My wife and I have gone through the entire Fresh Fields series this year (on DVDs borrowed from my sister) and are mostly done with the follow-up series where they moved to France, title French Fields.
We think the series set in England was hilarious, with many episodes deserving of a 10 (out of 10) score. Sadly, the shows in France are not nearly as funny.
William and Hester are still good and there are a few good laughs in almost every episode. Their relationship was wonderful in both series. But their French neighbors, plus the annoying English couple, are not nearly as funny as Sonia and Guy and Nancy. The situations are not nearly as good as the ones in England.
One thing that drags it down is the too-lengthy dialog in French, where we just sit waiting for the translation. Madame Remoleux was not funny, just annoying, as she seemed to just wander about their house messing everything up and mumbling in what sounded like French, but none of the French people could understand her either.
Half way through, Hester got a non-paying job teaching young children English one day a week. I remember some scenes of her working with the kids, who were fine and the way she interacted with them was nice--but it just wasn't funny.
The shows as Fresh Fields, in England, combine to equal one U.S. season of one of the funniest shows ever--not top five, but truly excellent. When they switched to England it became a "watchable" comedy, somewhat funny but not memorable at all.
We think the series set in England was hilarious, with many episodes deserving of a 10 (out of 10) score. Sadly, the shows in France are not nearly as funny.
William and Hester are still good and there are a few good laughs in almost every episode. Their relationship was wonderful in both series. But their French neighbors, plus the annoying English couple, are not nearly as funny as Sonia and Guy and Nancy. The situations are not nearly as good as the ones in England.
One thing that drags it down is the too-lengthy dialog in French, where we just sit waiting for the translation. Madame Remoleux was not funny, just annoying, as she seemed to just wander about their house messing everything up and mumbling in what sounded like French, but none of the French people could understand her either.
Half way through, Hester got a non-paying job teaching young children English one day a week. I remember some scenes of her working with the kids, who were fine and the way she interacted with them was nice--but it just wasn't funny.
The shows as Fresh Fields, in England, combine to equal one U.S. season of one of the funniest shows ever--not top five, but truly excellent. When they switched to England it became a "watchable" comedy, somewhat funny but not memorable at all.