Cheap Mapp & Lucia Series 1 (DVD) (Donald McWhinnie) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Mapp & Lucia Series 1

I had both series one and two on VHS, and was thrilled to find that series one was released on DVD, as I am moving away from tape media. Now, my only question is, when will series two be released on DVD.

Cattiness was never more genteel
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)

Delightfully Delicious!
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.