Original Upstairs Downstairs was excellent far better than Downton imo and even quite racy at times
Remember Lady Marjorie and her norty 'fling'?? Or Capt Bellamy getting the parlour maid up the duff. Gasp.
I rather liked the recent Christmas U/D one off they did, but my heart sank when I realised they'd be covering the war years with the new series. Now it's just like any other 'wartime drama' and that is just going to dominate everything and it won't feel like UD anymore
. Stamps foot!
The subjects they're covering are more about the historical things that were going on generally rather than focusing on the house and the people in it.
The thing I liked about it originally was the attention to detail wrt the hierarchy in the house and the saucy shenanigans they all got up to glossed over by appearances.