My mother was a big fan of the H.E. Bates stories this series was based on and we loved "Love for Lydia," so this one seemed like a sureshot when it turned up on the Acorn TV playlist. The title story introduces us to Pop Larkin, an affable scrap dealer who's a bit like a more prosperous, rural version of Alfred Doolittle in "My Fair Lady," and his rumbustious family. When the tax inspector calls, Pop, a lifelong non-filer, invites the young man in for a couple of drinks, and one thing leads to another....
These first two episodes are totally charming; Pam Ferris ("Rosemary and Thyme") is the perfect earthy, beer-drinking consort for Pop, and the young Catherine Zeta Jones, as the Larkins' nubile daughter, is enough to make the proverbial bulldog break his chain (or, in this case, persuade a tax inspector to forfeit his civil service pension).
The second story, "When the Green Woods Laugh," is a bit of a letdown. The premise that the gnomelike Pop Larkin might be catnip to the stylish middle-aged women of the district (including Celia Imrie, Pamela Adlon's mother on "Better Things") seems laughable, but not in a good way, and the plot creaks pretty badly: After Pop diddles the local magistrate out of £10,000 in a real estate scam, it's just a matter of time before he's brought up before the bench, on a charge of indecent assault (don't ask...!).
Next comes a shambolic courtroom scene that's mildly entertaining, which pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the series--your standard English cozy that never regains the heights achieved by "Darling Buds." After S2E2, the stories weren't even written by HEB himself, so the remaining eps are mainly recommended to Catherine Zeta Jones completists... Ten stars for the first two episodes, seven for the rest.
These first two episodes are totally charming; Pam Ferris ("Rosemary and Thyme") is the perfect earthy, beer-drinking consort for Pop, and the young Catherine Zeta Jones, as the Larkins' nubile daughter, is enough to make the proverbial bulldog break his chain (or, in this case, persuade a tax inspector to forfeit his civil service pension).
The second story, "When the Green Woods Laugh," is a bit of a letdown. The premise that the gnomelike Pop Larkin might be catnip to the stylish middle-aged women of the district (including Celia Imrie, Pamela Adlon's mother on "Better Things") seems laughable, but not in a good way, and the plot creaks pretty badly: After Pop diddles the local magistrate out of £10,000 in a real estate scam, it's just a matter of time before he's brought up before the bench, on a charge of indecent assault (don't ask...!).
Next comes a shambolic courtroom scene that's mildly entertaining, which pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the series--your standard English cozy that never regains the heights achieved by "Darling Buds." After S2E2, the stories weren't even written by HEB himself, so the remaining eps are mainly recommended to Catherine Zeta Jones completists... Ten stars for the first two episodes, seven for the rest.