Jasmine Sahu is well suited with this new American drama exclusive to Dave.
Lois Cameron explains why this series is much more than your average cosy period drama.
The last episode of this series sees Sherlock and Moriarty attempt to solve the final problem with devastating consequences.
With major cast changes afoot, Jacob Martin ponders whether Being Human can live up to its own scarily high standard.
“That sort of devotion is an agony. I’m your mother too. I felt you should be spared it.”
The continued presence in the house of Rachel’s daughter, Lotte, is causing tension, particularly between the now-heavily pregnant Lady Agnes and her husband. Lord Holland, however, has other things on his mind, namely the King’s rumoured plans to abdicate. He is asked to use his diplomatic skills to avoid this terrible crisis, a task that is made increasingly difficult by Lady Persie’s deepening political views.
There was much to admire and enjoy in this final episode of Upstairs Downstairs: the beautiful scene in which Hallam finds Pamela; Pritchard’s cool, calm readjustment of the towels before he turns to deliver Lady Holland’s baby; Rose and Agnes’s disgust at the very brown menu devised by Mrs Thackery; and, most wonderfully of all, Mrs Thackery having her photograph taken by Cecil Beaton. The cast were uniformly excellent: over the course of the three episodes, I was particularly impressed by Adrian Scarborough as Pritchard, and he was given some lovely lighter moments here. Claire Foy’s portrayal of a young girl slightly out of her depth, swept away by the idea of rebellion, was also brilliant, and it goes without saying that Eileen Atkins was superb.
But in the end, what worked in Upstairs Downstairs was ultimately undermined by some unfortunate scheduling. Of course, the fact that it aired a few months after the wildly successful Downton Abbey was out of the control of the powers that be. But the decision to air it on three successive nights wasn’t. I can see the logic behind it in one sense: catch people in that awkward, lethargic week between Christmas and New Year and hook them. And yet, if you think back to some of the most popular period dramas of recent years (Downton Abbey, Cranford) the main thing they had in common (bar amazing old ladies being amazing throughout, obviously) was that they dominated the schedules over several weeks: a couple of episodes in, there was a real buzz around them. People talked about them, recommended them to their friends, and by the end there was a real sense of anticipation for how it would conclude.
With Upstairs Downstairs, however, the final episode finished just 49 hours after the first one began. No buzz, no sense of anticipation. And, even without this, the final episode was rushed, with a ridiculous number of things happening in the last 15 minutes: the baby was born; Hallam’s long-lost sister suddenly rediscovered; the king abdicated; Lady Persie ran off to Germany to become a real Fascist; and Johnny was given his job back. These events could have easily filled another episode, and it seemed odd that they were crammed into one.
Still, there was much to enjoy here, and the idea of the difficulty of forgiving those we deeply love was nicely played out over many of the storylines. The abdication of the King worked much better as a storyline for Hallam’s diplomatic duties, as they united the whole house in a way that little else did. The touching story of Lotte's grief and Hallam's attempts to make things right with her also worked a treat.
Despite my issues, Upstairs Downstairs has the potential to be a brilliant series if only problems of pacing and scheduling can be ironed out.
You must log in to submit a comment.
