Photo: Courtesy of PBS.How I Got Hooked:
One evening back in my teen years, my dad and I were clicking through the channels looking for something that neither of us hated — an exceptionally tall order during my Dawson's Creek years. We landed on PBS in the middle of an Upstairs Downstairs marathon and dad perked up. He usually can't stand narrative television, preferring either baseball or 11-hour documentaries about the life of Saint Francis. So, when he started chattering away about the plot of this particular episode ("She used to be a scullery maid and now she's pregnant with the heir's baby and Lady Bellamy doesn't know but the butler does!") I paid attention.
Best Episode:
There are many juicy or romantic story lines, but the one you'll never forget is the second season episode titled, "A Special Mischief." Elizabeth Bellamy joins a militant suffragette movement, and inadvertently gets her lady's maid, Rose, imprisoned. Rose, played by series co-creator Jean Marsh, is forced to undergo torture, force-feeding, and constant beating. It paints a picture of the true brutality that this movement incurred. And, where other depictions paint the suffragettes as pure, proper, ladylike women, Upstairs Downstairs chose to show an uglier side of the story. There are no perfect heroes and no absolute villains, and by the end of this episode the viewer's been pulled through the emotional ringer.
Why You'll Love It:
For one thing, the show isn't bound by a strict linear narrative. One episode might take place in March 1904. The following one might take place the next day, or it might jump ahead to January 1906. In this way, the show was able to prioritize writing rather than stringing the viewer along waiting for a narrative payoff. While most episodes had a defined arc, they each built a better big-picture story of both the upstairs family and downstairs community. And, along the way we bump up against memorable moments in history — everything from the death of King Edward to the crash of the stock market — all seamlessly integrated into the story.