Pertaining To Upstairs Downstairs

It's 1936, and Sir Hallam Holland (Ed Stoppard) and his lovely wife Agnes (Keeley Hawes) move to London after spending time abroad. The couple is delighted to have their own home - until Hallam's mother Maud (Eileen Atkins) shows up. Hot on Maud's heels is Agnes's younger sister Persephone (Claire Foy), an awkward young lady who is clueless about proper conduct in society. Meanwhile, the newly-acquired servants develop their own problems and friendships. Neither the upstairs nor the downstairs can avoid the chaos spreading throughout Europe as fascism attempts to take hold in England.

I wasn't too sure about this show before I hit the "play" button. Upstairs Downstairs centers on the personal lives of a small group of people living in the same house - can anyone say "soap opera?" However, I was pleasantly surprised. Somehow the filmmakers managed to make a show entirely focused on people and their relationships without descending into crazy, tangled story lines or sex.

One great thing about this show is that essentially all the characters are both likeable and human at the same time. Nearly all of them make mistakes, but most are just immature or misguided and end up all right. (I say "most" because there are one or two exceptions - but I musn't say anymore.) Sir Hallam is, of course, absolutely wonderful, and I found the butler, Mr. Pritchard (Adrian Scarborough), to be one of my favorite British costume drama characters of all time. Even Ivy (Ellie Kendrick), the young maid I found excruciatingly immature and annoying in the first episode, became more likeable as the series went on. (But could any other Americans understand what she said? Her accent was so heavy I couldn't understand her half the time.)

It was also interesting to see the historical aspects of Upstairs Downstairs. It's easy to forget that there were Nazi sympathizers in England (and, undoubtedly, in other allied countries) shortly before WWII, but the second and third episodes highlight this fact very clearly. Also, a different portrayal of King George VI (Blake Ritson) from the one in The King's Speech was rather interesting to see. In Upstairs Downstairs, King George (who was still the Duke of Kent) has no noticeable stammer at all, whereas he can sometimes barely speak in The King's Speech. I'm not sure which is more historically accurate, though I suspect it is the latter. However, the Duke has a very small part in Upstairs Downstairs, so the absence of a stammer is not too distracting.

My favorite thing about this series is that it is pro-life. First, Lady Agnes has had a miscarriage and wants nothing more than to get pregnant and deliver a live, healthy baby. This view of babies as wonderful, even miraculous little beings is counter-cultural right now. *Spoiler Warning* Second, Hallam is determined to do right by little Lotte (Alexia James) when her mother dies under his roof. He practically adopts her, despite stiff opposition from his mother and his over-wrought wife, and pursues her when she is sent away without his knowledge. Finally, Hallam's joy at the discovery that his sister is alive completely overshadows the revelation that she is pretty severely mentally challenged. Understandably angry with his mother for lying to him about the death of his sister, he clearly shows that he would rather have a mentally challenged sister than no sister at all. In spite of what society might think of her, he immediately takes her home to live with him. This is a truly lovely embrace of a person who may be considered by some to be better off dead. Taken together, the positive portrayals of babies, adoption, and those with mental challenges all add up to a definite pro-life theme. *End of Spoiler*

Without gushing too much over Sir Hallam, I must say that I absolutely loved this show. Upstairs Downstairs has likeable characters, exciting history, and even a few pro-life elements. It also avoids the bottomless pit of soap opera-like melodrama. Things like well-written humor and fine acting are just the icing on the top of this delectable cake - and there are very few shows or movies, British or otherwise, that can boast that.

My Rating: T (sexual content including two bedroom scenes between an unmarried couple (not sex scenes))