Nice journey back in time

The madness has subsided and the gut has expanded and therefore it seems that the time has come to take stock of the season that has passed. So was it a good Christmas?
Well televisually it was not great. The usual movies were trotted out on what seemed to be a rotation basis between all the major television channels both here and across the water. However, there were of course some distinct highs. One of these highs was of course the revival of Upstairs Downstairs. Now, while I was a little disappointed with the ending, it was a nice journey over three days. Many of the qualities of the original were definitely kept and the humour among those above and below the stairs was excellent.
For those who are not familiar with the series, Upstairs Downstairs took the world by storm over 35 years ago. Between 1971 and 1975 the show followed the highs and lows of the Bellamy household as they prepared for the First World War and the impact that it had on them.
The whole idea, as the name might suggest, was a look at the way in which a wealthy household in London was run both above and below the stairs that divided the wealthy from their staff. It won a plethora of awards including BAFTAS, Emmys and Golden Globes. It starred Gordon Jackson, Simon Williams and Jean Marsh and audience figures for the original show were excellent throughout its run. The need for bringing it back seems unclear.
Other than the fact that it has been over 30 years and the market for nostalgia is lucrative and our need to look at and examine the wealthy classes and their staff through dramatisations is stronger than ever.
This new series really only could work as a Christmas special and the frivolous and soap opera way in which operates but that did not make it any less enjoyable. It was no Downton Abbey but considering is costs considerably less to make per episode, we cannot expect it nor would we want it to be.
Times have moved on in Eaton Place and the beautiful hallway and drawing rooms have laid empty and dust ridden for many years. But with the turn of a key, new life is breathed in to the home and a diplomat, his wife and their family move into the house.
The staff must be hired and among them is one of the original cast members, Jean Marsh, who plays the housekeeper. The characters are the same mix of funny characters from various backgrounds. Upstairs, the diplomat proves that he is a sensitive man of great character and wit.
His mother, a bookish woman of the blue-stocking intellectuals, has spent much of her life in India and is definitely strong-willed. The wife, on the other hand, is very beautiful but rather clueless about the ways of the world and ignorant of what it takes to run a house at this level of society. Her sister is quite simply a ninny that is bored of life and sympathetic to the writings of Moseley and his British Union of Fascists.
The western world is on the brink of a second world war and the abdication of a king who is in love with an American divorcee only adds to the problems of the British Empire and its servant in the Foreign Office and his home in Eaton Place.
The time that is dealt with in this newest series of Upstairs Downstairs is one that is neglected in dramatisation. It is a highly interesting period in European history where, were it not for a series of key decisions that were made, Great Britain would have found itself in a very different position as war was declared.
The show looked stunning. The colours of the silk and the sparkle of the china were both vibrant and magnificent. The accents were sufficiently hoighty toighty and the contrast in the staff’s accents were perfect. Upstairs Downstairs was not about unhappy servants downstairs or unhappy families upstairs. This was a programme where people worked well together and things ran efficiently.
The three-day event was well worth looking at and very enjoyable. As I stated previously, the ending was a little disappointing. It all ended rather sweetly and perhaps that was in keeping with the original feelgood factor of the original series but I wanted a little more from it. However, I would recommend you catch it on the reruns – enjoy it draped in silk and sipping a glass of sherry… dahling!
January means the return of some of the programmes that have been on a break for the past while. We have to wait a few weeks for the return of Fringe but for those of you who love the medical dramas of which Grey’s Anatomy finds itself at the forefront.
I don’t really know why, as apart from the last episode it has been a very dull couple of seasons that I for one think Katherine Hiegel was right to jump ship from. But anyway, despite the fact that House is a much better show and Hugh Laurie is more attractive than McSteamy and McDreamy combined, it remains very popular and no doubt thousands will tune in and watch it. By the time this goes to print it will have been on.
McDreamy will have resigned and there will have been a number of new plot twists and turns. However, Meredith will still moan her way through life. Christina will still be overly competitive and the fact that real doctors are not that good looking will remain. So, what’s my advice? Avoid! Avoid! Avoid! Get yourself the House boxset , sit back and enjoy!