Episode 2 (The Casual Vacancy) Episode 2 (The Casual Vacancy) "Episode 2" is the second episode of the British miniseries "The Casual Vacancy" based on the novel of the same title by J. K. Rowling. The parish council election approaches and Pagford is on tenterhooks awaiting the next post from 'the Ghost of Barry Fairbrother'. Who is the Ghost, and what will they say? Is anyone in the village safe from humiliation? As tensions rise, the finger of suspicion points in many directions. The episode received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. Cameron K McEwan of "Digital Spy" gave the episode a mixed review. Despite this, he
BBC television drama era, the live television broadcasts meant that no record of the drama productions were kept outside of photographs, scripts and press reviews. The BBC Programme Organiser Cecil Madden later claimed that they had experimented with telerecording a production of "The Scarlet Pimpernel", but were ordered by film director Alexander Korda to destroy the print as he felt it infringed his film rights. Despite the difficulties and challenges its production often presented, drama had become a central part of the BBC's television schedules; a BBC audience research survey conducted in 1937 found that 90% of those replying generally enjoyed the drama