My wife and I are just starting the fifth and last season. Last fall we started going through all the episodes on DVD in order. We do around 3 per week.
I never saw the series in the 1970s, though I heard of it. Some time in the mid 80s the local PBS station in New York showed most of them in order, a couple per week. I was absolutely enthralled. It's been about 20 years so we decided to have another look.
They absolutely stand up well. Better than well. I will emphatically repeat the judgment I made twenty years ago: this series is the finest thing that has ever been on television.
Yes, I know, you can't compare "apples and oranges" like that. I suppose the single ONE best thing that's ever been on television (in the sense of a one day or briefer event) in my experience was the moon landing in July 1969.
Still, in spite of that, all in all, if I had to pick, Upstairs-Downstairs is the best PROGRAM that has ever been on television. Far and away. If you are new to it, I envy you. I am already mourning the last episode, which I will see again in a few weeks at most. My only consolation is that in twenty years, I can watch it all again.
