On Sunday April 17, 2001 the New York PBS channel Thirteen continued to air the new season of Upstairs, Downstairs. The episode will be repeated on Thirteen’s related prominent PBS channel, WLIW21, on Monday April 18, 2011.
The new season premiered on the PBS channels the previous week, but the show aired on British television as a Christmas special in December 2010.
Premise of Upstairs, Downstairs Season 6
As fans of Upstairs, Downstairs may recall, the original series ended in 1930. The new episodes pick up in 1936.
The young and happily wed couple, Sir Hallam Holland and Lady Agnes move into 165 Eaton Place, and the arrival of the husband’s difficult mother and wife’s difficult sister cause complications and bring about revelations.
The house’s familiar former servant, Rose, returns to head the staff, who has a selection of their own concerns, and as ever with Upstairs, Downstairs the household becomes involved in the current events and political issues of the day.
Upstairs, Downstairs Background
The original five season series of Upstairs, Downstairs aired in England on ITV during the 1970s, and it was also an early success for the American television program, Masterpiece Theatre. The latest addition to the series aired on BBC One in England, and it is currently being broadcast on Masterpiece Classic on PBS in the United States.
The series covered the lives and experiences of London’s Bellamy family and their servants from 1903 to 1930, and it was considered groundbreaking to show the stories of both upper-class characters and their staff in equal proportions in the series. Since, this has become a formula in many series, such as The Grand and most recently, Downton Abbey.
Upstairs, Downstairs was created by the actresses Eileen Atkins and Jean Marsh, and marsh also starred in the series, although Atkins did not appear in the first five seasons.
The series also gave birth to a short-lived spin-off series, Thomas and Sarah, which followed the adventures of the two of the former servants of the Bellamys.
Review of Upstairs, Downstairs Season 6
One must forget that this is intended to be a continuation of Upstairs, Downstairs. Fans of that original series will be disappointed if they expect to learn more about the former characters. Rose is the only character from the original series to appear in this continuation, and while some of the other characters are mentioned by name, the only new information told about any of them is Richard Bellamy, who is said to have died.
Admittedly, many of the original cast members are sadly themselves dead, and some of the cast members who are alive played characters that died in the course of the series, so the possibilities for reuniting the original characters were limited, but arguably, somewhat more of an effort could have been made.
It would have seemed appropriate to link the addition to the former series more substantially. For example, the character of Lady Agnes could instead have been said to be the grown-up character of Lucy, daughter of Miss Elizabeth Bellamy. Lucy could still have had a noticeably younger sister from her mother’s second marriage, and Lucy’s husband could still have been Sir Hallam. It would have been a strong method of tying the series to the special, and yet, the special could still have been produced with the same set of plots.
However, if one forgets that this is meant to be an addition to Upstairs, Downstairs, it makes for entertaining viewing. It’s not great, but it is good.
The cast is strong, especially those playing the character upstairs. Keeley Hawes as Lady Agnes and Ed Stoppard as Sir Hallam give admirable performances, and it is fascinating to see Claire Foy, who brilliantly and endearing portrayed the title character in the recent miniseries adaptation of Little Dorrit, exhibit her acting versatility by playing the very different character of Lady Persie.
Of course, Eileen Atkins gives a standout performance, and it is a kick to see her and Jean Marsh act alongside each other in the series they created forty years ago.
The actors playing the new servants mainly do not live up to their predecessors, but Adrian Scarborough does make the role of the butler, Mr. Prichard, his own. This demands praise since fulfilling the legacy forged by the original butler, Mr. Hudson, who was wonderfully portrayed by the late Gordon Jackson, was always going to be particularly difficult.
The storylines of these latest episodes try to keep with the style of the original series, which also explored contemporary issues, but the special is not as adept at realistically blending its fictional characters with historical events. Nonetheless, this series is enjoyable and better quality than average.
Elizabeth Fredericks - Elizabeth Fredericks is a graduate of Oxford University, and she has worked as a freelance writer since her first paid assignment as a ...
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