The BBC bringing back ITV's classic period drama 'Upstairs Downstairs' as a rival to ITV's new big period drama hit 'Downton' was big news when this show first aired over Christmas 2010.It had a lot going for it in terms of cast (Keeley Hawes in particular) and Heidi Thomas involved as writer but sadly could never live up to the high expectations audiences had for it when comparing it to the original show, and of course 'Downton'.It's never going to go down as the best show ever made, but it was a lot better than people made it out to be. Sadly though the second series saw a decline in ratings (nothing disastrous though) and the BBC quietly shut the doors on the house once more.

Ridiculously fast-paced and painfully one-dimensional characters make this series inevitably forgettable and impersonal. Indeed, the two characters that could upgrade the series to near excellence were "dismissed" after the first season for some unknown reason (that is, Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins). In fact, the only persuasive character remaining was Adrian Scarborogh, although his splendid performance was held back by the lacking work of the directors. The cinematography is cheesy and unoriginal, the casting predictable, and the editing eats even further into the little talent present in the whole production. The entire thing makes for a robotic chablon of a spectacle.These factors, amongst many others, make 165 Eaton Place the only common denominator between UD 2010 and that from the early 70s.

I 'm a huge fan of the original Upstairs Downstairs, and have watched it, in its entirety, three times. From this new series I've only watch one episode, and it is the last I'm ever going to watch. To start with, there's the loud musical score that's tiresomely woven throughout the entire run-time. It aims to give you a comic prelude before a comic moment, a dramatic overtone before something somber happens, and in general the impression that you wouldn't understand if people are happy or sad without some kind of a musical instrument to tell you. I bet the musical director's experience came from watching Leave IT To Beaver and Bugs Bunny.The choice between who would play the masters and who the servants was probably made with a toss of a coin: there seems to be no difference in acting style or class between the two groups. And when I say "acting style" I use the term loosely, because I'm yet to see any acting taking place. But who could blame the actors when they are made up like wax figures, and when the producers think that name-dropping (Wallis Simpson, the King) is a good substitute for a plot? There is also no realism in the series. The chauffeur tells the master's sister-in-law that he would address her as a lady when she behaves like one (her crime was to enter the front seat of the car instead of the back seat). Can you imagine any of the servants in the previous series say that? Masters and servants seem to be palsy-walsy in this series, which makes them even harder to tell apart.Jean Marsh should have known better than to appear in this pale melodrama and give it her stamp of approval. But then, as she is asking the audience to accept that Rose Buck aged 40 years between 1930 and 1936, I wouldn't put too much stock in her judgment to begin with.

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.