This series lit up lockdown evenings and remains a happy bit of escapism we could all do with.
The detractors in other reviews either think Mrs Hall is too young, love the 1970s series so much they can't bear a remake, or complain it contains things not in the books. Including: 'It's not as though it was originally fiction.' Er, yes, it was! Loosely based on the author's life, but not an autobiography. And (unlike, for eg, the dreadful Peter Rabbit movie), there's nothing jarringly out of character or tone to the books.
It's natural that if you love a series, a remake is likely to seem 'wrong'. But I wonder if anyone minded much back in the '70s when the original Helen suddenly changed into a completely different person (actress)?
Robert Hardy's Siegfried had two settings: loud, and contrary. The real man he was based upon was apparently far more eccentric. Samuel West's Siegfried has more depth - we know why he reacts as he does to various situations, he's not two-dimensional.
The 2020s series does flesh out all the key characters: why they behave as they do.
The old episode I saw recently didn't show Mrs Hall at all, but is it so bad to develop a minor character, whose original role was presumably to serve meals and do the housework? As a fictional character, does she have to be drab and late-middle-aged and confined to the kitchen?
One odd gripe I spotted was that one episode featured a cricket match. Should no series set in England or Wales feature cricket, because some overseas audiences wouldn't 'get it'?! Few people outside the USA play baseball, American football, or basketball, but that doesn't bother their film or TV programme makers!
Also funny are the complaints that the actors today don't actually put their hands inside cows! That may have been acceptable in the past, but the 2020s series don't 'do' anything to animals that would distress them in any way.
I like that the 2020s series don't have too many miserable storylines. But perhaps some viewers wish to see sick animals and distraught owners, or farmers losing precious stock? Lighten up and enjoy a series where nothing dreadful happens and all problems are sorted by the end credits.
The detractors in other reviews either think Mrs Hall is too young, love the 1970s series so much they can't bear a remake, or complain it contains things not in the books. Including: 'It's not as though it was originally fiction.' Er, yes, it was! Loosely based on the author's life, but not an autobiography. And (unlike, for eg, the dreadful Peter Rabbit movie), there's nothing jarringly out of character or tone to the books.
It's natural that if you love a series, a remake is likely to seem 'wrong'. But I wonder if anyone minded much back in the '70s when the original Helen suddenly changed into a completely different person (actress)?
Robert Hardy's Siegfried had two settings: loud, and contrary. The real man he was based upon was apparently far more eccentric. Samuel West's Siegfried has more depth - we know why he reacts as he does to various situations, he's not two-dimensional.
The 2020s series does flesh out all the key characters: why they behave as they do.
The old episode I saw recently didn't show Mrs Hall at all, but is it so bad to develop a minor character, whose original role was presumably to serve meals and do the housework? As a fictional character, does she have to be drab and late-middle-aged and confined to the kitchen?
One odd gripe I spotted was that one episode featured a cricket match. Should no series set in England or Wales feature cricket, because some overseas audiences wouldn't 'get it'?! Few people outside the USA play baseball, American football, or basketball, but that doesn't bother their film or TV programme makers!
Also funny are the complaints that the actors today don't actually put their hands inside cows! That may have been acceptable in the past, but the 2020s series don't 'do' anything to animals that would distress them in any way.
I like that the 2020s series don't have too many miserable storylines. But perhaps some viewers wish to see sick animals and distraught owners, or farmers losing precious stock? Lighten up and enjoy a series where nothing dreadful happens and all problems are sorted by the end credits.
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