Rivals

I am laughing at some of the reviews, clearly by readers who take themselves far too seriously.

This is a Jilly Cooper adaption.

It's not a series to be intellectualised or morally judged.

It's so much fun.

Superbly cast.

Yes, RCB's hair and eyes are the wrong colour. As is Taggies hair. But they work. Somehow.

RCB will disappoint some for this reason. But Alex Hassell is captures everything else about him.

Danny Dyer is perfect. David Tennant is EXCELLENT as always. And Aidan Turner is just gorgeous, if slightly young to play Declan.

Falters slightly in the final third. But yes. It's fabulous fun.

Watched it all in 1 go.

Back in the 90's there was an appalling version of Riders by Jilly Cooper, since then TV had avoided her 'bonkbusters' the critics feeling that Jilly Cooper novels were outdated and silly. That's far from the truth, Cooper satires the upper middle classes of the Cotswolds with an iron wit and has always understood comedy, character and fun plots. In many ways her work has been more akin to Restoration Comedy than Carry On with characters having more development and more inner life than you'd expect.

Now from Disney comes RIVALS boasting a stellar cast and the good news is that it's a great watch, yes it's full of naughty moments and boobs and bums, even the occasional Willy. The triumph of it though is that it has the budget and it has the time to do justice to the feel and spirit of the original book. The changes are minor and actually open out the period and the politics more.

Bella Maclean is brilliant in the central role of Tagie and Alex Hassel makes a great job of Rupert, a role that is impossible to cast because nobody in history can be the character that Cooper created - part villain, part Adonis, part whimpering child. He makes a really creditable job.

The real star of this though is the ensemble of great character actors Emily Atack, Danny Dyer, Katherine Parkinson all putting in career best performances.

The 80's soundtrack is on point throughout and makes Rivals a real triumph for Disney. It's fun, it's frothy but there is a deeper undertow that raises it above a hallmark movie and offers the hope that we will see much more from this team and this universe in the future.

Really liked it.

A very easy and bingeable watch, thoroughly enjoyable. Great characters, storylines, drama and 80s music to sing along to. David Tennant again plays a fantastic antagonist. Aidan Turner is amazing as always. The cast clearly had a blast filming this and it comes through in the series. So many talented actors and actresses in one programme. The series starts off comical and gets more dramatic as the episodes go on. The series has remained faithful to the book and the nature of the 80s. The characters are enjoyable and easy to become invested in. I ended each episode wanting to watch more right the way until the end. Hoping for season 2!

I read Rivals a few years ago and enjoyed every page! It's quite difficult to compare the book and its characters to its television adaptation, since we all bring our own perception of what certain characters should look and act like. Also, while we can read a book at our leisure, television has to move along at a pace that fits the format and doesn't drag, so some characters or side story lines may have to be cut for time's sake. That being said, yes, there are differences from the book, but none so great that it ruins the overall fun and entertainment value. The characters, especially Aidan Turner as Declan O'Hara, the upstanding journalist and David Tennant, the nasty Lord B are great! Makes us love Declan as much as we hate Lord B! The 80s music is fantastic, though the one part I found annoying was the opening high pitched opera music, just not a good fit. As to all the sex scenes, yes, we could do without some, since we all have an imagination, but that would not be the book Cooper wrote. It was wonderful to spot Jilly Cooper herself in the restaurant lunch scene. She looked as though she was thoroughly enjoying the show, as did I. The last episode ended quite different from the book, so I'm hoping there will be at least another season where we get to see what happens with Taggie and RCB . . . And of course, we know nasty Lord B has to be around to wreak more havoc.

So obvs read the book an aeon ago (it was like a coming of age ritual in a certain time and place) and TBH remembered very little aside from the odd name (coz some Jilly created were soooo de rigeur - Rupert Campbell Black says it all - and have somewhat passed into the lexicon) but almost immediately I started to, if not remember the plot wholesale, get a synaptic snap with the heady scent of YSL Opium from watching The Rivals.

This adaptation (one ep in) is seeming to get it just right. Its silly giggles rather than laugh out loud and saucy not salacious. It quickly built the world - the 80s, greedy Thatcherite old boys and yuppies, bored wives and fearsome warrior women all treated like meat whatever they do, concord, cigars and the birdie song, the English class strata, the UK in a globalising world tryna dig nails in at the top... and the socio-political commentary, whilst not being shoved in your face, is much more clear than when reading the books. It might be coz I'm older and have met more people that Cooper's critique of British culture is more obvious, but I think its also the casting, the accents, the costumes - drawing out each character's habitus (to cite Bordeau) and presenting it to the audience for consideration, admiration, denigration and/or titillation.

Okay its a little bit of a panty, pantie panto but FFS why not?!