Upstairs Downstairs

[celticlassie]

Anyone watching?

Downton, it is not.

It all seems pointless tbh.

dull dull dull; I recorded last two episodes on BT Vision boxy thing but deleted them after watching first one for half an hour.

Can't beat Mrs Bridges.."RUBY have you peeled them potaters yet" and Mr Hudson polishing his wine cellar key

Well I didn't bother about it last Sunday and it sounds like I didn't miss anything I'm 'cos it's obviously crap and i wanted to like it. Oh I HATE all that OTT music as well.

Rusty thanks for all the information on the old Royals there were plenty of them weren't there? So the King was Bertie by the time of the 2nd W.W. that was lucky wasn't it? So David couldn't be the Reich's puppet King if the worst happened.

Anyone see yesterday's? it's improved a bit; still contrived but I managed to follow the plot without too much confusion (apart from Hallam and other posh blokes at some reception or other) and i s'pose if you didn't know that maids were exploited as recently as the 30's it may have taught you something. good to see Jean Marsh in it (sad that she actually IS ill as well).

Even the Keira,Kerry actress was better this week. I will watch next week now .

Very clunky references to Lesxxxx though; a straight lift from Vita Sackville etc.

Hello
Am normally to be found moaning about breast feeding over on those threads but am moved to participate in this thread by the feeling that at some point surely the butler will liberate Paris or the maid will single handedly take on Rommel etc.
They've got it the wrong way round and are fitting the characters to history rather than fitting history carefully into the goings on of the house.
Mind you, I love Anne Reid and so far this series hasnt reached the heights of preposterousness of Downton and all it's stirrings in cousin matthew's trousers etc.

YesEcho i was going to mention the cook but I forgot the actresses' name I love her too (i loved Dinner ladies!) she came into her own as well a bit in Upst. Downst.

You 've put yr finger on why it's so dissatisfying !!

I LOVED Downton though . Because like Call the Midwife it wasn't rushed and trusted the patience of the audience to unfold gradually.

I have a couple of questions

1. How did the mother die? DId she just vanish in-between series?
2. Why is the housekeeper in a sanatorium?

The housekeeper has TB (hastily written into the storyline because actress Jean Marsh suffered a stroke in real life).

Eileen Atkins, who played the mother, didn't want to appear in series 2, (apparently had issues with the storylines) so Blanche's character was introduced instead and the mother was killled off.

I have to say, I thought this week's episode a vast improvement on the previous two. Much less of a history lesson and more character based. I wish they'd get rid of the Duke of Kent, though. He seems to be shoe horned into every episode and adds nothing to the series.

I guessed that Jean Marsh had been ill in real life. it's rather nice of them not to have written her out completely I think.

They could have perhaps made more of the mother's death though rather than just putting her ashes on the mantlepiece.

It is an enjoyable enough waste of a sunday evening though :)

Yes Jusfloating it was better than the last eps. which is not saying much is it? It seems that Eileen Atkins has the same issues that we have with it!

DH and I watched it on Sunday evening. We roared with laughter right through, and am now wondering if it wasn't meant to be funny.

it was pretty nasty with eileen atkins, apparently, she left them in a bit of a lurch. but fair play to her, she was absolutelybloodyright, and she is the co-creator of the series, of course she will have a great interest in how its revival works.

Yes Aitch poor Eileen Atkins