Brideshead Revisited

Original duo from 1981 series. Charles to the left, Sebastian to the right
New duo from film, Sebastian from the left, Charles from the right

We went into the city Saturday to see the new "Brideshead Revisited." The only place showing this movie in our area was what I call, "the dome theater." I really don't care for this theater,so off we went to the city to see it in a much better setting. I saw the original series, from the novel by Evelyn Waugh,back in the late eighties. I loved it, and had very romantic memories of it. The most memorable scene from the series was a lunch that Sebastian held for Charles. The tableware was gorgeous and the witty conversation memorable. I was all set to not like the new version,because how could they top the original. While the film did a great job with that scene, I still love the series version the best. Don't get me wrong though, there is plenty of eye candy in the film.
All the way home I went on and on about the series and how magical it was,and couldn't wait to get home to see if there were clips on You Tube of the series, in particular the lunch scene. Caitlin was not convinced that the old version was going to be as magical as I had remembered. She said, "Mom you know it will be dated." She was half right. The lunch scene was still as pretty as I had remembered, but the "windswept" music in the background and the hair styling was very dated!! It is amazing how far the film industry has come, when they can take a period piece and make it look more of that time. I still think the original series was amazing, since it had all the time to flesh out the characters, but the film is a good condensed version of the novel. Which do you prefer, the original duo or the new duo?