Upstairs Downstairs is often cited as the pinnacle of British TV drama during the 1970's. Fine acting and writing overcame low budgets and the occasional contrived plot point, and the show never strayed too far from the orbit of the the Bellamy household and staff. The consistent quality kept viewers coming back for years.
As a spin off of Upstairs Downstairs, Thomas and Sarah started with similar high hopes, but poor writing and a heavy reliance on the comparatively inexperienced lead actors of the title doomed the show to a single season before folding.
There was little consistency between episodes, and halfway through the first season Thomas and Sarah end up wandering the British countryside, going from adventure to adventure in a style more suited to Dr Who or the Goodies than fine drama. Some of the episodes were pure farce played with a straight face and one can only guess what the writers were thinking. The character of Thomas veered between lukewarm "husband" to soulless raconteur and conman with alarming regularity. Sarah's character was similarly opaque and one dimensional, and the show lacked supporting cast capable of filling out the storyline. The final episodes are excruciatingly bad even by 1970's standards.
Although the demise of Thomas and Sarah is blamed on a writers strike, it was destined for failure after the rapid decline in quality. The funeral attended by Sarah in the last episode is not that of Thomas or her recent beau, but almost certainly one or more of the writers responsible for running this show into the ground.
As a spin off of Upstairs Downstairs, Thomas and Sarah started with similar high hopes, but poor writing and a heavy reliance on the comparatively inexperienced lead actors of the title doomed the show to a single season before folding.
There was little consistency between episodes, and halfway through the first season Thomas and Sarah end up wandering the British countryside, going from adventure to adventure in a style more suited to Dr Who or the Goodies than fine drama. Some of the episodes were pure farce played with a straight face and one can only guess what the writers were thinking. The character of Thomas veered between lukewarm "husband" to soulless raconteur and conman with alarming regularity. Sarah's character was similarly opaque and one dimensional, and the show lacked supporting cast capable of filling out the storyline. The final episodes are excruciatingly bad even by 1970's standards.
Although the demise of Thomas and Sarah is blamed on a writers strike, it was destined for failure after the rapid decline in quality. The funeral attended by Sarah in the last episode is not that of Thomas or her recent beau, but almost certainly one or more of the writers responsible for running this show into the ground.