Customer Reviews

Mapp & Lucia, Set 1 [VHS]

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4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm a fan of the E.F. Benson books that form the basis for this series. The highlight of my trip to England a few years ago was visiting the charming town of Rye (called Tilling in the Lucia books), where Benson lived and this series was filmed. But I must say that I like the TV production, thanks to the inspired comic performances, even more than the books.

In particular, Geraldine McEwan (also in Barchester Chronicles) is exquisite. Her little comic mannerisms are absolutely hilarious, and she makes the character endearing in a way that I never thought possible. Again, "inspired" is the only appropriate word.

The same with the much-missed Nigel Hawthorne's Georgie. Absolutely perfect casting. And Prunella Scales (of Fawlty Towers fame) bites into her less-sympathetic role of Mapp and does not let go until she wrings every last laugh from it. As is particularly true for British series, the supporting cast is also excellent at bringing their own eccentric characters to life in just a few brushstrokes.

I was very much looking forward to the Mapp and Lucia DVD, because I had not seen this series since it was televised in the mid-1980s. I'm happy to say that the DVD quality is excellent, and my opinion of the series has only elevated through time. Many British comedies have come and gone in the years since Mapp and Lucia, but it remains the most delightful, in my book.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the series is highly addictive, so after enjoying this one you'll likely want to immediately buy the second series, also available on DVD.

Just a word of warning for new M&L viewers: the comedy from this series depends on the extremely eccentric cast of characters rather than pratfalls and such. As a result, a whole episode can be a set up for one very funny puchline but there are a lot of subtle jabs in between. If this sounds good to you, read on!

I have never read the book on which this series is based so I have no comment on how good the adaptation is. All I can say is I know good British humor when I see it.

Lucia is an elegant, controlling, eccentric widow who moves into the small town of Tilling. The queen of Tilling is Mapp, a dowdy spinster who keeps control of the populace through manipulation. At first, all is sweetness between the ladies and then more and more venom creeps into their actions. Before long, it is a deliciously civilized social war.

Other amusing characters include Georgie, Lucia's effeminate best friend/suitor; Quaint Irene, a zany modern artist who dresses like a boy; Diva, a silly woman who jumps sides depending on who is winning; the Wises, Mrs. Wise wears a fur coat in the middle of summer; and Major Benjy, Mapp's suitor, a military man who shouts in Hindi and is often drunk.

I found the first tape in the set to be rather dull but things picked up near the end of the second tape and by the third, I was hooked. I suggest watching the whole set before making a judgement.

One last note, I don't know who designed the costumes but they deserve an award of some sort. Each character is dressed perfectly for their personality.

Any fans of the comedy/drama (dramedy?) will find these shows to be a delight. (If you can afford it, buy both sets at once, you will be hungry for more after this)

American sit-com actors should be forced to watch this series to see how highly trained actors can be funny without being cardboard and predictable. We all know people like Mapp and Lucia, although people like Georgie are a little harder to come by. Of course social pretensions are meat and potatoes to British satirists: "Keeping Up Appearances" being the best example. But keep your eye on the sheer brilliance of the techniques of this cast, right down to the smallest roles. The little town in which this takes place is inhabited by utterly believable beings and the things they do are equally believable. Well, perhaps floating out to sea on a kitchen table during a flood is an exception, but the reactions of the townsfolk are exactly what flawed mortals would display under similar circumstances. This set is a real right-on winner: what I have to call a Grabbit. (And yet I found some who find such sophisticated comedy not to their taste. Well, I never!) Note: the second series somehow does not quite live up to the standards set by this one but is still lightyears more stylish than anything on commercial primetime.

The, er, jewels in the crown of 1980s British costume drama are generally assumed to be 'The Jewel in the Crown' and 'Brideshead Revisited'. To these eyes, at least, the need of those serials to be scrupulously faithful to their highbrow literary sources resulted in programmes that were overlong and dramatically inert. For me, they are superceded by the likes of 'The Irish R.M.' and 'Mapp and Lucia'.

Because these are based on so-called 'light' literature, the adapters feel freer to rework the material, to create more narratively coherent plots, to play with characters. 'Mapp and Lucia', from its glorious opening credit sequence, a diarama painting of our heroines and the coastal surroundings of Tilling, and that movingly nostalgic English waltz theme, is a beloved comic gem, an art-deco piece of period stylisation about the civilised 'war' between two dotty dames in the middle-class nouveau-rich society of a provincial backwater.

There is no attempt at period realism; rather, director McWhinnie and writer Savory adopt the modes of contemporary musical comedy and comic theatre, emphasising the artificial sets, the insane costumes, the preposterous affectations, gestures and dialogue, with which a series of glorious marionettes go through their demented, hysterically funny motions.

Because TV doesn't take the same interest in its past as cinema, the quality of the print is a little faded and grey; otherwise, make sure you watch this box-set early in the morning, because you will not be able to stop - it is more compulsive than the best suspense thrillers.

I first saw this production on PBS in the eighties. I was immediately enthralled, and I have watched it frequently ever since. Each role is protrayed with pinpoint accuracy by each performer. The adaptation is very close to the novel with one noticeable exception -- the absence of "the mouse", Evie Bartlett, the Vicar's wife. Although I enjoy her in the books, most people will not miss her. This boxed set is better than the second set for three reasons: the tempo is slower and seems to fit the feel of the novel more closely, more of the detail and texture are apparent (probably related to more time), and the adaptation follows the original text far more directly. This set encompasses ONE Lucia book; the second set covers three novels, I believe.

All considered, this is one of my most treasured possessions, and I highly recommend it.

Set in 1930 in the English Cotswolds, this 1984 production (which is presented on two boxed sets with five 50-minute episodes per set) is a slightly quirky British drawing-room comedy revolving around two domineering women, both used to being "top dog" in their respective communities, who end up residing in the same small village of Tilling. Miss Elizabeth Mapp is the current resident, whose position at the centre of her small society is threatened by the flash, air-assuming newcomer, Mrs. Emily Lucas ("Lucia", as she prefers to be called).

Geraldine McEwan (Mulberry, Barchester Chronicles) is impeccably cast as the wealthy, elegant, widow Lucia, a woman with a strong personality and a flair for the dramatic. Her vocabulary is peppered with the Italian, a language in which she is only too happy to let others think she is fluent. She provides (at least initially) a little spice, excitement, and mystique for the villagers in humdrum Tilling. But she is also a woman who knows well how to get what she wants, and her grace, smiles, and impeccable manners belie a shrewd and cunning mind.

Mapp (Fawlty Towers' Prunella Scales) is a somewhat dowdy, unwealthy spinster, not to mention an insufferable busybody. So it is no wonder she is less than thrilled that Lucia, having decided to leave her home in Riseholme for pastures new, has set her sights on Mapp's terrain. But Mapp, though lacking Lucia's elegance, wealth, and marital status, is not willing to relinquish her position without a fight. Watching the episodes (which are serial in nature) is a bit like watching a game of chess between unequals. In essence, each woman, with an abundance of outward grace and politeness, seeks to establish (or reassert) her position by bringing the other down a peg or two. Lucia is clearly cleverer and at times seems to toy with Mapp as a cat does with a mouse. But Mapp is nothing if not determined and we wonder is she will, after all, succeed in toppling the grand Lucia.

As for a few of the other characters: Lucia is joined by her devoted friend Georgie (Yes (Prime) Minister's Nigel Hawthorne), a rather effeminate, toupee-sporting chap who enjoys painting and petit point. She is also adored by Quaint Irene, a trouser-wearing, cigar-smoking, eccentric local artist who doesn't hesitate to speak her mind and thoroughly enjoys watching the sparring match between Mapp and Lucia. There's also the gruff, masculine, and perennially intoxicated Major Benjy, whose habit of summoning servants with a bellowing "quay-hi" does not endear him to them. Mapp's closest friend is a dowdy and rather timid woman named Diva, to whom Mapp is less than kind at times.

In conclusion, albeit a tad quirky at times (like the time the two rivals get swept out to sea on the kitchen table!), I would recommend this series to anyone looking for a delightful, relaxing, and gently humorous drawing-room comedy. It is dialogue-based (as opposed to physical) comedy. In other words, if you're looking for pratfalls, action, hard laughs, or a fast-paced, in-your-face comedy, then you'd best look elsewhere. The pace here is leisurely, the dialogue is deliciously witty and intelligent, and the humour wonderfully subtle, with often as much conveyed through body language--be it the raising of an eyebrow, the sharp intake of breath, or the tensing of a muscle--as through words itself.

An almost word-for-word dramatisation of the hysterical book by E. F. Benson, wonderfully played. Prunella Scales could not be better as Miss Mapp (she even has the walk down) and Geraldine MacEwan matches her as Lucia (although physically she doesn't resemble the description of Lucia in the book). Made with the care and attention to detail that the British television industry excels in, you will enjoy every moment of these tapes. I wish they had made the other four.

Here are the ingredients: It's the early Thirties in the small English seaside town of Tilling. The doyen of Tilling society is Miss Elizabeth Mapp (Prunella Scales). Mapp is a gallumphing social climber of a certain age, unhesitatingly two-faced and who smiles broadly at you while she thinks suspicious thoughts. Into Tilling one summer comes the wealthy Emmeline "Lucia" Lucas (Geraldine McEwan), a purring social strategist. With her is Georgie Pillson (Nigel Hawthorne), her long-standing pal, who does embroidery, plays duets with Lucia on the piano and loves to chat with the upper set. His greatest concerns seem to be Lucia's happiness, his own comforts and his toupee. When Lucia decides to stay in Tilling, war is soon declared with Mapp to determine who will be the town's social queen.

Mapp & Lucia is an acquired taste. The only sensible people seem to be the servants. The social set which revolves around Lucia and Mapp are all largely unlikable, yet they gradually become endearing and amusing. There's Major Flint, ramrod straight even when he's downed too much liquid, which is often. Quaint Irene Coles is a free spirit who does what she likes, smokes a pipe and paints unconventional pictures, usually of female nudes. Mrs. Susan Wylie is a formidable and condescendingly gracious lady who, her bowing husband often points out, received an MBE from the King himself. Lucia, played by McEwan, is like a sly cat, very satisfied with herself and plotting not-so-subtle social victories over Mapp. And if Lucia is a cat, Mapp is more like a flummoxed but stubborn pug.

This is a program of high manners, of exaggerated and merciless social pretensions. If you stay with it, it's also very funny. The leads, Geraldine McEwan, Prunella Scales and Nigel Hawthorne, do marvelous jobs of creating characters so odd and self-involved that you can't help starting to like them. Mapp is so clueless you at times root for her. Lucia is so sly it's rather nice to realize she would never slide the social knife in too far...well, not unless she had to. And Georgie, so ineffectual without his servants, so fey, so devoted to Lucia and so utterly light weight; he's actually a nice fellow if you can manage to make enough inconsequential small talk to get to know him.

There are five one-hour episodes in the first series and five more in the second. While each episode is more-or-less self-contained, they all form one long story line. The DVD transfer is very good.

This TV dramatisation is a superb realisation of the intense and grand rivalries of the two would-be leaders of small town society in the 1920s world of Tilling, poking fun at pretension and social rivalry. It is difficult to believe that the leading roles of Mapp, Lucia and Georgie could be better cast and the supporting roles all bring joy. Au reservoir.

I have only recently made the acquaintance of Mrs. Emmeline "Lucia" Lucas and Miss Elizabeth Mapp, but must enthusiastically share that I have found their company nothing short of intoxicating! The rapier wit and biting repartee exchanged between the two leading ladies is brilliant and extremely diverting. I particularly adore the incomparably divine Geraldine McEwan as the benignly crafty Lucia, with her overblown use of Italian, insistence on "La Musica" [i.e., her piano recitals after each dinner party she hosts], and endless plots to subvert the Queen Motherhood of Tilling's [the seaside town in which the series is set] social scene from under the domineering Mapp's nose. Prunella Scales is noteworthy as well, acting the frustrated Mapp to a tee.

Also delightful is the late, great Nigel Hawthorne playing the effete dilettante Georgie Pillson, Lucia's closest confidante and unfailing supporter. The two dear friends (Lucia and her precious "Georgino mio") have their own share of scuttles, which are amusing as well. The supporting cast -- the Major, Quaint Irenie, Godiva, the Padre, the servants -- are excellently played and only add to the fun as Lucia and Mapp cordially battle for pre-eminence.

Anyone who appreciates superb writing and classic wit will be sure to share my exuberance over this small-screen adaptation of Mapp & Lucia -- so for now, as they say in Tilling, AU RESERVOIR!