Every now and then a literary adaptation comes along that is so pitch-perfect, so precisely cast and beautifully written and directed, that it stands as a piece of art in its own right. Masterpiece Classic kicks off its latest season with the superlative Return to Cranford (which aired in the UK several weeks ago under the title Cranford Christmas ), based once again on the "Cranford" novels of Elizabeth Gaskell and here adapted by Heidi Thomas and directed by Simon Curtis. As in the original Cranford , life in the sleepy English town of Cranford is in peril, thanks to the winds of change. The railroad--the focus of the first "Cranford" adaptation--has nearly reached the town and brought with it the unstoppable fumes of progress. The prim streets of the village have been filled by unruly railway workers and modern ideas have begun to seep into the minds of the town's most staunch residents. In other words: the industrial revolution has arrived. Despite the uns...