 "Mediocrity at its best" | 2009-05-25 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2YV89MCZ6TNQS |
| I could not believe that anyone could reduce themselves to this mediocrity after the success of Upstairs Downstairs. What were the producers thinking of? I only watched it because someone had the bright idea to attach it to the Box set of Upstairs Downstairs. After few episodes I quit. It is the same oxymoron. Sarah and Thomas with their shameless and shady antiques which is so far fetched at times that it comes down as an insult to our intelligence rather than entertainment. I found Sarah's overacting, loud and ear scratching cockney diction quite irritating and Thomas' dishonesty and conniving superficial and borderline ridiculous. I strongly recommend that the fans of Upstairs Downstairs stay away from it not to diminish their uplifting enjoyment of UD. The fact that Thomas and Sarah only lasted a few episodes speaks in volumes. |
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 "Utterly charming and smart" | 2008-01-30 |
| - Reviewed By cinpackback |
| My husband & I became addicted to "Upstairs, Downstairs". When we finished the series we sought out "Thomas & Sarah" with the shakes. Turns out, we enjoyed it just as much but in a very different way. "Thomas & Sarah" is a wild ride that you can never predict. The writing is quicker than "Upstairs, Downstairs" and witty. We really grew to love these two characters and now we will miss them terribly. |
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| "A Delightful Spin-Off of Upstairs, Downstairs" | 2006-01-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: AROK11A2UXARU |
Although I had seen all of "Upstairs, Downstairs," I didn't even know that "Thomas and Sarah" existed until I read about it as an offering from Edward Hamilton, Bookseller. He listed it for $20 so I immediately bought the DVDs.
I'm so glad I did. Within a few days, I'd watched the entire 12-episode season. "Upstairs, Downstairs" fans will already be well acquainted with Sarah, the under-house parlor maid, and Thomas, the chauffeur of the Bellamy residence.
This series, a spin-off, concerns the couple's further adventures. Each episode is completely different as they try to make a living in various occupations, often involving one mischievous scam or another. It's hardly surprising that Pauline Collins and John Alderton have perfect chemistry together, being husband and wife in real life, which makes whatever they do highly watchable. But no matter how outrageous or devious or cunning their frequently lawless activities on screen, their charm and likeability factors are always present.
I particularly liked the episode in which Thomas and Sarah return to Thomas's small Welsh town, where Thomas's brother is a hell-and-brimstone minister (beautifully portrayed by Gary Raymond). Soon Sarah is uncovering family secrets and exposing hypocrisies that turn the town on its ear.
The final episode ends with a cliffhanger, which many may find unsatisfactory. From what I understand, there was supposed to be a second season of this series, in which certain things from the first season would be revealed, but, due to a strike, the second season never came off. What a pity for all of us! |
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| "A Thoroughly Enjoyable "Spin Off" of a Classic Series!" | 2004-12-12 |
| - Reviewed By tiggah |
Fans of Upstairs Downstairs (a series which I highly HIGHLY recommend, by the way) will be familiar with Sarah (Pauline Collins), the vivacious, conniving, mischievous, tale-telling under house/parlour maid who entered the Bellamys' employ in the first episode of that series, and who, like a bad penny, managed to turn up on the Bellamys' doorstep periodically during the first two series. Thomas (Collins' real-life husband, John Alderton) was the Bellamys' capable-but-just-as-conniving chauffeur. With a pregnant Sarah in tow, Thomas left the Bellamys' employ in order to start up his own garage, and we saw the last of those two characters at the end of the second series.
It is a good many months after their last appearance at 165 Eaton Place that this 1979 "spin off" commences. It really goes without saying that it is for fans of Upstairs Downstairs that Thomas and Sarah was made, and if you enjoyed the former series, the latter really is a must see. Unlike Upstairs Downstairs, which is fairly high drama infused with a spattering comic relief here and there, this series is very much a comedy-drama--and it is simply delightful.
This series can best be described as a series of adventures and escapades in the lives of Thomas and Sarah, with (for the most part) each episode being a separate and complete (not to mention highly entertaining!) story. With Sarah's penchant for foreign accents and tale-telling and the conniving and entrepreneurial spirit that both characters embody, the stage is set for some thoroughly enjoyable vignettes. Most of the episodes involve the couple trying their hands (and luck) at something new--like running a match-making agency, working in a boys' school, working as magicians, and so on. For all their efforts, however, they always seem to find themselves skint--and thus the need for another enterprise (and hence another enjoyable episode!).
The series consists of thirteen 50-minute episodes and features guest appearances by Thora Hird (In Loving Memory, Last of the Summer Wine), Nigel Hawthorne (Yes Minister, The Madness of King George), and Anton Rogers (Lillie, May to December), each of whom appears in an episode.
As it stands, the only thing that was less than satisfactory was the "conclusion" (if one can call it that) of the final episode, concerning which I will say only this: There is ambiguity, and it is sufficient to leave me wondering whether or not a second series was at least anticipated. But please don't be dissuaded from seeing this superb series merely on that account, for this is a series to be watched for the sheer enjoyment of the journey.
The conclusion notwithstanding, this was one of the most enjoyable series I have seen, and it had our entire family eagerly awaiting each episode to see what these two endearing miscreants were going to get up to next! It is a series which I recommend unhesitatingly and indeed very highly to fans of Upstairs Downstairs--particularly to those for whom Sarah and Thomas were favourite characters.
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| "Picking up where the bellamy's left off........" | 2004-08-22 |
| - Reviewed By sputty2 |
very good dvd of two people once employed by the bellamy family
in London. Now of on their own trying to make their way in early england society. getting into all kinds of scrapes and making new friends on the way, this delightful series has a very good suprise ending. It also makes one understand thomas and sarah's charcter a bit more. If you like John Alderton and Pauline Collins (real life husband and wife) you will love this series. Very entertaining. I loved them in the Wodehouse playhouse series also!!!!
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