Upstairs, Downstairs and in Between

The excellent Masterpiece PBS lineup for this Spring has created a new schedule for “viewers like us”… we make sure to be home at 9 pm on Sunday to watch the compelling treats that await and transport us in time to the early years of the century. It is strangely satisfying to see events unfold knowing the general outcome and being intrigued by how characters will live through their destiny: what specific set of circumstances brings a set of actions. Thus, we see subjects embracing the cause of Fascism and from our perspective find them repelling; or watch in fascination as Mr. Hudson (in the old Upstairs/Downstairs) navigates ANY social situation with enviable certainty.  Hudson is probably one of the last characters that produces the same result under ANY circumstance. Modern characters –in our new reality shows- are a showcase of every possible human unvarnished uncertainty. It is refreshing to go back in time and watch people become themselves without watching every second of their indecision and never witnessing the outcome.

Hudson is also the only person in the household that can navigate both sets of values and worlds: he can give fatherly advise to Rose and be a comforting figure to Mr. Bellamy. We do not find this in the new Upstairs/Downstairs, Rose is still Rose, and Hudson is no more. 

As we South Ride, sink or swim with the Titanic or travel in the Orient Express, we cling to Masterpiece and know with Hudsonian certainty where we will be every Sunday, DVR or not.