PBS to air Moffat/Gatiss Sherlock Holmes, Upstairs Downstairs

[23skidoo]

I just spotted this in the TV & Media forum:

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/02/2...tions-including-new-upstairs-downstairs/42617

PBS and BBC Worldwide have announced deals for broadcasting new productions for the 40th season of Masterpiece (formerly Masterpiece Theatre) in 2011.

The Doctor Who connection in all of this: a "fast-paced, witty" take on Sherlock Holmes for a new series of stories co-created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss - so now we know what Moffat's going to be doing when he's not writing and producing Doctor Who. Gatiss, of course, is also a Who veteran, both writing and acting.

Another longtime Who veteran, Jean Marsh (she played short-term First Doctor companion Sara Kingdom, and she was once also married to Jon Pertwee) has also been signed to co-star in a new three-part mini-series based upon her creation, Upstairs Downstairs. Not sure if this is a remake or a reunion piece. She's apparently playing the same character she did back in the 70s, so I'd assume the latter.

One thing the press release doesn't indicate is whether David Tennant will continue to host the show as he did last fall (as Masterpiece Contemporary).

Alex

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Awesome news. I can't wait to check out the Moffat/Gatiss Sherlock Holmes.

 

[Stevil2001]

I'm just perplexed by the decision to bring back Upstairs Downstairs. If it is a continuation, it'll have to be set in the 1960s going by Marsh's age!

 

[23skidoo]

I'm just perplexed by the decision to bring back Upstairs Downstairs. If it is a continuation, it'll have to be set in the 1960s going by Marsh's age!

Who says it isn't? If the BBC can make a go out of a series set in King Arthur's England, while cornering the market on Victorian-era settings and costumes, not to mention those occasional wandering into past eras on Doctor Who -- not to mention the Sherlock Holmes show, I can't see why they couldn't do a series set in the 1960s. I certainly can't see Upstairs Downstairs being set in recent years. But the 1960s was about the time the sort of "division of the classes" that U/D featured was starting to come to an end. It could be quite an interesting show.

Alex

 

[Captain Dago]

I'm just perplexed by the decision to bring back Upstairs Downstairs. If it is a continuation, it'll have to be set in the 1960s going by Marsh's age!

The press release states it will be set in 1936. Makeup and a soft focus can do wonders.

 

[diankra]

I'm just perplexed by the decision to bring back Upstairs Downstairs. If it is a continuation, it'll have to be set in the 1960s going by Marsh's age!

The original took place over about 25 years - it starts during Edward VII's reign (1901-1910), season three opens with the Titanic (1912) and the final season runs past the Wall Street Crash (late 1920s).
So Jean Marsh was playing 20-odd years older by the end of the original, and will now be playing maybe five, 10, years younger than she actually is.

 

[23skidoo]

So Jean Marsh was playing 20-odd years older by the end of the original, and will now be playing maybe five, 10, years younger than she actually is.

And she wasn't looking too bad in one of a recent interview I saw on a Doctor Who DVD. So she could easily play younger.

Alex

 

[ClayinCA]

Is there any word on when Sherlock will air in the UK?

 

[23skidoo]

Is there any word on when Sherlock will air in the UK?

I don't get the feeling the shows are being developed by PBS, just they're getting the rights to air them, so the BBC will probably show them first. (Of course that's not always the case: the UK is still waiting for a broadcast of The Prisoner remake, long after the ITV series aired in the US.)

The US dates are saying 2011, so presumably before then.

A lot might depend on how involved Moffat actually is on Sherlock Holmes, considering he's got that other little show he has to deal with, and it's still filming.

Alex