Some things, having worked well once, don't lend themselves well to a repetition. The quirky British satire of manners Mapp & Lucia is one of those. Series 1 was a bizarrely entertaining, decidedly off-the-wall introduction to a wacky bunch of characters in a small British town in the 1920s. The titular Mapp (Prunella Scales) and Lucia (Geraldine McEwan) are two ladies both determined to be on the top of the social pyramid, and the episodes follow their scheming and ever-so-polite infighting.

Series 2 takes us back to the town of Tilling, where we get five adventures based on E.F. Benson's second and third Lucia novels (Lucia's Progress and Trouble for Lucia). Unfortunately, though, Series 2 isn't nearly as funny as Series 1. Geraldine McEwan still pulls out all the stops in her over-the-top portrayal of Lucia, and she's the reason that the episodes retain what charm they do still have, but the stories that her character is involved in just don't have the same spark.

Since we are already very familiar with the quirky personalities of Mapp and Lucia, and are well aware of their rivalry, the episodes immediately start on well-trodden ground. Over the course of the episodes, the story pits the two women against each other in the political as well as the social arena, as they first vie for a seat on the town council, and then set their sights on the mayor's chair. There are a few plot threads that promise some fun, like the mad rush to speculate on the stock market in "Winner Takes All," but on the whole these episodes are lacking in the madcap fun of Series 1.

The five episodes here center squarely on the characters of Mapp and Lucia; the secondary characters seem overshadowed by the leads much more than in the first series. This might seem to be a great idea, since Mapp and Lucia are the main characters, but in this case it ends up being a bit too much of a good thing: these are characters who are perhaps a bit too much to take in a concentrated form. Viewers who haven't seen Series 1 will also find the other characters a bit hard to keep track of; the program basically assumes a continuity between Series 1 and Series 2.

All in all, Mapp & Lucia: Series 2 just doesn't hit the same level of delightfully wacky social satire that it reached in Season 1. It's watchable, but the most it produces is the occasional smile rather than real laughs.

The DVD

Mapp & Lucia: Series 2 is a two-disc set, with each disc in its own keepcase, and the two cases stored inside a stylish glossy paper slipcase. Disc 1 contains the first three episodes, and Disc 2 has the last two.

Video

Mapp & Lucia is evidently one of the minor television programs that falls into the category of "lucky to be on DVD at all," meaning that we have to put up with an unrestored and fairly shabby-looking transfer. The image is passably watchable, but it's soft, and overall is rather faded-looking; skin tones look pasty. Heavy edge enhancement is in evidence, with some heavy black edges appearing around some objects.

Audio

The Dolby 2.0 sound is reasonably satisfactory. While the Dolby 2.0 sound is a bit flat overall, it's clean and clear, with no harshness even when the characters (often) raise their voices. It does sound a bit muffled at times, and the volume fluctuates on occasion, but fortunately the strange sound problem from Series 1 (in which the incidental noises are too loud compared to the dialogue) seems to have been corrected.

Extras

On the first disc, there's a text biography of author E.F. Benson, cast filmographies, and a text blurb about The Tilling Society, a Mapp & Lucia fan club.

Final thoughts

If you've read all the way through this review, it's probably because you enjoyed Mapp & Lucia: Series 1; if that's the case, whether you will like Series 2 depends on just how much of a fan you are. If you absolutely loved Series 1, then it makes sense to pick up Series 2, as it continues the story. On the other hand, if you thought Series 1 was cute and fun, but nothing to get excited about, then I'd suggest leaving it at that, as Series 1 is the better of the two. I'll sum that up with a "Rent it" recommendation.