Mr. Kingdom refers to Snell's case as "Market Shipborough's very own Jarndyce versus Jarndyce". In the Dickens novel "Bleak House" the case of Jarndyce v Jarndyce just went on and on and on forever. J v J has now become a term for the sort of interminable case that does nothing but enrich anyone who can claim billable hours.
In a preview, Radio Times described it as "Sunday night television at its cosiest", though called the plot of episode one "feeble".