Mapp and Lucia

Usually I’m a sucker for British comedy, especially older British comedy shows. Mapp & Lucia just didn’t do it for me. It felt like a show that would have been funny when it first aired, but over time the overall sense of comedy that the show exudes has all but been lost by a shift in classes. 

 

Mapp & Lucia is a comedy set in the 20’s about a couple of women who are looking to be the high society front runners in a small seaside town. In a way it reminded me a bit of Keeping Up Appearances but lacked that “in the snow” quality. KUA is set in a more modern time, features an out of their league high society hopeful that wants to mingle with the upper class society, but is anchored by their middle class up bringing. Mapp & Lucia has that same kind of feel, but as I said, almost all of the comedy seems to be lost in an a bygone era. The monologue skits in-between scenarios, the snobbish culture, even the scandals seem to be somewhat tame in comparison with even the comedy’s of ten years ago.

 

I wanted to point out that I am not part of the age demographic this show has in mind but I love Last of the Summer Wine, As Time Goes By, and of course Keeping Up Appearances. I think there was a lot about this show that I just didn’t find funny or amusing considering the material and the era I live in, but it wasn’t the demographic. Maybe it was just the spin on satire against class differences that I wasn’t associating with. After all, we’ve come a long way. 

 

I think if you grew up with the show and you know it, this is going to be a real treasure trove for you. The set includes both season one and season two in their entirety. The only thing not included would be subs. In the end though, it just wasn’t for me.