Upstairs, Downstairs

I have just bought the whole 5 series on DVD and am currently watching them all, especially the first two series which i never saw on their first showing. The series has not dated and is just as powerful as when it was first shown. Pauline Collins was a revelation as the sassy housemaid. I had only ever seen her before in the strange sitcom 'No Honestly,' in which she again co starred with real life husband John Alderton. They also starred in 'Thomas and Sarah' and the environmentally aware series 'Forever Green.'

My wife and I are just starting the fifth and last season. Last fall we started going through all the episodes on DVD in order. We do around 3 per week.

I never saw the series in the 1970s, though I heard of it. Some time in the mid 80s the local PBS station in New York showed most of them in order, a couple per week. I was absolutely enthralled. It's been about 20 years so we decided to have another look.

They absolutely stand up well. Better than well. I will emphatically repeat the judgment I made twenty years ago: this series is the finest thing that has ever been on television.

Yes, I know, you can't compare "apples and oranges" like that. I suppose the single ONE best thing that's ever been on television (in the sense of a one day or briefer event) in my experience was the moon landing in July 1969.

Still, in spite of that, all in all, if I had to pick, Upstairs-Downstairs is the best PROGRAM that has ever been on television. Far and away. If you are new to it, I envy you. I am already mourning the last episode, which I will see again in a few weeks at most. My only consolation is that in twenty years, I can watch it all again.

Set from pre-World War I to the late 1920s, this series ran for five years and was a cornerstone of ITV drama in the UK.

Co-created by Jean Marsh and debuting in good old black and white, before moving into colour, 'Upstairs, Downstairs' remains the best (and the soapiest) drama of above and below stairs.

Too many people in the cast to mention, but kudos should go to David Langton, who played Richard Bellamy throughout, to the two Lady Bellamys, Rachel Gurney and Hannah Gordon, to Simon Williams and Nicola Pagett as James and Elizabeth, and Lesley Anne Down as Georgina.

Below stairs there were three key characters - Gordon Jackson as Hudson the butler, Angela Baddeley as Mrs Bridges the cook (a character so famous she had her own range of biscuits and preserves for many years), and Jean Marsh as Rose, the house-parlourmaid. I also remember Karen Dotrice as Lily, Jacqueline Tong as Daisy, John Alderton and Pauline Collins as Thomas and Sarah (who got their own spin-off series), and Christopher Beeny as Edward.

Full of drama - the Titanic disaster, debt collectors, intrigue and affairs, and of course the obligatory conflict between ranks, this series had it all. It enjoyed several repeat runs on TV and now has a new life on DVD, well-deserved.

Highly recommended if you've never seen it; if you have you don't need convincing.

I first viewed this series in the 1970's on PBS and have taken up the habit again. It is just so entertaining and classy that I can't shake my addiction to this wonderful period drama. Sadly, most of the actors have passed, only the younger ones are still alive. But that doesn't reduce the rich legacy of the whole cast. During the five seasons of this series, viewers witness the evolution of an aristocratic London family from 1901 to the early 1930's.

We journey with the family upstairs and their downstairs staff through many of the pivotal events of the era: the Titanic disaster, the Great War, the clash between labour and wealth, the market crash and depression. Not all the episodes are riveting but most of them kept this viewer transfixed to the screen. Lord and Lady Bellamy, performed by David Langton and Rachel Gurney, are the main characters upstairs as the series begins. Richard Bellamy is a Member of Parliament; Lady Marjorie, who comes from the landed gentry, oversees the staff with grace and a strict code of behaviour. She has her society friends and Lord Bellamy comes in touch with the leading figures of the day, from Lloyd George to Churchill. We even watch the family welcome Edward VII, the King of England, whose visit is punctuated by a servant giving birth.

Downstairs is dominated by the butler Angus Hudson, performed by Gordon Jackson, as an upright, no-nonsense Scot who runs the household with admirable efficiency and strict discipline. Angela Baddeley is the cook, a true perfectionist in the kitchen who tolerates no insubordination. If things go wrong, she can become unhinged until Hudson steps in to calm her down. Jean Marsh, who conceived the series with Eileen Atkins, is the head parlourmaid, Rose. Rose typifies many of the changes going on in her world and manages to be a friend and confidante to characters upstairs and down. Atkins never did appear...more the pity, but with the rest of this stellar cast, the series always sparkled anyway.

The cast changes as time passes and some remain to the end. Some characters with minor roles rise in prominence and more prominent ones disappear or recede. In this respect, it resembles family life in any era. The audience feels like a fly on the wall over the period as we see the intimate details of the lives of characters upstairs and down amid the changing face of British society. When the series ends, we feel the loss of the characters but with a great sense of satisfaction for knowing them and the world in which they lived.

I love a good period drama, and Upstairs, Downstairs is that and more. Everything about it is wonderful, and it is also very classy and a delight to watch. The series looks sumptuous; the photography is marvellous while the locations, scenery and costumes are a delight to the eyes. The music is beautifully composed, the pace is warm and lively without being too rushed or draggy and the direction is always controlled. There is also the fabulous writing, the engrossing stories and the rich characters and their development. And the acting is great across the board, I personally do not think there is a weak link in the cast. All in all, this is a wonderful series and worth looking out for. 10/10 Bethany Cox