Product Description
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One of the most loved television series of all time is
brought back to life with a fresh cast and sumptuous production
values. It's 1936, and six years since parlormaid Rose left 165
Eaton Place, e brings her back, as housekeeper to its new
owners: Sir Hallam and his wife Lady Agnes, and Maud, Lady
Holland, his mother. Rose soon finds she has her work cut out as
she recruits a new 'downstairs' family to help run the elegance
and finery of the 'upstairs' world. Both upstairs and downstairs,
it soon becomes apparent there lies a labyrinth of secrets, lies
and scandal. Set against the historical backdrop of a Britain
with a new King, with sexual, social and political tensions, this
new series provides an evolving take on the master-servant
relationship.
.com
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Remade from the hit 1970s serial, this new version of
Upstairs, Downstairs, condensed into three hour-long episodes,
creates for a modern eye a vision of what 1936 in England must
have looked like. That is, if you were royalty, and ran a
fantastic mansion at 165 Eaton Place, in one of London's poshest
neighborhoods. This show, as indicated in its title, revels in
its overall ability to convey life as it unfolds upstairs, among
the elite, and downstairs, among those who work tirelessly to
keep the palace running. From the first episode, "The Fledgling,"
the plot is placed politically, socially, and romantically as
newlyweds Sir Hallam Holland (Ed Stoppard) and Lady Agnes (Keeley
Hawes) decide to sweep the cobwebs out of the old family haunt in
favor of modernization. While mundane house dramas unfurl,
increasing tenfold once Sir Hallam's nosy, old-fashioned mother,
Maud (Eileen Atkins), decides that she and her pet monkey will be
moving in, larger political dramas pepper the personal landscape.
For example, in "The Fledgling," as well as the next episodes,
"The Ladybird" and "The Cuckoo," Agnes's sister, Lady Persephone
(Claire Foy), is increasingly misled by the newly formed fascist
party, and ing tensions between Jewish household members and
Persie's ilk, including German official Ribbentrop (Edward
Baker-Duly), loom large. As would be expected in this royal tale,
much of the plot comprises Agnes's ability to bear children and
the political expectations Sir Hallam must meet even when morally
conflicted.
The most winning aspect of this miniseries is in its display of
what the servants attend throughout; their challenges seem
equally as difficult as the challenges presented in tandem
upstairs. When Agnes promotes ex-housekeeper Rose Buck (Jean
Marsh) to hire and manage the house crew, Rose rises to the
occasion and commands many interesting scenes in which she hires,
fires, and coaches team members like the butler, Pritchard
(Adrian borough), head chef Mrs. Thackeray (Anne Reid), young
footman Johnny (Nico Mirallegro), and maid Ivy (Ellie Kendrick).
Lavish scenes showing preparation for parties, plus those in
which the servants simply keep up with daily tasks, may shock
those who are not familiar with formal etiquette from the past.
Amanjit (Art Malik), Maud's secretary who lives upstairs separate
from the rest of the servants, serves as a character who
straddles both worlds, offering us glimpses into a man who can
relate to both classes. While ultimately modern change is afoot
in the Holland household, it is slow moving, and viewers will
enjoy watching it come incrementally, through refined displays.
--Trinie Dalton