Very Cool!!!

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Anyone besides me notice that the recurrent theme of "Over the Rainbow" is not the version contemporaneous with the time period of the series? Not even a close imitation of Judy Garland. Else the series is worse than what passes as drama on American commercial networks ... at least there are no vampires or zombies. Just a slutty sister and a failed alcoholic recovery.Characters are flat as a piece of paper. Percy is the only character that shows the turbulence of the age, but that is subsequently diminished by sex scandal and suicide. The cameo in the last episode of the autistic sister consoling the adulterous husband is a predictable device screenwriters use to provoke audience forgiveness. Too bad the series put Miss Buck in a sanatorium. But that's what young screenwriters do to dispose of old themes that work.

I didn't see the original series so this isn't a comparison.I found this series to be quite compelling, and keenly await the second, though not at all what I expected. There was more consideration of personal stories relating to the horror of fascism in Europe than being a story about the running of an upper class household, but it was utterly compelling. I think that three episodes wasn't enough.Eileen Atkins gave an authoritative role as the lady dowager, but wasn't permitted sufficient screen time to make the role as intriguing as it could have been. The same is true for her secretary, played by Art Malik. Two star performances that were unable to fulfil themselves properly. I hope that the second series addresses this. Adrian Scarborough fitted the role of the butler, Mr Pritchard, with aplomb, and I'd like to see his other credited roles. Like others, I find the score to be more than a little weak, and in addition to the truncated nature of the story being covered in a mere three episodes, and of course, the lack of Maggie Smith, was why this wasn't the success that Downton Abbey is. Hopefully the four episode second series will provide a better score and more chance for characters to develop, because there's a lot here that's worth exploring. In the meantime, I'll be viewing the original Upstairs, Downstairs: I want more, perhaps not in such a rush to tell a long story in a short time.

I'm too young to have seen the original, 1970s UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS but I understand this three-part miniseries is supposed to be a continuation of the same story/situation. It was broadcast by the BBC on three consecutive nights, beginning Boxing Day 2010.Many naysayers remarked that this series was hurriedly conceived to cash in on the success of ITV's rival drama, DOWNTON ABBEY. Having seen some episodes of DOWNTON, I have to admit that it's vastly superior to what we have here. In terms of character interaction alone, DOWNTON wins hands down because UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS never for a moment features the kind of master-servant interaction you'd expect from the title.The two classes lead totally separate lives and involved in pretty much unconnected story lines. Downstairs, there's a rebellious maid who wears nail polish and a butler who used to work on a cruise ship. Upstairs, dead-eyed Keeley Hawes is pregnant and her younger sister's a bit of a tearaway. That's it in terms of decent plotting.The characters are dull and because the cast is so large we never get a feel for any of them, so decent actors like Art Malik are wasted while others go through the motions. There's a whiff of political correctness in the air and things only pick up later on with the introduction of a back plot involving the rise of Oswald Mosley and his blackshirts, but again that has little to do with the premise of the show. A bit of a missed opportunity, then, and another example of the BBC's desperate attempts to make money.

I agree with the reviewers who were disappointed with the new series. It has little of the charm or true sense of time or place of the original series - who needs a monkey sitting on the dining room table? Supposed to be funny or culturally inclusive? Didn't work for me.The new series lacks a true historical perspective - instead we are being fed a 21st century version of how things 'ought' to have been or might have been if 21st century people were alive back then. There's blood and violence - splattered blood no less -, rebellious servants, the lady of the house eating fish and chips bought by a servant - give me a break! And then, as someone else pointed out the damn music is all over the place, even when the 'rebellious' girl servant is taking off her gloves to reveal her nail polish we are fed dramatic cords . Silly...I give this a fail.