Cranford -- P&P it ain't

True, there are many charming and downright funny scenes in CRANFORD (kitty devouring the lace collar -- priceless!); the cast is brilliant; the costumes are lovely; the producers are the same as for that famous 1996 BBC adaptation of P&P (wet shirt scene, anybody?): Sue Birtwistle and Susie Conklin. Even some of the actors are the same! (Wow, that was strange: to see Julia Sawalha, the Lydia of P&P, playing a spinster approaching middle age.) In addition, there's Greg Wise, who played Willoughby in the 1995 S&S, Simon Woods (Mr. Bingley in that other P&P version with Keira Please-Feed-Me Knightley), Imelda Staunton (she was also in the 1995 S&S adaptation), the wonderful Judi Dench, regal Eileen Atkins, and the sweet Julia McKenzie.

BUT!

In each and every episode of CRANFORD somebody drops dead. That's a bit depressing, if you ask me...