds · 3/10 · 1 January 2015]

It is perhaps a bit unfair to make direct comparisons between productions, but that is in fact what we tend do and what most experts do when reviewing food, music, and also films.

I found this BBC production of Mapp and Lucia somewhat lacking especially when measured on my simple enjoyment scales. I am not the only one with that opinion.

The BBC production has many very fine features. It is shot in HD with excellent camera work. It is quite lavish and sports excellent settings and attention to detail. The cast are a most capable bunch. So what can I blame for the lack of enjoyment when compared to the Channel 4 1980ies production? The fault may probably lie with the adaptation and the direction.

There was more of a darker underside to the BBC adaptation, with a lot less of the lightness and comedy found in the Channel 4 production. The gossip and carry-on was portrayed as much more acidic, mean and destructive. The overall effect left a slightly bitter aftertaste, which for a comedy is not great in my book.

I have watched the Channel 4 production at least four times over the years, and enjoyed it each and every time.

I do not think that I will be able to say the same for this current BBC production.