Critic Reviews

Watching it was just bliss, and those of you who experienced the first five seasons in real time will probably enjoy it even more.

The performances are precise and beautifully detailed, as are the characterizations in Thomas' script. Fans of the original series will see certain echoes in some of the characters in the sequel, but the echoes are faint enough to allow us our memories of, among so many others, Rachel Gurney and David Langton as the Bellamys, Angela Baddeley as the cook and Gordon Jackson as Hudson, who was so much more than just the butler.

There were moments during the first two episodes in which I wondered if the series was doddering along like a blindfolded Miss Marple. Have faith. Each episode swings in unexpected directions.

Upstairs Downstairs sticks to the rules established by the original and defies the odds by being as good, and in some ways, even better.

The new Upstairs gets off to a somewhat slow start in the first of three one-hour installments, but in its second and third episodes the dramatic engines rev as the political climate of the day begins to drive the story.

These three new episodes, which premiered in Britain last year, are engaging, tasteful and very well-made.

It's just a touch of the veddy, veddy humor that helps make everything so delightful before the world intrudes into Masterpiece Classic's revival of Upstairs Downstairs.

No sooner has Upstairs veered toward farce than it redeems itself, again and again.

It's gripping stuff, seamlessly blending the larger tension of the world with the smaller dramas back at 165 Eaton.

The acting is brilliant...But mostly it's just pretty people struggling with personal problems (love, money) and doing old-fashioned things (ironing newspapers) while historical events (George V's death) unfold.