Thomas and Sarah

Rating:
Summary: Thomas and Sarah
Review: Adventures of Thomas, the cunning Welsh chauffeur from Upstairs Downstairs and Sarah, the mischievous cockney parlow maid. They are real life husband and wife. Story picks up after they have left the Bellamy house. Seven tapes of their adventures both in and out of money. Good supporting cast. Cons that work for a while -- always end up broke. Sarah having her way with not going to America and a half dozen stories of their adventures. Enjoyable BUT the ending is a letdown. After all their adventures you think the ending would be something better than it was. Most annoying.

Rating:
Summary: A Thoroughly Enjoyable "Spin Off" to a Classic Series!
Review: 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 made (or at least anticipated!). If so, I'd certainly like to see it! 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.

Rating:
Summary: Thmas and Sarah
Review: I was really enjoying this series until I got to the end. The story is riveting, even though the constant "battle" waged by Thomas and Sarah to "beat the system" is somewhat disappointing.
I wanted them to be more honorable in their attempts to "strike it rich." However, the title characters are so engaging that the viewer soon gives in and "goes along with the program."
However, I was so stunned at the conclusion of the seventh installment that I found myself rewinding the tape in disbelief. I thought- was there something I missed? Apparently not. I can only wonder, what was the series creator thinking? This series clearly needs another series of sequels.

Rating:
Summary: Thmas and Sarah
Review: I was really enjoying this series until I got to the end. The story is riveting, even though the constant "battle" waged by Thomas and Sarah to "beat the system" is somewhat disappointing.
I wanted them to be more honorable in their attempts to "strike it rich." However, the title characters are so engaging that the viewer soon gives in and "goes along with the program."
However, I was so stunned at the conclusion of the seventh installment that I found myself rewinding the tape in disbelief. I thought- was there something I missed? Apparently not. I can only wonder, what was the series creator thinking? This series clearly needs another series of sequels.

Rating:
Summary: Thomas and Sarah was excellently done
Review: This series was excellently done. Great characters and wonderful acting. However, one is left with such an unsatisfied feeling, because the ending leaves one hanging and a sequel was never produced (apparently because of a strike). It is definitely worth viewing just for the study of class differences during that period.

Rating:
Summary: Picking up where the bellamy's left off........
Review: 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!!!!