Customer Reviews

Upstairs Downstairs - The Complete Fourth Season

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4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The acclaimed fourth season of UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS focuses on the turbulent years of World War One, with the Bellamy's fighting to keep control of an ever-changing world, shattered asunder...

"A Patriotic Offering" - Lady Prudence (Joan Benham) convinces Hazel (Meg Wynn Owen) to take in a family of Belgian refugees, resulting in a major upset for the servants.

"News From the Front" - Whilst on leave, James (Simon Williams) finds himself drawn into a political situation which might affect his future in the army.

"The Beastly Hun" - An anti-German feeling sweeps through Eaton Place following the sinking of the Lusitania, with Hudson (Gordon Jackson) spreading scare stories about the local baker and his family, who are discovered to be of German origin.

"Women Shall Not Weep" - Edward (Christopher Beeny) and Daisy (Jacqueline Tong) decide to get married before Edward leaves for the draft. Georgina (Lesley-Anne Down) vows to become an army nurse after witnessing the dead and injured soldiers returning to London; while Ruby (Jenny Tomasin) surprises everyone when she announces she is to leave her position to go and work in a munitions factory.

"Tug of War" - Georgina discovers that nursing isn't all she thought it would be, while James becomes frustrated with his staff-army job.

"Home Fires" - Rose (Jean Marsh) once again bumps into her former fiance, Australian sheep farmer Gregory Wilmot (Keith Barron) who has joined the army. They decide to get married again, but will Hudson ruin it all?...

"If You Were the Only Girl in the World" - At a tea-party for wounded officers, bored Hazel meets a charming young airman, Jack Dyson (Andrew Ray). Slowly, a gentle courtship begins and Hazel experiences her first true romance.

"The Glorious Dead" - A time of personal tragedy at Eaton Place. Rose receives word about Gregory, whilst Hazel discovers the fate of Jack.

"Another Year" - A shellshocked Edward returns to Eaton Place, a shadow of his former self. Hazel meets the aquaintance of Mrs Virgina Hamilton (Hannah Gordon), the charming widow of a naval officer. Following an explosion at the munitions factory, Ruby returns to Eaton Place.

"The Hero's Farewell" - Lady Prudence and her society friends decide to stage a 'historic tableaux' at Eaton Place. The situation turns deadly when a zeppelin raid begins and bombs start falling nearby...

"Missing Believed Killed" - James is still missing at the front, and the entire household is thrown into shock.

"Facing Fearful Odds" - Virginia once again seeks the help of Richard (David Langton) when her oldest son is about to be court-martialled.

"Peace Out of Pain" - Richard proposes to Virginia, with whom he has fallen in love, whilst Hazel becomes seriously ill with a deadly strain of the flu virus...

Highly-recommended. Most people single out the fourth season of UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS as the strongest out of the entire series. Excellent writing, expert direction as well as top-notch performances from Gordon Jackson, Meg Wynn Owen, Christopher Beeny, Angela Baddeley and Simon Williams.

Also featuring Mel Churcher, Raymond Huntley, Barrie Cookson, Christopher Good, Joyce Heron, Celia Imrie, Patricia Macrae, Elma Soiron, Karen Glaser, Cyril Cross, Lala Lloyd, Ian Hoare, Lisa Moss, Edward Underdown, Miles Bennett, Ena Baga, Timothy Peters, Gertan Klauber, Freda Dowie, Robert Swann, Giles Watling, Keith Jayne, Neville Barber, Dennis Blatch, James Woolley, Edward Hammond, Barbara Atkinson, Kevin Moran, Mike Fields, Valerie Lush, Betty England, Betty Romaine, Polly Williams, Richenda Carey, Auriol Smith, John Lyons, Julia Sutton, Robert McBain, Audrey Joyce, Neville Hughes, Richard Owens, Venetia Maxwell, Sarah Twist, Brian Nolan, Kenneth MacDonald, William Ashley, Eileen Way, Helena McCarthy, Graham Leaman, Robin Bailey, Phyllida Law, Fanny Rowe, Alfred Maron, Gareth Hunt, Brian Badcoe, Ann Martin, Richard Reeves, Hilary Minster, Laurence Harrington, Anthony Nash, Peter Whitaker and Anthony Woodruff.

4 single-sided, dual-layer discs.

This series is my favorite in the Upstairs Downstairs canon. The residents of 165 Eaton Place face the loss and hardships of World War I bravely. Several important themes, such as duty, honor, love and loss are explored through the lives of several characters. War comes home, literally, when a Zeppelin drops a bomb on Eaton Place. James, Edward, Georgina, and most tragically Rose and Hazel are all victims of the war's bloodlust. There are some extremely fine moments, such as when Georgina sees some wounded soldiers and realizes her playgirl life has to stop, and some extremely funny ones, as in the episode when the Bellamy's drawingroom is commandeered for a dreary charity event. With this series the writers and artists reached their height!

As usual I will not spend much time on the plot. The story line is one of PBS's best presentations of life in London from 1900 - 1930's. The story is about the below stairs staff who serve a very class conscious family called the Bellamys. The production values on this DVD set are about the same as in the first three series (which are none too good). The problem it seems is that there aren't any good masters from which to make the DVDs. I thank A & E for giving us this series. Every diehard USDS fan will want to add this DVD to their library. The VHS tapes will only continue to deteriorate. Let's hope that more recent Masterpiece Theatre series make it to DVD before the deterioration sets in. Upstairs Downstairs is worth a buy in spite of reproduction weaknesses.

I am new to the world of Upstairs Downstairs, but this (the fourth) season is the best season I've watched so far. For those of you who are new to the world of Upstairs Downstairs, this series is a character driven drama which focuses on the disparate (but yet entwined) lives of the rich Bellamy's and their servants.

Character growth, loss, tragedy and triumph are the themes of this season, as the characters are greatly affected by the trials of world war I. I highly recommend this for fans of this time period, or fans of BBC drama. I particularly liked the character arc involving Edward the footman, and the arc involving Hazel Bellamy. This is truly an excellent series, I am sorry that it was ended after the fifth season.

When television was reaching for the stars this series which lasted 5 years was like a rocketship in the anals of entertainment. Thirty years later it is still totally absorbing, sophisticated, and fun to watch. It is a classic that my husband and I re-visited recently over a period of several months. If you missed Upstairs Downstairs in the '70's don't miss it now if you can help it. A combination of a British soap opera, classical drama and comedy, we got totally involved in the family upstairs, and the second family of servants, downstairs. It's a hoot.

This is a wonderful classic. I have purchased each season as it has become available on DVD. I am usually very happy with A&E's DVD's, but I am not sure what went wrong with, "Upstairs, Downstairs". Season Four had some very long periods where the picture was so blurred that it bothered my eyes to watch it. Overall, I am quite disappointed with the results on DVD. I know I will continue to purchase each season, because I really enjoyed the series when it was on television, but I wish the quality was better.

The aristocratic Bellamy's of 165 Eaton Place, London, live upstairs over the downstairs clockwork servant aid led by butler Hudson (Gordon Jackson). Classic Edwardian masterful plots in this funny and dramatic nostalgic time-travel covering 1912-1914, pre-World War One.
Richard Bellamy (David Langton) and house heir James (Simon Williams) need quite a crew downstairs to keep their house in order. Also stars Lady Marjorie (Rachel Gurney) and Miss Elizabeth (Nicola Pagett-`A Bit of a Do'). Mrs. Bridges (Angela Baddeley) cooks up a storm, while maid Rose (Jean Marsh, co-creator) helps keep linens and affairs tidy.

A TV gem period series. This 27-year span epic won 9 Emmys, 2 BAFTAs, Golden Globe & a Peabody Award, 31 nominations. Series 4 alone won "Outstanding Limited Series" plus a second Emmy. Classic Edwardian masterful plots in this funny and dramatic back time-travel over 3 decades inside the Bellamy house. A crowning British achievement in the 70's and worth owning today. It is available in a complete collection, highly recommended if you do not own any of the sets individually.

SERIES 4: 13 wartime episodes averaging 51 minutes each cover years 1914-18. The Great War is happening, and it touches the Bellamy house stairway ends. Struggles with soldiering, war efforts, changes in lifestyle due to war, and love at all times. A fine dramatic, but also historical look at WWI, on the London home front. You get romance mingled in with the troubles of wartime.
SUBTITLES-THIS SET OFFERS SDH SUBTITLES. Helpful for some of us.

Bonus includes episode commentaries, a "The Making of Upstairs, Downstairs" segment, and "Russell Harty Plus with jean Marsh and Angela Braddeley"

After the airing of "The Forsyte Saga" (a must series also), Eileen Atkins and Jean Marsh dreamed up the "Upstairs, Downstairs" concept. Jean stared as Rose in the 70s TV blockbuster, and now continues that role in the continuation of the story on Brit TV (Dec '10).
SEE: Upstairs Downstairs 2011.
Note the title eliminates the comma.
3 new episodes advance the story to 1936, with a new cast (excepting Marsh) and also now including Atkins as Maud, the same house, same music, same title. After "Upstairs, Downstairs" the pair of actresses combined again in creating "The House of Eliott", another period saga, bloody good Brit drama, an absolute must own "complete collection."

The whole series is wonderful. My only disappointment with the versions I have ordered so far is that there is are no subtitles, and the spoken English dialect is sometimes very hard to follow. Would really be nice to have the captions. Other than that, this was in excellent condition and received very promptly.

I have been looking for this product for a while, the only place I could find a good quality product was here at Amazon.ca. Very happy with the product I purchased.
This is a classic series & very enjoyable to people that like British Soap Operas.

This series is so amazingly captivating, I'm glad I never had the time to see it before. For one thing, I'd never have been able to get through nursing school taking time to watch TV, and for another I'd never have lived through waiting for the next episode. I'm way too much of an immediate needs gratification sort of person!!

The setting is a period to which I have become more and more attracted, the two decades between World War I and World War II. Times are changing, but not necessarily for the better, or at least not for everyone. The old guard is losing its hold over society, but those newly rising to power are not necessarily better than those who wielded it before. If anything the old guard, based as it was on a landed aristocracy with a vested interest in England as a property, had reasons to keep things from falling totally apart for the middle and lower classes. Their pride of place came as much from their perceived obligations as from their assets. The rising nouveaux riche are vested in money alone, a portable commodity that can be invested wherever there is profit to be had. Their focus is on who has the most of it; without ties to anything, they take no responsibility for the society that makes their fortunes. Theirs were the ideals upon which our present world and its predicaments are based.

The characters of the series are reflections of the changing times. The Upstairs family sees the pater familias, an aristocratic man of conservative principles, losing ground to the younger members of the family who are going through the emotional ravages of World War I. They question everything and challenge many of the basic principles of social behavior, including the roles of women, political power and who should wield it, and the behavior of society during war. Below stairs, too, there is disruption. The younger generation questions the reasons for the demand for "gratitude" for their position of servitude and see the efforts of the butler to prevent their adopting new ideals as repressive and patronizing. They question the need to ask the family they serve for permission to marry, to hold a war job, to question their additional work load without commensurate compensation.

Upstairs Downstairs is a world in flux, much like our own, and the efforts of the extended family to adjust to it are absolutely mesmerizing.