This new series of Upstairs, Downstairs begins in 1936 just days before the death of King George V. Downton Abbey started with the sinking of the Titanic. Ergo, Masterpiece Classic requires historical tragedies as well as English accents. So if I plan on writing my own Masterpiece fan fiction, I will have to choose some bombshell from Brit History for Laura Linney to summarize. I call dibs on Jack the Ripper!
Confession: I have never seen the original Upstairs, Downstairs series (or series of series since the UK calls their seasons, “series”. Tidbit!) but I’ve always been aware of it. Kind of like always knowing the title I, Claudius and having no idea why. When I read Hamlet in high school, I thought, “OK, so maybe I, Claudius is a spin-off.” Just FYI: It is not.
Back to Up/Down. Rose Buck, played by Jean Marsh, comes back to 165 Eaton Place to run the household once again. Marsh and Eileen Atkins created the original series. Atkins is also in the cast as the mother-in-law of the new lady of the house. (Fan fic idea: Atkins and Maggie Smith solve the Jack the Ripper mystery.) Keeley Hawes plays the lady. Always happy to see her but it also reminds me that Ashes to Ashes Series Two is not available on Netflix yet. Boo.
After this first episode, I’m still trying to figure out who my Bates-equivalent is. I’m thinking it’s the chauffeur. He had a great moment where he schooled Hawes’ spoiled sister in etiquette. Just so you know, if you ask for the car, you wait out front to be picked up and you sit in the back. Everyone has to abide by the rules.
Rounding out the characters are Hawes’ husband the diplomat, a cook, an orphaned housemaid who indirectly causes the new footman to smack a shard of glass into a guy’s neck and the new footman who is now in custody. There’s also Atkins’s personal secretary, an Indian man who seems to be the center of calm. Let us not forget his pet monkey.
I enjoyed this episode and I’m definitely in for the duration but I wasn’t Downton Abbey rabid for it. Perhaps because I haven’t found the character that will make me sob uncontrollably. They still have two more episodes…
What did I learn from Upstairs, Downstairs Part One? I want to see the original series at some point. Wallis Simpson hung out with a German guy who was pro-Nazi. That everything I’ve learned about Wallis Simpson recently has been negative. Never hit someone upside the head with a glass. And if you do, don’t look surprised when they have a shard sticking out of their neck.
