Upstairs Downstairs...

[megcleary]

Any opinions?

Kerstina, she was in Anne Frank, the version televised in 5 parts by BBC1 at 7pm last year. I love her.

Oh, and she had a small part in An Education as a smoking, gigging schoolfriend of the main chararcter

Giggling, sorry, not gigging!

Not convinced by the sister/chauffeur affair.

Yes LIZS. I don't buy into that either.

"Not convinced by the sister/chauffeur affair"

No, me neither.

Isn´t his room near the kitchen?

Yes, Lady Agnes suddenly a bitch

The cockney maid from the children's home was Anne Frank in the BBC adaptation about 2 yrs ago.

D

It's no Downton, is it?

My biggest beef is that they're trying to cram all these characters and storylines in and there's no time to develop them properly. Rachel and the trainee footman both disappeared within 40 minutes! The footman in particular was utterly pointless.

But the frocks are simply glorious and there is some good acting.

I reckon that the footman will be back tonight, or in a few more episodes (if there are more) he'll return as a war hero.

I assume there must be some point in introducing these characters and then dispatching with them 10 minutes later. Agree that Lady Agnes' outburst about Lotte made no sense whatsoever; whilst keeping basic facts of all foreign affairs straight it can hardly have been difficult to remember what was kicking off in Nazi Germany, surely?!

Not clear at all where Rachel appeared from, nor what the references to her husband were in aid of. Shame not to explore her back story as a university lecturer more.

Agree that the footman thing was a total waste of time unless he's coming back. Plus if you were his mum, would you think a life in service to a bunch of martini-swilling aristos was the right place for someone with an alcohol problem to rehabilitate?

They're simply trying to cover too much in a three story arc. Today we have the abdication crisis - it's all too much political history rammed into a social drama.

I can vaguely remember the last series, way back whenever. I also don't as a rule watch "hysterical" dramas, so this was a complete change for me.
but I agree with those saying that the writing seems erratic and introducing these new characters then getting rid of them.
I also think that Keeley Hawes character is, can't think of the word but the character seems to change in each episode. She would be well aware of the implications of sending the child back to germany, and of the implications for the family because of her sisters fascination with the fascists, yet she seems to accept them

last night's was much better, based on the the Mitford sisters IMO. The maid from the orphanage improved as well, DD and I cried over the jewish maid and her little girl aaaaah.

But , yes they are trying to get too much into a short time span. better in a 6 to 8 week series.

If this was ITV I would say it was good but as the BBC made this, it was not up to their usual high standards.

It feels that it was a little lacking in every department.

I loved the idea of the dotty mother, back from India with a monkey and Art Malik.

I agree entirely with ppeatfruit, and also thought that last night's was much better.

My biggest beef, aside from the erratic pace, is the way they are including historical figures such as the Duke of Kent and Wallis Simpson as actual characters in it. The beauty of the first series is that famous people were referred to but never actually seen. (I don't think we actually saw King Edward VII when he came to dinner in the original, but I may be wrong).

Oh really? I do hope so. It's almost pointlessly brisk in just three episodes.

thank heavens that baby was ok. I was sure it or her were going to die.

with apologies for appalling grammar, I am obviously overcome.

I BET that there are at least 2 follow up series to come...

I agree with the poster who said it was lacking something. I had high hopes for the third. There were some lovely bits but I think the direct involvement in the abdication crisis was a mistake. Don't confuse fiction with fact.

I have loved it. But then I didn't watch Downton abbey or the original.

I cried when she took lotte away.

Much better tonight.
I hope they will do a series.

I've not been watching it, but I've idly wondered if Jean Marsh now holds some sort of TV record for coming back to a character after the longest break. She beats any Doctors I can think of...