22/38
I read The Rivals a few years ago and enjoyed every page!
Narrative
It follows Rupert Campbell-Black and Tony Baddingham as their long-standing rivalry comes to a head. Coincidentally, Aidan Turner used to shoot at Chavenage House (The Priory in Rivals). The same filming location was also used to depict Trenwith House in the 2015 BBC adaptation of Poldark.
for the sake of
It’s quite difficult to compare the book and its characters to its television adaptation, as we all have our own ideas of how certain characters should look and act. Also, while we can read a book in our spare time, television needs to move at a pace that fits the format and doesn’t drag, so some characters or side storylines may need to be cut for time. That being said, yes, there are differences from the book, but none so great that they ruin the overall fun and entertainment value.
We love Declan as much as we hate Lord B!
The characters, especially Aidan Turner as Declan O’Hara, the brilliant journalist and David Tennant as the nasty Lord B, are great! The 80’s music is fantastic, although one part I found annoying was the opening high-pitched opera music, it just didn’t fit. As for the sex scenes, yes, we could do without some, since we all have imaginations, but this is not the book Cooper wrote.
It was wonderful to see Jilly Cooper in the restaurant lunch scene
He looked like he was really enjoying the show, as I was. The last episode ended quite differently from the book so I hope there will be another season where we will see what happens with Taggie and RCB. .
And of course we know nasty Lord B has to be around to wreak more havoc
. .