But we warmed up to this character quickly. I must admit that I was surprised as my memories of the 50/60s in rural France could not recall such eventuality. Then who could not love Catherine Zeta Jones! The Larkins introduced a coloured character as the dazzled Tax man. With the DBoM it's no more 'Black and White' No more Bradley but we get Inspector Jack Frost whom we are very devoted to this character. For my Oz dollars I do prefer Bradley W than David J in 'Pop's role. I later borrowed the set to watch it and compare. Google put me up to speed on this subject and I ended buying a set of DVD of it for a birthday present. As we taped the episodes we share them with some of our friends and one of them (from England) told us it was just like the 'Darling Buds of May'.

'Ma and Pa' are good fun, at time a little over the top or rather corny just like the whole show but all in all them and their supporting team are good value. We did enjoyed The Larkins a lot, not that it is terrific but it's funny and for us already belonging to the 'third age' it brought back many happy memories. I also was a young dairy farmer in a small village in France so enjoyed the environment. Both my wife and I are fond of the English 'Chase' So seeing Bradley Walsh in the main role was a real treat as we find him very entertaining and so witty. When this arrived on our little screen in Sydney, it came as a joyful revelation. I would urge anyone watching this to give the earlier series a go if you haven't seen it, as well as read the books. It's not unenjoyable, but a lot of it just feels pointless, and it lacks the innocent pleasure of the books and the earlier series. Why is Oscar no longer their baby? The Larkin children getting it into their heads that Pa is committing adultery. Mariette endlessly wanting to widen her horizons, which cheapens the whole 'rural idyll' that the Larkins' village represents. Ma sounding like a modern-day parenting manual. This new series is full of contemporary angst and grating moralising. The original series and books are very much laid back, laissez-faire, rural romping and hedonism.

What does bother me is jamming 2020s morals and mores into a 1950s setting. It is anachronistic but that doesn't particularly bother me, the problem is more that the script sounds 'written by white people' and is very heavy-handed with how it manages that aspect. A lot of reviewers have commented on the anachronistic racial diversity. I don't really understand the motivation behind this (extremely loose) adaptation of HE Bates' novels.

The darling buds of may author