Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Robin Redbreast I chose to watch this series because I loved Downton Abbey and Gosford Park, but Upstairs Downstairs misses the mark completely. For some reason the writers don't allow you to like or even care about any of the characters. It's not because of the large cast. Both of the ones I mentioned before have large casts. But, even though this series has really good actors they seemed to be miss casts. Many of the downstairs cast members seem as though they should be upstairs.For example: Laura Haddock and Jean Marsh should have been upstairs. Although they are both fantastic actors I (because of their looks) I didn't buy either of them as downstairs staff for one minute. They both have the look of quality breeding and high born.Eileen Atkins (who did such a great job downstairs in Gosford Park) and Jean Marsh should have switched rolls.Ed Stoppard (although a very good actor) has the face of a villain and much of his character is written as a nasty cuss of a man. So, why would I care anything about what happens to this man and his family? This roll was miscast and poorly written if this was intended to be the lead male character.Adrian Scarborough (also from Gosford Park) did a great job as did all the actors in the series. They did the best with what they were given. Too bad they were not given something better to work with. For this I blame the writers and the director.

Laight The original Upstairs Downstairs was a wonderful program. The new one is such a flat failure. In fact it's almost eerie how flat it is. The idea seems to be that if you dress people up in costumes and put them in England during a war, you don't need to do those little things that concern other series, such as commission a good script, hire good actors, attach a director who can direct to the project, etc. This program has all the energy of a bowl of after dinner mints. Furthermore, to base an episode on killing a pet is almost insanely stupid--and yet that's what the people behind this show thought would make a great debut for the second season. All in all, just a terrible, terrible disappointment.

clotblaster The real problem with the three episodes that were aired and I viewed is the fact that there was uncertainty about whether there would actually be more than 3 episodes. This three episode alleged season had to be produced assuming that there would be more than just three episodes of this sequel to Up/Down. Hence, things were rushed, the show seemed incoherent much of the time, and there was some uncertainty about how to develop plot lines and characters. This might excuse some of the problems with the first 3 episodes. That being said, I thought the show was weak--it only came alive when K. Hawes was on the screen, a flaming firework in a cast of mostly duds. Ms. Hawes has charisma and subtlety-- e.g.,in a rather dull role as a pathologist in the first Murdoch Mystery series (she appeared in two of the three episodes in this truncated series), she played her part as it was written and her obvious sensuality was kept under wraps. Still, she performed admirably. In Up/D she shows great promise. The Indian character was forced, unrealistic and was undoubtedly part of the show for diversity's sake. This show has been compared to Downton Abby. I thought D. Abby was boring with a script that would trip up Olivier. The new Up/Down, if it continues (I understand that only six more episodes have been ordered--which is hardly reassuring)seems to me to show little promise. The first Up/Down is iconic and was on for many episodes and those who compare the new version to the old are being unfair. As it stands, I would suggest watching or re-watching The Duchess of Duke Street, The Pallisers, The House of Eliot and Bramwell for quality, period multi-episode shows. There are others of course. For the record, the first Upstairs Downstairs has always been overrated. I just finished watching three seasons and I was underwhelmed to the max.

Yuusaku Godai I'm going to go out on a limb here and NOT compare this series to the original. I've never seen the original, so I really have no basis for comparison.IMO, the new US/DS is an enjoyable, if flawed, production. Yes, the musical score _can_ be a little overbearing at times. The acting ranges from fair to good, with no real standouts but nobody really dragging things down either. And as a whole, the servants seem a highly unlikely bunch, even considering that they are being hired "on the cheap." (The exception here was Adrian Scarborough as cruise line Steward-turned-Butler, Mr. Pritchard). The show's saving grace, for me, is that it depicts a part of British history that is usually overlooked - the nation's flirtation with Fascism and the rise and fall of Mosley's British Fascist Party.I understand and agree with (to a point) those who complain about characters entering and leaving the series too quickly. What must be remembered, however, is that at the time of production, there was no certainty of ever having more than 3 episodes to work with, so plotting was necessarily going to be a bit rushed. I would hope, now that a second series of 6 episodes has been ordered (and possible additional series seem likely), that they will be able to relax the plotting a bit and give the characters time to develop before killing them off.Overall, I'm looking forward to the next series, but see a considerable amount of room for improvement.