I just got an email from PBS’s long-running Masterpiece program (formerly Masterpiece Theatre) reminding me to tune in Sunday night for the season two finale of the remade Upstairs Downstairs series. Damnit. I was relieved when I thought last week’s episode was the last, even if I thought it ended rather strangely. To recap: Lady Agnes found the tee-totaling housekeeping manager Mr. Pritchard hungover on the steps of her London home. “The Last Waltz” indeed—except it isn’t.
Let me be clear: I am a sucker for British TV drama, particularly of the period costume variety. It’s in my constitution that I just have to watch that sort of thing. When it was first announced, Downton Abbey was accused of plagiarizing the original 1970s version of Upstairs Downstairs. However, with UD‘s second season airing between sets of new Downton Abbey episodes (aka “The Drought”), I have to say that the new Upstairs Downstairs tries too hard to replace its much more popular contemporary in the “dramatization of the British social classes” department. In other words, it’s no Downton Abbey. All of the characters are uninteresting, the situations either way too contrived or simply ill-conceived, and the historical backdrop is a bit “been there, done that.” I watch Upstairs Downstairs, but I don’t enjoy it. It’s just a way to kill the time until January 6.
The Rumination Refinery 