Raetsonwe Redundant and unnecessary.

2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

ScoobyWell Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Melanie Bouvet The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

ianlouisiana The rise of Fascism,the persecution of Jews and the abdication were key to our society in the 1930s and they are viewed in "Upstairs Downstairs" through the eyes of the occupants of an imposing residence in one of London's best addresses. Crucial to the first series being re - shown on "Drama" is the redoubtable Miss E.Atkins as the matriarchal figure. Irredeemably "posh" and late Victorian Empire builder she may be,but she's no fool and can sense weakness in both her son and his wife which she sets out to eradicate by subtle and not so subtle means so that the status quo can be properly maintained. Her equivalent below stairs is Miss J.Marsh who has more compassion but is equally determined to maintain the status quo amongst the servants. Between them the house is run just about a well as it could be in such turbulent times. As Mr Stoppard and Miss Hawes seem out of their comfort zones it falls to this veteran pair to carry the show,which they do,at least when one or other is on screen. Butler aside,the servants have unfortunately little to flesh out,and should have been told to watch the rapport between the domestic staff achieved by the performers and writers of "You rang,me lord?",an exemplary combination of skill and experience. I prefer the new "Upstairs Downstairs" to the pretension and overacting of "Downton Abbey",but I'm pretty sure that puts me in a minority. The sheer quality of these shows stood out on a cold dark winter afternoon in Norfolk and nothing on TV the rest of the day came even close to equalling them.

wenalexander I thought it was well produced for the most part. I do not understand why they felt the need to include not one but two homosexual story lines. I don't know anyone straight who wants to see it on screen. Sorry but I don't and feel annoyed at having it crammed down my throat every time I turn on a new show. Especially a show about a time in history that this topic was well hidden. It makes a person feel blindsided and you don't know what shows you can show your kids. I don't care to subject my kids to this when trying to introduce them to foreign films and television. Clearly I will need to stick to classics from 20+ years ago. I do agree that perhaps the relationships shown between the two classes were portrayed with a bit more familiarity than was actual.

archied While I agree with most of the author's assessment of the new US/DS, I wanted to comment on a few things mentioned regarding the original series. When Edward came to dinner at 165, he was already King, not the Prince of Wales. Richard Bellamy did not marry his secretary. It was his son, Captain James, who married Richard's secretary, Hazel. Not all of the servants resented Hazel for marrying "above" her class. Rose rather liked the idea and supported Hazel, the new lady of the household. Richard did eventually remarry - to a widow with 2 small children. Also, it was the son, James, who gradually declined following WWI. The brevity of the new series so far (3 episodes) is simply not long enough to adequately develop a character or even to get to know and understand a particular character. Hopefully, there will be more episodes to improve upon what has been started. The personalities do seem to be rather superficial and shallow, almost to the point of being caricatures. But in reality, the shorter and fast-moving productions reflect the preferences and viewing habits of younger audiences. For the rest of us, thank God for Netflix.

TheOneLlama Those that find fault in this program are either being too critical or stuck in the past. They want the original show, but that shows style was stuck in the TV world of 1974 and would not work today in 2010. The only reason I didn't give the new series a 10/10 was that Season 1 was only three episodes. I think the writers and producers were right to set the story in three settings (Upstairs, Downstairs, & the Events of the World both groups are effected by). I have learned more on England's pre-WW2 history from show than I did from the World @ War series. I won't give away any spoilers, but for those who haven't seen the whole series you will need some Kleenex for a scene involving Sir Hallam in the third episode, which caught me completely off-guard! For those who say 'Downton Abbey' is a better show is missing the point. They are BOTH great shows, but Downton Abbey takes place before WWI, like the original Upstairs /Downstairs series. This was 20 years before the new Upstairs/Downstairs and England after WWI mark the end of Edwardian English society and led to the changes seen in the new U/D series. Finally, I can't believe they are only going to give us 6 episodes for season #2 and not at least nine! Fortunately for those of us who LOVE the new series it has achieved great viewership rating and reviews so hopefully they will expand it in season three.