EssenceStory Well Deserved Praise

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

VivaCinematicArt One star. Warning: contains spoilers. I write this review as a warning to viewers who might react similarly to me.I'm the only reviewer so far giving the bottom rating, so I better explain why. The series got off to a great start in episode 1 and immediately drew me in. I was willing to overlook the very poor video quality of the version I watched in the USA from Amazon Prime. The characters were engaging, and I looked forward to the story unfolding.But I quit after episode 2, which completely blew me out of the water. The motivations and actions of the main characters disgusted me. I couldn't relate to them, respect them, or watch them any longer. Louisa, Augustus, and the Prince engaged in a corrupt relationship, supported by those surrounding them. The cumulative weight of the following events overwhelmed me, all in just one TV episode.1. Louisa Leyton, the assistant cook, married Augustus Trotter, a man she didn't love, with the intention of also becoming mistress to the exploitative Prince of Wales, just to further her career ambitions. Had she no respect for marriage, love, or the human soul?2. Augustus Trotter, the butler, married Louisa, a woman who didn't love him, and agreed to her becoming the Prince's mistress. How could any husband demean his wife like this and stoop to such depravity?3. Louisa's mother, Mrs. Leyton, was more interested in her daughter's social status than happiness.4. Louisa's father, Mr. Leyton, was a complete wimp. He let his wife and daughter walk all over him regarding Louisa's marriage, even though he suspected wrong motives.5. The Prince of Wales used his dominating position to satisfy his lusts at the expense of ruining the lives of Louisa and Augustus, lower level people. He schemed to get them married in order for him to take Louisa as his 'respectable' mistress. What about adultery is respectable?6. Monsier Alex's housekeeper, along with an upper class man, both of whose names escape me, cravenly joined in the plot to marry off Louisa to Augustus, knowing its corrupt purpose.Goodbye, The Duchess of Duke Street. I sadly deleted it from my watch list.

jojems Gemma Jones is simply brilliant and unforgettable in this series. It's wonderful to stay with these characters through so many episodes, and the quality never flags. If you haven't seen it, you're in for a treat. In anyone else's hand these stories might seem like melodrama- Gemma et al make every scene utterly convincing. Just a delightful run from start to finish. In the future, fluff like "Bridget Jones" will seem hopelessly dated (Renee What? Hugh Who?) and will be almost entirely forgotten-except by fans who will rent it just to see another great role from Gemma. But "The Duchess of Duke Street" is going to live forever, and will be treasured for many generations to come.Hurrah for The Duchess! Perhaps you Brits will get around to giving the real Ms. Jones her due someday- but in any case she will always be one hell of a Dame to those of us who know and love her work.And yes, since you mention it, this series *is* better than Upstairs, Downstairs. Got it beat by a mile. :)

barrymn1 Even though this series is compared to "Upstairs Downstairs", it stood on its own feet as a first rate drama about an extremely interesting Cockney character going from getting her job in service to becoming the best chief in Britian and running the most famous private hotel in London.The ENTIRE cast was superb, with Gemma Jones performing the part of a lifetime with power, wit and grace.For the life of me, I can't understand why BBC chose not to release this on DVD....instead they leased it to Acorn video and the quality is no better than the VHS version the BBC issues years ago. Some of the episode are such lousy visual quality that it's hard to enjoy them.I own both sets on VHS and was first-in-line to the buy the DVD......but crickey, the quality on the two DVD sets is so mediocre.

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.