There is nothing to praise in this smug and faithless adaptation of the novels. The series includes episodes that did not occur between Mapp and Lucia, muddled others and overplayed episodes. The subtlety of the novels is lost. The characters became hideous pastiches and there was no chemistry. I could believe in none of the characters. Mapp was turned into a vicious monster, Major Flint into a leering dipsomaniac, Diva into a silly shrill woman and the list just goes on. Even more disappointing was the lack of any sense of motivation or depth to the characters, in particular I felt there was no chemistry between Georgie and Lucia. The epitome of the failure of this adaptation was when staff at an hotel were seen to be speculating about Georgie's homosexuality and toupee. This treated the audience as idiots, as if this had to be spelled out. The novels never included direct reference to sex and that is part of their very humour. Steve Pemberton who wrote the screenplay and played Georgie claims to be a fan of the novels, but he should hang his head in shame if this is this is how he honours the novels in a television adaptation.

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

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.

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.