29 December (2014-12-29)– 31 December 2014 (2014-12-31)
Mapp & Lucia is a British drama television series that was first broadcast on BBC One from 29 to 31 December 2014. The three-part series, adapted by Steve Pemberton and directed by Diarmuid Lawrence, is based on E. F. Benson's Mapp and Lucia series of novels.[1][2] The series features an ensemble cast, with Miranda Richardson and Anna Chancellor playing the eponymous characters Elizabeth Mapp and Emmeline 'Lucia' Lucas. It is set in the Sussex coastal town of Tilling, based very closely on Rye, East Sussex, where it was filmed and where Benson lived. Although attracting modest viewing figures, the series received positive reviews from critics.
It is 1930 and in the quaint Queen Anne village of Tilling and Miss Elizabeth Mapp reigns supreme over them all. Until, that is, the arrival of Mrs Emmeline 'Lucia' Lucas. With her passion for music, art and high culture of all kinds, Lucia is quite an addition to Tilling's social scene. It's not long before Mapp is indulging attempts to undermine her accomplished tenant.
2
"Episode 2"
Diarmuid Lawrence
Steve Pemberton
30December2014(2014-12-30)
2.92 (overnight)
The Tilling Summer Exhibition provides Lucia with a new battlefield to conquer. She and Georgie prepare to amaze their new friends with their artistic ability, whatever lengths they have to go to for success. Their triumphs leave Mapp in a fury until an exotic visitor passing through Tilling provides her with an opportunity to start a new trend.
3
"Episode 3"
Diarmuid Lawrence
Steve Pemberton
31December2014(2014-12-31)
2.24 (overnight)
While most of Tilling thrills to Lucia's artistic accomplishments, Mapp is convinced that her summer visitor is a fraud. Suspecting that her tenant's grasp of Italian is limited to the few phrases she may have picked up from occasional trips to the opera, Mapp thrills to the news that Tilling is to be visited by a genuine Italian contessa. This surely will call Lucia's bluff. And when Lucia goes down with a bout of influenza on the very day of the contessa's arrival, all of Mapp's suspicions seem justified.
The "guru" storyline in episode 2 is taken from E.F. Benson's first Lucia novel, Queen Lucia (1920), with Daisy Quantock being the guru's original sponsor. Transported to Tilling in this series, Diva Plaistow plays the Daisy role in the storyline.
Reception
Mapp and Lucia received positive reviews from critics. Writing for The Guardian, Julia Raeside said the series left her "champing at the bit for more".[8] In a review in The Guardian, by Euan Ferguson, he described it as the "most deliciously moreish television made [in 2014]".[9]Nina Stibbe of The Guardian said it was "marvellous" and that the characters were "as funny and charming as they should be".[10]
Ellen E. Jones of The Independent said "no doubt this series will have new readers seeking out Benson's books, and a second BBC series wouldn't go amiss either".[11] In a second review written for The Independent, Neela Debnath wrote that the actors "try their hardest", but the script "doesn't serve them well". She also compliemented the cinematography.[12] Writing on the series finale, Debnath said it was "a marked improvement on the much duller first episode".[13]
Writing for Stuff, Trevor Agnew said that "there's a lot of fun to be had" with the series, and complimented its costume design and acting.[14]
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