I am a fickle blogger for not so long ago I was singing the praises of Downton Abbey. I still think it's excellent entertainment, or rather, fair-to-middling entertainment enhanced by (fairly) good acting and a lavish production budget. But in almost every way, I think the comparatively unsung Upstairs, Downstairs is streets ahead. It has a pace and intensity that leave Downton Abbey standing.
As has been pointed out, DA is divided into 60-second segments (the better to insert commercials?) which makes it well-nigh impossible to build any kind of momentum. It is almost as though the series were produced with Advanced Learners of English as a Foreign Language in mind. Even Maggie Smith's vaunted put-downs have a slightly dumbed-down air about them.
So there!
As has been pointed out, DA is divided into 60-second segments (the better to insert commercials?) which makes it well-nigh impossible to build any kind of momentum. It is almost as though the series were produced with Advanced Learners of English as a Foreign Language in mind. Even Maggie Smith's vaunted put-downs have a slightly dumbed-down air about them.
So there!
Greetings Barnaby
ReplyDeleteI'm inclined to agree that Upstairs Downstairs is better now though it took time to gather momentum.
Meanwhile newspaper reviewers are referring to the American way of portraying bygone eras being done rather well in the latest 'Mad Men'. As the latest Mad Men series is on Murdoch owned TV in England which I do not subscribe to, it will alas, pass me by though the previous series on the BBC were excellent.
It's a shame that the latest series of Mad Men is not on BBC, Jerry.
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