The first season of PBS' Masterpiece Theater, in 1971, featured a dramatisation (with an "s" because it came from the BBC) of Stella Gibbons' "Cold Comfort Farm." It was flat-out wonderful, and I was  inspired to read the book. At the time it wasn't in print in the USA, but I was able to order a copy from Blackwell's, in London. (Department of Changing Times: this was done by mail, and Blackwell's simply mailed the book to me with a bill, trusting that I'd send a check. I'm pretty sure that I did so.) The book quickly earned a spot on my every-year-or-two shelf, where it remains to this day.

The advent of the video era, in the mid-seventies, prompted me to seek out a copy of that BBC production. Over the next several years I built up a thick file of correspondence with many potential sources, and followed leads up quite a few blind alleys. No joy.

In 1996 a second version of "Cold Comfort Farm" was released, this time theatrically. Despite being prejudiced by my now-misty memories of the original, I thought the new version was very entertaining, and true to the novel.

Four or five years later I was leafing through a PBS catalogue (Signals, I think it was) and was gobsmacked by the presence of a VHS version of the original BBC production. Needless to say, I ordered a copy. I also informed a friend who also had fond memories of that version. He, too, ordered a set.

What follows is a brief e-mail interchange, which took place shortly after we had each viewed our newfound treasure. DD is me; EMS is Ed Schneider, whom some of you probably know, and others probably should know.

DD:
So, did you enjoy the new/old Cold Comfort Farm?

EMS:
Well. Yes and no. Oddly, I didn't think it told the story especially well (which it certainly had plenty of time to do). Badell was as charming as we both remember, and Sim was terrif. But was he better than Ian McKellan? In fact, was the TV version better than the recent movie? Not sure; maybe not. But I certainly enjoyed it.

DD:
After back-to-back viewings of the two versions, I was left with some distinct impressions of each. Clearly the newer one had the advantage of a much bigger budget, and was photographed with the large screen in mind. The wedding scene alone had to have cost as much as did the entire original production. The original also left the two (?) automobiles to the imagination. The buggy ride to town was so clearly a rear-projection shot that they shouldn't even have bothered. (And in the newer version, they didn't, choosing to walk, instead.) I could have done without the special effects, the alpha and omega of which boiled down to "look, the BBC gave us a zoom lens!"

On a more elemental level, the newer version struck me as being considerably sanitized for a different generation of viewers. The sets and, especially, the people, seemed to be so much more neat and clean... which in turn made Flora's subplot — to "tidy up" — less urgent.

The Starkadder clan's violent, primal tendencies were glossed over, as was the overt sexuality: we can't have Rennet going into an insane heat in the mid-nineties, can we? And Brian Blessed's Reuben imparted a sense of danger that Ivan Kaye's good-natured oaf didn't even hint at. Indeed, all of the characters seemed to be painted with less vivid colors, their eccentricities (even grotesqueries) glossed over.

I don't know whether it was by intent, but Sara Badell's Flora was a much more rounded and interesting character than the smug, one-dimensional powerhouse portrayed by Kate Beckinsale. Badell's Flora had real doubts and fears.

It could be a question of timing. When the first version was filmed, the generation that grew up with the sort of book CCF parodied still made up a good chunk of the populace. Those viewers could be counted upon to know that the Starkadder family wasn't intended to be "real" but rather a caricature. By 1995, someone must have said "this could be taken at face value, so we'd better tone it down."

Bottom line, you're right: the new version told the story more effectively, and I'm glad to have it on tape. But the original is chock full of atmosphere, and on balance I'd say it was worth the wait.

EMS:
Your analysis is spot-on. I'd forgotten how drippy the movie Flora was. But the movie had Adam's little mop in it!