State: Ended
Genre: Drama
Origin:
United Kingdom
Developed by: Jean Marsh, Eileen Atkins, John Hawkesworth and Eileen Atkins
Stars: Gordon Jackson, David Langton and Jean Marsh
IMDb score:
8,4 (3.958)
Releasedate: Sunday 10 October 1971
This TV Show is not available on US streaming services.
Upstairs, Downstairs plot
In Upstairs, Downstairs, the aristocratic Bellamy family (upstairs) and their loyal servants (downstairs) are introduced. We follow the ups and downs of the residents of the house against the background of a fascinating period in history. Major social reforms are taking place across the country. The end of the Victorian era is in sight and the First World War seems inevitable.
Actors and actresses
Edward Barnes
Rose Buck
Angus Hudson
Daisy Barnes
Mrs. Bridges
Ruby Finch
James Bellamy
Videos and trailers
All MediaOpinions about Upstairs, Downstairs
The reviews and comments below are selected at random from our extensive user contributions. If you want to write a review or post a comment yourself, you can do so on a specific season page.
Dievegge
- 228 comments
- 942 votes
Upstairs, Downstairs is about class thinking in a typical household in Edwardian London. Based on birthright, one class is literally and figuratively on a higher level than the other. The upper class has better clothes, furniture and leisure activities. Their sociolect is also different: the refined British accent of the leisure class versus the flat accent of the working class.
This distinction is immediately apparent in the opening scene, when an applicant is referred from the main entrance to the service entrance. For Clémence/Sarah, a job as a maid is the way to escape poverty: food every day and a roof over her head. She discovers that there is also a strict hierarchy within the realm of servants. At the bottom is the scullery maid; at the top is butler Hudson. He is a kind of champion in the second division, who rules despotically on the ground floor, but humbly bows to his "improvements".
In the following episodes, the Bellamy family comes to the fore. They too appear to be prisoners of decency and etiquette. Their world is a stage in which everyone plays the role prescribed by society. Every now and then someone feels the need to step out of that role: the husband who wants to vote against a Tory bill, the wife who has an affair, the rebellious daughter who befriends a group of leftist artists. .. That leads to gossip and a scandal, which must then be covered up, after which life can go back to its old course.
It is a successful image of a bygone period. The most beautiful roles are for Pauline Collins, Gordon Jackson, Nicola Pagett and Jean Marsh - one of the creators of the series. The dialogues of, among others, Fay Weldon let the characters clash with each other in a proper way. Favorite episodes: 1, 7, 12.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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