Das Hotel in der Duke Street

Gemma Jones carries this incredible piece of work on her more than capable shoulders. She truly IS Louisa Trotter and is totally believable as the indefatigable Victorian/Edwardian independent woman who becomes the "best cook in England". The concept and the writing is superb and the supporting cast are just about perfect. How this never made Gemma a major star on both sides of the Atlantic is a mystery to me. Maybe it was because she was so good, she was never seen as anyone else. She seems to have worked consistently but with never the vehicle to propel her higher up the ladder. Check out John Welsh as Merriman and John Cater as Starr. If anything this series outdoes Upstairs Downstairs in this particular genre, as great as UD was. A special mention for Christopher Cazenove who was never better as he is as Charlie Tyrell.

In this time of mostly dour TV mediocrity, it is a relief to be able to savor and enjoy the stupefyingly satisfying excellence that Duchess of Duke Street imparts. Truly a classic and a treasure, it has not dated a second and still packs a wallop both dramatically and historically. The cast boasts an amazing array of superb actors, all of whom best, with rare exception, any working TV actor today.

Gemma Jones is so delicious and perfect that she is indelible in the part to anyone who watches. Her energy and conviction carry the show even when she has little to do in some of the episodes. Christopher Cazenove is sexy, charming and touching and should have become a big star.

If one had to give a reason to substantiate the continued existence of television, one need only to turn to this dramatic jewel that is the Duchess of Duke Street.

The first recommendation I get is undoubtedly Pride and Prejudice(Collin Firth version),when talking about British TV series, the second probably would be Brideshead Revisited or Fawlty Towers, yet no one recommends The Duchess of Duke Street to me before. It is by sheer luck that I come across this series-and what enjoyment it gives me! how many times it sets me think like I have never thought before! and what a treasure it is!

The first two or three episodes are quite plain, and indeed, dull, I would say; as the story unfolds itself, however, I become quite captivated-I never knew before any female characters from any TV series can be such as Louisa Trotter: she's pretty(quite common among all TV series), but damn headstrong as a bull, and she says 'bloody' as often as a man does, never cares very much about deportment and carriage herself;what strikes me as rarer and harder to find among women is her force-she has passion for cooking, and on no occasion allows any one or anything whatsoever to hinder her from realizing her dream of being the best cook in England. Such a woman is uncommon even in today's world. For how many times have we been dragged away from the path to our true dream by this or that seemingly reasonable excuse! How many people have been regretting in their winter season of life-oh, if only I did! In short, this is quite a thought-provoking series, can be even better than Pride and Prejudice and Brideshead Revisited in a way. A pity to be sure, that The Duchess of Duke Street is not well-known now, well, in America at least.

However I am a bit disappointed that in the later parts of the series, too much is focused on Louisa's relationships-I don't like such a good topic to evolve into a kind of romantic soap opera, there's already too many of them stuffed in the American TV markets-the focus of which really disappoints me, since I do consider the middle of the series very promising. Well, that's the only flaw I find with this series, and that's why I give a 9 star instead of a perfect 10.

This show was one of the best British series ever imported to the States. I watched every episode and was the most entertained by the story, the relationships, the detail to clothing, the acting, and especially as I was a working chef at the time, the food. Seeing Gemma Jones make her character so real from her very humble beginnings at the bottom of the kitchen staff to become a renowned chef and hotel owner was probably a fantasy of mine in the 20th century. I absolutely loved this show and wish I could get it on DVD. I wish we had more good TV like this today. To me even Upstairs Downstairs which I also loved was not as good because the story was more long winded and drawn out. Would someone please bring back good drama to TV.

One of my all time favorite Masterpiece Theatre shows. My only complaint is that it didn't last long enough.