Julian Fellowes' Belgravia - starts tonight, ITV1

[QueenOfTheAndals]

Anyone planning on watching? I loved Downton so I'm looking forward to this. It might be just the sort of escapist drama featuring posh people in nice frocks that we all need right now!

Yes thanks Judy I knew I wasn't quite right

We recently rewatched the reboot of Upstairs Downstairs with Keeley Hawes and Ed Stoppard. It is brilliant, SO good. It's such a shame it didn't go on for longer

I wasn't so wild on the updated episodes of UD. I love the original with an absolute passion. I watched it after the first series of Downton Abbey and realised that UD already was everything I'd hoped Downton would be but wasn't. It is so, so, so good. Real 'prestige' television. Especially season 4, their budget meant they couldn't film any actual scenes of the war and yet it is one of the most amazing depictions of WW1 there is.

maybedoctor it was repeated on London Live a while ago but we didn't see it all so we bought it on Apple TV

Upstairs, Downstairs was wonderful , the original is funny , sad and one of my favourite series of all itv programmes ever. Stories stick in the memory, like Emily’s love for the footman of another household and her desperately sad fate, poor Mrs Bridges reaction to it; the Titanic episodes. It had everything a great series should have.
The BBC sequel was great, and a wonderful cast, but it was pitted against the Abby thing, and Maggie Smith.
The Abby thing was a total rip off of Upstairs, Downstairs and so is this , just a different time period.

I did love the original UD but the production values make it very dated to modern eyes. Not just that it's set in the past obviously! The new UD came out at the same time as Downton and just couldn't compete with Maggie Smith, the sumptuousness of it etc but the new UD has really good storylines, writing and cast.

I did love the original UD but the production values make it very dated to modern eyes.

I just watched it like a play on tv. The acting and storylines more than make up for lower production values. In fact really the only lower production values were the less directed 'time filler' moments. On modern television every second of screen time is directed and then carefully edited. On the original Upstairs Downstairs, in common with most television of the era, scenes often start with a character entering a room and then doing some sort of improv acting. Like a servant gets busy tidying or a Bellamy walking around looking grand, before the next character enters and the scene actually starts. You wouldn't see that sort of scene now on tv now but you still would in a lot of plays.

I think I'll go back to the start of the old UD, I'm sure my modern eyes can take it! I'm also going to start at the beginning of Only Fools and Horses. Bored, moi? Absolutely not

Just to go back to the dates thing, as I was saying to compare downstairs scenes with Victoria rather than Downtown, though it too was a bit pulpy!

1815 Waterloo
1837 Victoria becomes Queen
1841 Belgravia (26 years after Waterloo)
1912 Sinking of the Titanic which I think was the plot of the first episode of Downton, ie heir drowns, who will inherit

I liked the original UD but it could be quite stilted. Some of the acting needed polishing. I LOVED Pauline Collins and her hubby John Alderton? in it though. Maybe it was affected by the more old fashioned production values as you say alittle . Simon Williams was fab. in it too. Each chapter\episode addressing a particular 'issue' was often rather heavy handed too.

Simon Williams was fab.

Did you ever watch The Bletchley Circle? He has a role in that where he is quite high up in SOE. Ever since it's been my head cannon that James faked his ending in UD and went into deep cover intelligence work and it is in fact James Bellamy who Susan works with.

And he faked his ending in that too!

And he's now undercover as Justin Elliot

I didn't 'get' the conversation between him and Kirstie was it? About the work ongoing at Berrow. Are we supposed to think that he's involved with the 'gang' of labourers masterminded by the now totally changed Philip?

WTF ???? Wouldn't `kirstie have noticed before? She's not a fool.

OOooops just noticed that post was meant for the TA spoilers thread !!!!! Sorry.....

Ah that's why I didn't understand it!

I was thinking it sounded like the most interesting episode of Location, Location ever!

Upstairs, Downstairs was wonderful , the original is funny , sad and one of my favourite series of all itv programmes ever. Stories stick in the memory, like Emily’s love for the footman of another household and her desperately sad fate, poor Mrs Bridges reaction to it; the Titanic episodes. It had everything a great series should have.

I agree with every word of this. I LOVED that programme!

Oh and Fellows is a bit of a plagiarist.

Plagiarist and hack.

You can get the full series of Upstairs Downstairs on amazon. There is an audio book version read by Jean Marsh and there are novelised versions of stories, like Mr Hudson story, Mrs Bridges and Rose’s story which can turn up in charity shops.

I am going to rewatch of the whole series plus the BBC version during this lockdown.

Does anyone remember the spin off series called Thomas and Sarah?

I do, Carrie - played by real-life husband and wife John Alderton and Pauline Collins.

Wasn't the series written by one of the actresses? - Jean Marsh, IIRC.

Yes , she and Eileen Atkins who was in the BBC sequel had the idea. Same with House Of Elliott

House of Elliott!

That was a brilliant programme - and I loved those early 20th Century fashions - some of the fabrics were wonderful, too.

Original Upstairs Downstairs- fantastic tv. Superb acting. Love it. There are a few ‘lost episodes’ which aren’t usually on tv but are available on Prime. Happy days. I now have something to watch every day.

Yes and it wouldn't hurt some of the 'normal' telly stations to put out repeats of these for the duration of the lockdown \isolation time), We have to have a new form every time we go out (we can't go together either) instead of Midsummer Murders (which I like but I must 've seen every one of them twice or even 3 times!!!!!)

Hello Schady You ok?