Upstairs, Downstairs 2011 Version

I never saw the original Upstairs productions in the seventies. I am sure I was too busy watching Happy Days and MASH. However when word came that PBS was going to be broadcasting a continuation of the series I looked forward to seeing it.

Set in 1936 , six years after the original ended in 1930, the shows are joined together by the character of Rose Buck played by Jean Marsh in both series. In this most recent version Rose now runs a domestic servicing agency and in being asked to provide staff for the new owners of the home she eventually becomes the head housekeeper.

I am not sure why this show attracts me so, no more than I am why I thought Downtun Abbey was so good. Perhaps it is that the characters are so well formed, but even more that they are honorable and good, for the most part that is.

In this new series the house has been purchased by the diplomat Sir Hallam Holland and his wife the Lady Agnes. They employ Rose Buck to staff the house and we meet and come to know the new staff. Rose herself becomes the head housekeeper. A Jewish refugee joins the staff and her daughter becomes part of the plot. The Fascists are in London and the King is abdicating. All of this is a backdrop for a wonderful series.

One note for me was that Lady Agnes is not that likable a character. We come to realize that she is not so much unlikable as a product of her times and so consumed with her own life and later pregnancy that she fails to appreciate all that is going on around her. One can suppose we all make that mistake at times.

I have read that there will be more of both Upstairs, Downstairs and Downtun Abbey and I for one, cannot wait.