Why adapt when you can evolve?

Sometimes, the movie or show does it better than the book it is based on. Here's when to stream not flip

- SEEMA GOSWAMI

Ever since I first read Riders in the early '90s, I have been a fan of Jilly Cooper. So, you'd think I would be delighted when I read that her second bonkbuster, Rivals, was being turned into a TV series, with a star-studded cast. But instead, all I felt was trepidation for fear that one of my favourite books would be ruined by a less than successful transition to the small screen.

And while, like most other Jilly Cooper fans, I was appalled by the choice of actor to play the upperclass cad, Rupert Campbell Black (Who chooses a dark-haired, swarthy guy to play the ice-blond RCB?) the series itself left me exhilarated. It captured the joyous excess of the '80s to perfection, bringing a pre-PC era to life, with its large hair and larger appetites, and its cheerful celebration of conspicuous consumption. By the time the series ended, even the dark-haired Rupert Campbell Black had begun to grow on me, as I began the impatient wait for series two.