Upstairs Downstairs - The Complete First Season (1974)

lovely and addictive series

this series of upstairs and downstairs I have watched endless times.
Each time I watch still get excited and emotinal.
lovely series characters stories.
Do not hesitate to buy it if you like drama.
May 17, 2008

top drama series

Savour the wonderful premiere series of UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS in this great DVD box set.

The saga of the Bellamy family and their lively, loyal servants at 165 Eaton Place went on to span 5 series and countless awards. In the legendary first series we are introduced to politician Richard Bellamy (David Langton), his beautiful wife Lady Marjorie (Rachel Gurney) and their children James (Simon Williams) and Elizabeth (Nicola Pagett). Downstairs, their staff, Hudson the butler (Gordon Jackson), Mrs Bridges the cook (Angela Baddeley), Rose the maid (Jean Marsh) and Emily the scullery maid (Evin Crowley) attempt to uphold their own values whilst coming to grips with an ever-changing world.

Originally-devised by actresses Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, the series explored the day-to-day life of servant and master in the Edwardian period, a time of great political and social upheaval. The series later took the Bellamy family into the First World War (Series 4, regarded by most as the greatest), the 1920s flapper period and the impending Stock Market crash (Series 5).

As the series opens, it is the year 1903, and great changes are afoot for the Bellamy family.

"On Trial" - Into the structured Bellamy household whirls the unconventional free-spirit Clemence Delise (Pauline Collins) who is applying for the new position of parlourmaid. After Lady Marjorie re-names the girl Sarah, she is quickly inducted into the residence, but it soon becomes clear that Sarah's true calling isn't in domestic service.

"The Mistress and the Maids" - Lady Marjorie sits for an important society painter, but it's Sarah who enflames his creative talents.

"Board Wages" - When the Bellamy's leave London for the weekend, Sarah and the servants are left to their own devices. But when James unexpectedly returns home early, Sarah is thrown into a dilemma which could see her walk away from Eaton Place.

"The Path of Duty" - Elizabeth returns home from a German finishing school, but her stubborn, willful streak is still very much intact. When she must make her formal society debut, Elizabeth exposes her parents to a huge scandal by running away.

"A Suitable Marriage" - The visiting Baron von Rimmer seems the perfect prospective husband for Elizabeth...or is he?

"A Cry for Help" - Richard becomes entangled in scandal when the new maid appeals for his assistance in a delicate private matter.

"Magic Casements" - Lady Marjorie enjoys a tender but brief affair with one of James' military friends.

"I Dies from Love" - Emily becomes infatuated with a footman, leading to dire consequences when her affections are not returned.

"Why Was Her Door Locked?" - An emotionally-distraught Mrs Bridges plunges the Bellamy family into disgrace when she kidnaps a baby.

"A Voice from the Past" - Whilst helping in a soup kitchen, James and Elizabeth stumble onto a homeless Sarah, and decide to take her back to Eaton Place. The situation becomes complicated when Elizabeth learns of James' affair with Sarah during her previous employment at the house.

"The Swedish Tiger" - Sarah becomes a pawn in a plan to rob the Bellamy's of priceless antiques.

"The Key of the Door" - Elizabeth comes of age, but her headstrong attitude once again causes friction with her parents, when she befriends Evelin Larkin and her group of socialists.

"For Love of Love" - Elizabeth finally marries poet Lawrence Kirbridge at the request of her parents, and James rekindles his affair with Sarah, who is now a music-hall singer.

Due to a technician's strike in 1971, the first six episodes were taped in black-and-white, and an alternate colour version of the first episode was filmed later on, for broadcasters who didn't wish to screen the black and white episodes. In the colour broadcasts, Sarah leaves at the end of the first episode "On Trial", but the complete B&W/colour inclusive series has her leave at the end of "Board Wages". UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS is still often aired without the crucial black and white episodes, but the DVD edition includes the complete story arc with no omissions and both versions of the "On Trial" episode. February 26, 2006

The best ever made

Upstairs, Downstairs is the saga of the Bellamy family and their household staff in the early 20th century. Throughout the series their lives, loves, tragedies and triumphs are portrayed. This set of 13 episodes includes the COMPLETE first season as seen in Britain, including some black and white episodes never seen on tv in the US. In the first episode we are introduced to the colorful Sarah (Pauline Collins), in the second (B&W episode) Lady Marjorie has her portrait painted only to discover at the Royal Academy Show that the artist has also painted two half-naked maids in an attic room (possibly Bellamy maids?). In episodes 3 and 4 (B&W) we are introduced to the children, James and Elizabeth Bellamy. Episodes 5 and 6 show us the romance between Elizabeth Bellamy and a German Baron (and it's dark underside), and the pregnancy of the new maid, Mary. More familiar episodes to the US audience come in #7 and #8, Lady Marjorie is spellbound with a young army captain who is friends with her son James, and Emily (the annoying kitchen maid) falls for a neighboring family's footman, with disastrous results. Episodes 9 and 10 have Mrs. Bridges, the cook, behaving in a most improper way and stealing a baby, and the erstwhile Sarah returns with a new plan to improve her social standing. The two penultimate episodes in this set include the further adventures of Sarah the housemaid with a Swedish valet, and the further adventures of the Bellamy's daughter, Elizabeth, with a group of young Socialists. Finally we are left with the now estranged Elizabeth Bellamy and her relationship with a leftist poet, Lawrence Kirbridge--and a great eagerness to own the next 13 episodes, now also available.

Upstairs, Downstairs is the classic "Masterpiece Theater" series, with costumes, drama, comedy, and riveting characters that we take to our hearts. If you are a fan of more recent costume dramas on A&E and PBS, you will very much enjoy this early series which holds up remarkably well, after nearly two decades.
We completed the First Season last night and I'm hooked. The writing is terrific and all the performances are enchanting. My particular favorites are Mr. Hudson, the butler, and Rose, played by the gifted and gorgeous Jean Marsh.

The print quality of the videos is excellent overall, but I know that I shall be buying the series again when it comes out on DVD, as I'm sure some jerking of the picture (mostly in the credits, never in the performance itself) and other flaws will be removed as far as possible.

The social structures of both the wealthy class and the servant class are jarring, especially to an early 21st-century viewer. We have come quite a long way from that time when a servant must "know his place". Yet, it wasn't just they who had to know who they were and what place they occupied in the world: in many ways, the wealthy were just as trapped in their positions - if not moreso - than the servants who ran their lives. And make no mistake - the servants DID run things if this series is to be believed. November 2, 2004

Master Piece Theather in true form indeed....

I was just a toddler when the series first aired in the 70's, but from earing about the masterpiece theather references on PBS always wandered what all the fuzz was about.

This is a definite work of art, it should be considered a gem of the british television history. The acting is superb and the dialogues between the characters are fascinating in the emotional highs and lows that are transmitted in each episode.

My advise for the potential viewer is to view the series from episode 1 in order to fully appreciate how the characters develop and mature. There are some that grow and others that decay over time, but very interesting to see the dynamics of it.

Hudson, the buttler, for me is the best, with it's total devotion to the old order and his place in the social structure prevalent at the time, he seems to signify the DOWNSTAIRS. I imagine that is how the real buttlers acted at the beginning of the past century.

Finally, Lady Marjorie's character is exquisite in her representantion of the quintesential high class lady (UPSTAIRS) she is serene, classy and totally controlled in her behavior and emotions (altought sometimes she lets go letting us know that she is human after all).

Definite classic.... June 11, 2004

Still holding up well

This series holds up well after all these years. Sure, there are some minor problems with creaky dollys, hearing the camera tape rolling--hey, this was 1971 and it was a low budget make! But even with that it's a wonderful look at Edwardian England. Some of the best writing on either side of the "Big Pond." By far, this is one of the best series out there. February 17, 2004

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