[.ca] Upstairs Downstairs: First Season

Amazon.com Essential Video:
Anglophiles rejoice: the Bellamys are back in their upscale London home, and the servants are again ensconced below stairs. The characters are endearing and the writing bittersweet as the story follows the lives of this aristocratic family and its helpers from 1904 into the 1930s. Nine new-to-video episodes of this seminal British series have been included in a seven-video boxed set. (It aired in the States under the auspices of Masterpiece Theatre.) Of the 13 episodes, 5 are rare black-and-white shows never broadcast in the U.S. All are clean and clear and as enjoyable as when they first aired in the early 1970s. --Rochelle O'Gorman

rose.christie@latis.net.au:
I now own the entire series - absolutely fabulous portrayal of an intriguing era of history. The snobbishness of the 'lower'classes is brilliantly portrayed by the servants of Eaton Place. Even better, the 'real' events of the period and the effects are excellently covered.

The best ever made:
Upstairs, Downstairs is the saga of the Bellamy family and their household staff in the early 20th century. Throughout the series their lives, loves, tragedies and triumphs are portrayed. This set of 13 episodes includes the COMPLETE first season as seen in Britain, including some black and white episodes never seen on tv in the US. In the first episode we are introduced to the colorful Sarah (Pauline Collins), in the second (B & W episode) Lady Marjorie has her portrait painted only to discover at the Royal Academy Show that the artist has also painted two half-naked maids in an attic room (possibly Bellamy maids?). In episodes 3 and 4 (B & W) we are introduced to the children, James and Elizabeth Bellamy. Episodes 5 and 6 show us the romance between Elizabeth Bellamy and a German Baron (and it's dark underside), and the pregnancy of the new maid, Mary. More familiar episodes to the US audience come in #7 and #8, Lady Marjorie is spellbound with a young army captain who is friends with her son James, and Emily (the annoying kitchen maid) falls for a neighboring family's footman, with disastrous results. Episodes 9 and 10 have Mrs. Bridges, the cook, behaving in a most improper way and stealing a baby, and the erstwhile Sarah returns with a new plan to improve her social standing. The two penultimate episodes in this set include the further adventures of Sarah the housemaid with a Swedish valet, and the further adventures of the Bellamy's daughter, Elizabeth, with a group of young Socialists. Finally we are left with the now estranged Elizabeth Bellamy and her relationship with a leftist poet, Lawrence Kirbridge--and a great eagerness to own the next 13 episodes, now also available. Upstairs, Downstairs is the classic "Masterpiece Theater" series, with costumes, drama, comedy, and riveting characters that we take to our hearts. If you are a fan of more recent costume dramas on A & E and PBS, you will very much enjoy this early series which holds up remarkably well, after nearly two decades. We completed the First Season last night and I'm hooked. The writing is terrific and all the performances are enchanting. My particular favorites are Mr. Hudson, the butler, and Rose, played by the gifted and gorgeous Jean Marsh. The print quality of the videos is excellent overall, but I know that I shall be buying the series again when it comes out on DVD, as I'm sure some jerking of the picture (mostly in the credits, never in the performance itself) and other flaws will be removed as far as possible. The social structures of both the wealthy class and the servant class are jarring, especially to an early 21st-century viewer. We have come quite a long way from that time when a servant must "know his place". Yet, it wasn't just they who had to know who they were and what place they occupied in the world: in many ways, the wealthy were just as trapped in their positions - if not moreso - than the servants who ran their lives. And make no mistake - the servants DID run things if this series is to be believed.

Still holding up well:
This series holds up well after all these years. Sure, there are some minor problems with creaky dollys, hearing the camera tape rolling--hey, this was 1971 and it was a low budget make! But even with that it's a wonderful look at Edwardian England. Some of the best writing on either side of the "Big Pond." By far, this is one of the best series out there.

Master Piece Theather in true form indeed....:
I was just a toddler when the series first aired in the 70's, but from earing about the masterpiece theather references on PBS always wandered what all the fuzz was about. This is a definite work of art, it should be considered a gem of the british television history. The acting is superb and the dialogues between the characters are fascinating in the emotional highs and lows that are transmitted in each episode. My advise for the potential viewer is to view the series from episode 1 in order to fully appreciate how the characters develop and mature. There are some that grow and others that decay over time, but very interesting to see the dynamics of it. Hudson, the buttler, for me is the best, with it's total devotion to the old order and his place in the social structure prevalent at the time, he seems to signify the DOWNSTAIRS. I imagine that is how the real buttlers acted at the beginning of the past century. Finally, Lady Marjorie's character is exquisite in her representantion of the quintesential high class lady (UPSTAIRS) she is serene, classy and totally controlled in her behavior and emotions (altought sometimes she lets go letting us know that she is human after all). Definite classic....

High Class - Low Tech:
Through the years I have watched PBS Masterpiece Theatre for its remakes of Classic Novels, but British TV didn't interest me because I normally don't watch "Typical TV" until I got married & started watching romantic movie comedies with my wife. Some of our favorites: "You-re Got Mail" & "Sleepless in Seattle" always had references to older Romantic classic movies or novels. Therefore we found ourselves watching & loving many Jean Austin remakes including several A & E DVD's. This lead to a British invasion within our house starting with "Darling Buds of May" & "All Creatures Great & Small". "Darling Buds of May" was a little racy for our taste & "All Creatures Great & Small" started out rather slow, but in the end we have been watching these 2 British TV Classics over & over. I then told my wife about "Upstairs Downstairs" & we decided not to buy the whole series, but to test out the first season. The series is rather racy for our tastes (as was "Darling Buds of May"), normally at a PG level, but at times travels up to a R rating & just when you think it will go too far, it jumps back to PG just in time. We were both surprise to see Pauline Collins of "No, Honesty" as a maid named Sarah in the first Black & White series. For my review, I will not write about the plots & characters because other people before me have done a great job & we need not repeat them here. As a professional photographer (wedding photographer for 15 years) & owner of a better than avg 5.1 audio video system (NHT 5.1) the Black & White series has better photography & sound: all very clean & clear. The color series on the other hand, is a wreak both sight & sound. There are at times late 1960ish TV lines that invaded the screen that throw off the timing of the sound. This must be a straight no edited copy that has no value as a piece of photography art, but a run through just to get the product out. In fact, there is a VHS hum throughout, something I never experienced with a DVD. As a British TV series with the actors & plot, I would rate this as a 4, but as a DVD a 2, therefore the avg out is 3. Both me & my wife will not continue with the series because there were no moral outcomes within the first season. Maybe this is not the place to start the series, but then again, where does one start if not the beginning?