evans-15475 Just binge watched both series of this after not watching it since originally screened and it held up well and I really enjoyed it, but I must comment on Gemma jones acting everything she does from shouting her lines the way she bustles about and her facial expressions just shout out look at me I'm a cockney made good realistic acting it is not and there is absolutely no character development from the 1st to last episode,indeed you could watch the episodes in any order and still enjoy it

Sebastian (sts-26) Yup, it was the seventies that was the golden age of the miniseries, and it was the British who ruled, with PBS acting as as kind of Prince Regent, offering up such televisual feasts as Upstairs Downstairs, Poldark, and the Duchess of Duke Street.To people over a certain age, Gemma Jones will be forever remembered as Louisa Trotter, the plucky lower middle class girl, practically sold into service by her selfish mother, who works her way up in the world to become the proprietress of the best gentle-person's hotel in London, the lover of the Prince of Wales, and a legend in her own time.The Duchess of Duke Street is an artifact of a crossroads of two very special times - the 1960's, when there was a serious interest in the not-too-distant past (the Belle Epoque, the Edwardian Period, the Roaring Twenties, etc.), and the 1980's when the interest in the past had more to do with escapism and romanticism and produced some of the most beautiful visuals in film history. Because of this, The Dutchess is a treat, full of historical detail, with wonderful fictionalizations of Edwardian fact (Prince Edwards practice of taking mistresses for example).The series paved the way for some of the great miniseries to come - including Brideshead Revisited, the 1980's production of Love in a Cold Climate, Flickers, and To Serve Them All My Days - and ensured that a certain segment of television viewers had grand images of Edwardian London and Art Nouveau imprinted in its memory.

screenman This was a well-made series on a typically small British budget.A working-class cockney matriarch suddenly finds herself catapulted into control of the most fashionable hotel in Georgian London. An' don't she know how to keep them toffs in line? You betcha.The first part of the series is a comedy of manners that plays-out the contrast between upper-class sensibility and arrogance against uncompromising no-nonsense working-class pragmatism for all that it is worth. Later episodes tend to centre upon relationships, as the gap between our host's and her guests disposition and manners gradually begin to narrow.The programme was made with panache and excellent performances were given by all involved. It just tended to go on for a bit longer than the ideas entertainment value. As most dramas tend to do.The Yanks seem to have liked it though!

valsocool This show was one of the best British series ever imported to the States. I watched every episode and was the most entertained by the story, the relationships, the detail to clothing, the acting, and especially as I was a working chef at the time, the food. Seeing Gemma Jones make her character so real from her very humble beginnings at the bottom of the kitchen staff to become a renowned chef and hotel owner was probably a fantasy of mine in the 20th century. I absolutely loved this show and wish I could get it on DVD. I wish we had more good TV like this today. To me even Upstairs Downstairs which I also loved was not as good because the story was more long winded and drawn out. Would someone please bring back good drama to TV.