Upstairs, Downstairs, and cards
Apr. 13th, 2011 04:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dimity_blueI got the DVD of the new Upstairs, Downstairs last week, so I watched it last night while making cards. By 'eck, it was good! Click on the cut if you'd like to read my meanderings (spoilers ahoy!) or see the cards I made.
One of the criticisims I'd read about the sequel was that they set it only six years later, but Rose (Jean Marsh) was obviously decades older than her character would have been if only six years had passed. IIRC though, they had the same sliding scale (though not to the same degree) during the original series. Lesley Anne Down's character (Georgina, I think) was at least 18 at the end of WW1 as she became a nurse during the war. But she got married in 1930...with no comments about about her being on the shelf or saved from life as an old maid, as there should have been if she'd been 30 then. Maybe I'm wrong, but I got the impression her character wasn't supposed to be anywhere near 30 at that point.
Anyway, given my thoughts about that, I found it easy enough to accept that only six years had passed, despite Rose's age!
As for the sequel itself, I loved Lady Holland! It was so funny how horrified her daughter in law looked once she realised that no, this wasn't a potential housekeeper but her mother in law! Hee! Poor Lady Agnes. As for the sister, Lady Persie, what a brat! I wanted to slap her badly. I'd love to find out what happened to her in Berlin, so I hope they'll do a sequel at some point.
The brief brawl scene with the new footman (and soon ex-footman), Johnny, had me cringing. Especially the glass in the neck bit. I loved that Mr. Pritchard got him re-hired in the end though. I thought Mr. Pritchard was fantastic all the way through, especially the scene where he sternly tells Ivy they don't give cold food to vagrants (the out of work Johnny)...they give them hot food. Awww!
The fascist march was a heck of a shock too. I'm glad the chauffeur saw sense in the end, though I think his rejection of Lady Persie contributed hugely to her running off to the German Embassy and Berlin.
I really liked the friendship that sprang up between Rachel and Mr. Amanjit too, and her getting him to come sit with the servants instead of being neither upstairs nor downstairs. I think it was such a shame they killed Rachel off, but it was a necessary part of the plot. :o(
I think one of my favourite bits was when they had to deal with Ribbontrop turning up at the cocktail party as the 'special friend' of Wallace Simpson. Naturally, everyone had assumed the 'special friend' would be the King, so that was a bit of a shock. Then how they got him out of the house! I was giggling like mad at the sight of most of the servants plus Lady Agnes peering through the door as Johnny approached the oblivious Ribbontrop with a trayful of drinks in his nervous hands. Talk about tension!
Anyway, I enjoyed it a lot. As I said, I'd love to see a sequel at some point to see how they all come through WW2.
~~~
As for my cards, here they are. I'd got a set of the jewelled flowers I used on the first card, so the rest of the cards I made last night were pretty similar to that, just in different colours. I thought you might like to see them though - I think they're ever so pretty.
One of the criticisims I'd read about the sequel was that they set it only six years later, but Rose (Jean Marsh) was obviously decades older than her character would have been if only six years had passed. IIRC though, they had the same sliding scale (though not to the same degree) during the original series. Lesley Anne Down's character (Georgina, I think) was at least 18 at the end of WW1 as she became a nurse during the war. But she got married in 1930...with no comments about about her being on the shelf or saved from life as an old maid, as there should have been if she'd been 30 then. Maybe I'm wrong, but I got the impression her character wasn't supposed to be anywhere near 30 at that point.
Anyway, given my thoughts about that, I found it easy enough to accept that only six years had passed, despite Rose's age!
As for the sequel itself, I loved Lady Holland! It was so funny how horrified her daughter in law looked once she realised that no, this wasn't a potential housekeeper but her mother in law! Hee! Poor Lady Agnes. As for the sister, Lady Persie, what a brat! I wanted to slap her badly. I'd love to find out what happened to her in Berlin, so I hope they'll do a sequel at some point.
The brief brawl scene with the new footman (and soon ex-footman), Johnny, had me cringing. Especially the glass in the neck bit. I loved that Mr. Pritchard got him re-hired in the end though. I thought Mr. Pritchard was fantastic all the way through, especially the scene where he sternly tells Ivy they don't give cold food to vagrants (the out of work Johnny)...they give them hot food. Awww!
The fascist march was a heck of a shock too. I'm glad the chauffeur saw sense in the end, though I think his rejection of Lady Persie contributed hugely to her running off to the German Embassy and Berlin.
I really liked the friendship that sprang up between Rachel and Mr. Amanjit too, and her getting him to come sit with the servants instead of being neither upstairs nor downstairs. I think it was such a shame they killed Rachel off, but it was a necessary part of the plot. :o(
I think one of my favourite bits was when they had to deal with Ribbontrop turning up at the cocktail party as the 'special friend' of Wallace Simpson. Naturally, everyone had assumed the 'special friend' would be the King, so that was a bit of a shock. Then how they got him out of the house! I was giggling like mad at the sight of most of the servants plus Lady Agnes peering through the door as Johnny approached the oblivious Ribbontrop with a trayful of drinks in his nervous hands. Talk about tension!
Anyway, I enjoyed it a lot. As I said, I'd love to see a sequel at some point to see how they all come through WW2.
~~~
As for my cards, here they are. I'd got a set of the jewelled flowers I used on the first card, so the rest of the cards I made last night were pretty similar to that, just in different colours. I thought you might like to see them though - I think they're ever so pretty.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2011-04-13 04:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-04-13 10:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-04-15 12:32 am (UTC)I did touch it up a bit in Paint Shop Pro but I choose the image because she always seemed a bit dowdy in the airforce stuff in SG-1, and she's much prettier in normal clothes!
There's more on her website...
http://www.amandatapping.com/Scripts/NewSite/page.php?url=http://www.amandatapping.com/Scripts/Photos/main.php
(no subject)
Date: 2011-04-14 07:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-04-13 04:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-04-14 07:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-04-13 05:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-04-14 07:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-04-13 06:56 pm (UTC)I loved the sequel too! It would be good if they started it up again, there seems to be a lack of something like this. A 'nice' period serial drama. We can hope for more!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-04-14 07:24 pm (UTC)And thanks. I was pleased with how they ended up. :oD
(no subject)
Date: 2011-04-15 04:16 pm (UTC):o)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-04-13 10:10 pm (UTC)Those cards are lovely, I really like the jewel designs. I'm partial to the blue.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-04-14 07:26 pm (UTC)Thanks! I was really taken by the jewel flowers when I saw them. It's amazing what you can get for card making. :oD