<p>OMG, that was Tim Piggot-Smith? I am still traumatized by the beating Hari Kumar scene from Jewel in the Crown.</p>
<p>As long as we’re praising old Masterpiece Theatre, watching the Six Wives of Henry the VIII and Elizabeth series back in the early 70s sparked a life long interest in that era. And I also really enjoyed Lily Langtree - made me a big Oscar Wilde fan.</p>
<p>What about Upstairs, Downstairs?? My parents were addicted to it in the 70s. Apparently there was a remake over the last couple of years but it has already been axed.</p>
<p>^^I got a boxed set of the complete collection of the original Upstairs Downstairs. I’ve been slowly working my way through them. I use them as a fix during the week to get me through to the next Downton episode on the weekend.</p>
<p>Actually in many ways Upstairs Downstairs is much better than Downtown. It’s less soap opera-like, with far fewer ridiculous plot twists and improbabilities. But it’s much more low-budget. The costumes are nice, but there is no grand house to film in. 165 Eaton Place is just a sound stage.</p>
<p>They recently just finished airing the second season of remake, but I didn’t watch it after the first season. It just never grabbed me the way the original Upstairs Downstairs did.</p>
<p>Lily Langtree. There’s one I had forgotten, but I loved it too. Thanks for bringing back the memory, missypie. Brideshead Revisited was awesome, but I remember losing interest once the Charles-Sebastian relationship was no longer the focus. (And really, was it only 11 episodes? I remember it being about 1,000 :-). Does anyone remember reading that Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews were cast in the opposite roles? Charles should have been the blond one, and Sebastian dark. </p>
<p>One of my main memories of Upstairs Downstairs is Mrs. Bridges shouting “Ruby!” at the kitchen maid – the model for Mrs. Patmore and Daisy, for sure.</p>
<p>Anyone remember the Nine Tailors on Masterpiece Theater? It was a Dorothy Sayers adaptation. That’s one I’d like to be able to find now, but haven’t been able to.</p>
<p>And if I can sneak in Ancient Rome for a moment, surely there are I Claudius fans among us.</p>
<p>@coureur: Hmmm. After this season of Downton ends, maybe I will give it a try. I watched a bit of it with my parents, but I was too young to appreciate it. </p>
<p>Curious as to whether anyone has successfully gotten their teenagers (girls, most likely) to watch Downton with them. I know my daughter would love it if she gave it a chance.</p>
<p>You are reminding me of some of my favorite Masterpiece mini-series. </p>
<p>Jewel in the Crown was also my all-time favorite. Such a deep, involving story. I popped over to Netflix and saw that both Brideshead Revisited and Lillie are on instant play and have been added to my queue.</p>
<p>Another thing that Downton anUpstairs Downstairs have in common is that they both used the sinking of the Titanic as a major device for advancing the plot.</p>
<p>What I really came here to do was to recommend a book: To Marry An English Lord, by Gail MacColl. </p>
<p>I came across a remaindered copy decades ago , and it became one of my favorite books to browse through. It tells the story of rich and ambitious American mamas and their lovely daughters who crossed the pond in search of a title during the Gilded Age. When I first watched Downton I thought “it’s just like my book!” It turns out that Julian Fellowes came across a copy too, and that’s where Cora comes from. Which means the book is back in print. </p>
<p>It answers many of our questions about manners and mores, explains why everyone wore what they wore and when they wore it, etc. It’s designed to browse through, with lots of graphics and not too much text. Super fun. I just have to decide whether to keep looking for my old copy or to go ahead and order a new one :-).</p>
<p>I bought to Marry an English Lord a month or so ago at Costco. Haven’t read it yet, but it’s sitting on my dining room table waiting for me.</p>
<p>Some other Masterpiece series many Downton fans will like are Wives and Daughters, Cranford, and Cranford Revisited. All of those are well worth watching.</p>
<p>Ooops! I got something wrong…BOTH doctors were in JITC. Ha!</p>
<p>Speaking of other gems from Masterpiece Theater, how about ‘A Town Called Alice?’ LOVED IT!</p>
<p>sally305 – my situation is the opposite of yours. I am watching Downton because my teenaged daughter turned me onto it! (She also tried to turn her grandma onto it, but was not as successful as she was with me.)</p>
<p>I am not a big TV viewer in general, and most of what I do watch was suggested to me by my kids.</p>
<p>Sally, my 16 year old D loves it and watches with us but my 18 year old D scorns it utterly. My favorite old Masterpiece shows are the Pallisers, and the remake of The Forsyte Saga (with the guy from Homeland).</p>
<p>How about Poldark? I had such a crush on the guy who played Ross Poldark…I thought of Ross as a boy’s name, but wouldn’t have been able to explain it to H.</p>
<p>Woody, yes. A town Like Alice was also wonderful.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Oh, yeah. 
And one of my favorite names forever–when pronounced properly–has been Angharad. It was the name of the oldest sister in How Green Was My Valley. Other than a fantasy novel or two, the only other place I’ve actually seen it was the name of the actress who played Demelza: Angharad Rees.</p>
<p>I also loved A Town Like Alice.</p>
<p>The Pallisers led me to an ongoing affection for all of Anthony Trollope’s books. Many years ago, it was such a treat to finish graduate school and not have any other reading hanging over my head as an assignment or necessity, and I could read all the Trollope I could find. Now most of his books are available for free on eBooks and Kindle sources. </p>
<p>I was not home to watch last Sunday’s DA, and knowing what was going to happen, I put it off for several days. It was more difficult to watch how others reacted than it was to think about missing Sybil, IMHO. She never presented as much of a character, and was not very interesting, at least to me. </p>
<p>Several scenes have been discussed here in ways which seem misleading. While sitting with at her bedside, Mary told Sybil that she was looking forward to having her own baby, not hint of fear or hesitation. Mary also embraced Edith after Sybil’s death, and told her that for now, they would love each other and be close. She was not cold and aloof at all. It is interesting that Lady Mary as the oldest daughter does have a status and authority in the household.</p>
<p>I googled to find out what happened to Rees. She died last summer; I don’t recall seeing that. (According to Wikipedia, she was 5 years older than she claimed and died at 68, not 63.) I loved that show.</p>
<p>I also loved A Town Like Alice. Had quite the crush on Bryan Brown for years afterwards. 
Poldark was also good. But my favorite British show of all was the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice. Beautifully produced and acted, and, of course, not many can compete with Jane Austen.</p>
<p>The BEST British show, albeit a different genre, The Vicar of Dibley.</p>