I noticed that too. I believe that Samuel West is therefore also obligated to play Edward VII at some point in his career and carry on this family tradition.
I’ve seen it via Netflix, but didn’t like it enough to buy it. The story line is rearranged and it feels very truncated; when things start to look like they’re developing into something interesting, it comes to an abrupt end.
I lasted approx. seven minutes of the new Upstairs Downstairs this evening before upping a solitary finger and downing a stiff drink: lock it away in the attic and never speak of it again.
Bumping this because I finally got the first disk of Duchess of Duke Street from the library and just polished off the third episode. I do love the sassy Horatia Alger theme.
After Downton Abbey, it’s a bit hard to get used to the lesser production values (with the tape quality and obvious studio lighting) but otherwise I’m quite enjoying it. And I swear the actress playing Mrs. Catchpole is channeling Billie Burke-- I love it when she sweetly advises Louisa in her Glinda the Good Witch delivery.
The Duchess of Duke Street was my first experience with shows of this type, and I only watched it for the first time last year. Really really loved it, and have the DVDs on my wish list. 
Now that I “know,” I plan to watch the original Upstairs, Downstairs at some point. I’m currently in the middle of two other shows (St. Elsewhere [for the hundredth time] and Oz [for the first time]), and I really should finish at least one of them before I get sucked into something new!
(And, of course, these days I’m completely hooked on Downton – to the point where I’ve purchased the imported, as-aired-in-the-UK Blu-ray discs.)
My husband and I just finished watching “Cranford” and the two “extra” episodes. We enjoyed it very much. I wish it went on longer!
I was surprised to learn that the 2007 series was the third BBC adaptation.
Now we are starting to see familiar faces from other series like Downton Abbey, etc. – “Mary” is in the last two episodes, and “Carson the butler” appears throughout. Judi Dench’s performance goes without comment–always so well done. Two faces from “Lark Rise” appear, no, make that three!
The hunt is on for the next series–and we will trying Duchess of Duke Street again, now that we have DVDs with subtitles/closed captioning. The accents tripped us up a bit the first go-round.
Edited to add that my husband has expressed interest in watching the UK “Life on Mars”–does that count as British costume drama?
Life on Mars is mostly set in 1973, so it may count! (It’s pretty good.)
…and those clothes look pretty costume-y now!
I did watch the US series (the lead actor was so very yummy) but I suspect the original series is superior.
Any more recommendations for British costume drama? Although it will have to be on a rainy evening–I’d feel too guilty being inside watching the telly when it’s gloriously sunshiny outside…
Just a Moderator Comment thatl this thread was started back in February so it’s not quite a “zombie.” However, if you’re commenting, don’t necessarily expect a response from that poster.
(On a personal level, I’m kicking myself that I didn’t see this thread back in February, and so missed the March airing of “The Story of the Costume Drama.” Damn.)
As a child it seemed that The Onedin Line was on television all the time - the title theme is lodged in the minds of a certain generation of British people (and abroad - it was popular in Eastern Europe, apparently). I’m amazed to see it ran for almost a decade; it must have been expensive.
I wonder if they ever toyed with the idea of spicing it up by adding a giant shark, or killer squid, or something? Mermaids. Sea monsters. Jaws had a giant shark, and it didn’t make the film any worse. In fact it made the film better, it would have been boring without the shark. Ergo I conclude that most things would benefit from a giant shark, including (a) carpal tunnel surgery (b) Tori Amos’ “Under the Pink” (c) the hydrogen atom. And I would pay to see that facial hair versus a giant shark.
Although Star Cops was set fifteen years from now, it reeks of 1987, so I’m not sure if it will count as a period drama when we catch up with it. It’ll be a cheap vision of 2027 constrained by a low budget and low imaginations that’s really about 1987.
If “Duchess” and “Upstairs, Downstairs” have given you a taste for early BBC dramas, you might also try the original 1960s miniseries of “The Forsyte Saga” or “The Pallisers.” I got them both cheap on DVD not too long ago and they take up a lot of rainy days.
“The Forsyte Saga” is done very cheaply–in black and white and with the sort of flimsy sets you’d find in a soap opera of that era–but the writing and performances are good. It does more with the characters than the 2000s remake and gives some of the minor characters… well, not subplots of their own, but something to do besides stand in the background. The black and white filming also lets them integrate actual archival footage; when the Forsyte family watches Queen Victoria’s funeral procession go by, that’s really it.