Up Down & Out

When I watched the first episode of the new “Upstairs Downstairs” on PBS, my interest was piqued. It was no “Downton Abbey”, but it was engaging and enjoyable. Sunday night I tuned in for the second of the three episodes and was very disappointed. The first hour was a bit rushed but the second felt like a badly edited Cliff’s Notes. Was this a budget problem? Could they not afford another half hour’s worth of filming and some exposition? By the end of the second hour I felt as if the writers and producers had nearly as many hours worth of stories as the original 68 episodes in the 1970s, but they felt compelled to cram them into three hours. And of the storylines presented, all deserved more attention.

I’ll give Upstairs Downstairs the final hour next Sunday. But if they bring us another incarnation in 2012, I will be hard pressed to return to Eaton Place.