The series 2-hour opener was last night on HBO. I thought it was completely charming and very well acted. The scenery of Botswana brought back many memories of Africa. My spouse says it followed the book very faithfully, except for the character of the hairdresser. This looks like a winner.
I wish I had HBO!! I’ve read all the books in the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series, and I love them! Does anybody know if the episodes will show up online anywhere?
It was … nice. Just like the books. No ultraviolence, terrorists or whatever, just like the books. Just mundane stories of everyday life.
I really liked the lack of subtitles when there was chit chat in Setswana. It was like TV for grown ups 
Unknown. But there are only six episodes, so it will be out on DVD soon after.
Sounds like a great series. I enjoyed the books. Alas, I don’t have HBO.
However, the Tudors season 3 premiere (Showtime) is 4/5!
I liked it, partly for the view of life in Botswana, which isn’t a place I’m familiar with.
How come Mma Makutsi wasn’t “traditionally build” with bad skin and huge glasses? …and, dammit, couldn’t they have found a tiny white van?/fangirl nitpick
(Actually, I loved it. Beautifully filmed and the tone was just right.)
I wondered about that, but Mma Ramotswe called it a van once. Is it just a terminology issue?
Botswana used to be a British colony.
Stunningly beautiful country. I highly recommend a wildlife safari in the Okavango Delta during dry season.
Been there, done that - the best trip I’m likely to do in my life.
Got that right. It was a toss-up between that two weeks of bliss and the one I took in Tanzania.
Botswana: Mombo Camp, Kings Pool, Chobe, Victoria Falls, sundowners on the Zambezi River.
Tanzania: Ngorongoro Crater, Oldupai Gorge, Lake Manyara, the Serengeti.
I’d go back to either one in a minute.
We enjoyed the show very much. It was well-filmed, interesting, and faithful to the book.
Never been to Botswana, although I’d love to. Only to Kenya and Nigeria (I don’t recommend Lagos.)
How does a lack of subtitles make it more grown up?
Lagos was one of those Foreign Service posts in Africa that everyone avoided, along with Khartoum. I have a friend posted in Abuja, Nigeria at the moment, and they avoid going to Lagos at all costs.
I thought it was fantastic. I hadn’t read the books or seen any previews so I didn’t know what to expect other than what I’ve come to associate with cable series. The pacing was a little slow, but it felt like that was intentional and part of the ambiance. The characters were super charming, and it was really cool to see it set in a place I’m not familiar with.
As Tapioca pointed out - she was driving a van from a British perspective.
The author - Alexander McCall Smith - is British (of Zimbabwean extraction) and although it’s a “joint” BBC/HBO series, it’s effectively a British production and AMS was an “unofficial” adviser throughout the production.
This screen version was also the pet project of the late lamented Anthony Minghella, who was a huge fan of the books and waited years to make it so that he could direct it himself and “get it right.” The pilot episode (which I’m guessing is the one you guys just got) was directed by Minghella and written by himself and the legendary Richard Curtis.
Sadly Minghella died from a blood haemorrage in hospital just five days before it was first broadcast (the original broadcast carried a dedication to him - don’t know if you guys got that), so never got to see it get the great reception its had from everyone.
I think the series “proper” is written by Nicholas Wright, who’s a British Theatrical Writer mainly but does the odd bit of TV and Film (which is actually pretty similar to how Minghella started out).
So yeah, I suspect they’d all nitpick with your version rather than the other way round! 
Funny really, I’d never realised “Van” meant something slightly different over on the rebellious side of the pond…