Thomas and Sarah-Episode 10
This is one episode in the midst of a lengthy series that, although it was made three years afterwards, was really a spin off rather than a sequel to the series Upstairs, Downstairs. The original series ended in the late 1920s but this series is clearly set before the twenties. It follows the lives of two of the "downstairs" crew : Thomas, the chauffeur for the "upstairs" family and Sarah, a maid. Thomas is Welsh and Sarah is an outgoing Cockney woman. In this episode they have because destitute and have to leave their fabric shop in London. They are sleeping in Paddington Station when Thomas sees a crew of Welsh workers taking the train home on the weekend. Thomas notes that he is from a small Welsh town and suggests that he and Sarah go there. Upon arrival they go to the church where Sunday services are being held and see a minister fulminating about Hell and damnation in the pulpit. This, it turns out is Thomas' brother, Eli. Eli has the entire town in his thrall. He has virtually one and all devoting every waking thought to their sinfulness and makes sure that no one wears bright clothes or has any fun. The only accepted activities are praying and reading the Bible.
No one seems particularly glad to see Thomas and it turns out he is believed to be the father of the ten year old boy of an unmarried woman who was attacked(translation: raped) ten years earlier. Tom left town at that time due to the scandal. However, Sarah suspects that this is not the true story even though Thomas, after much goading, takes responsibility. Sure enough, it turns out it was the insufferable, holier-than-thou brother who did it. Sarah decides to bring this fact out in the midst of one of Eli's church rants about the eternal suffering that awaits all sinners.
So, that ends the service early. Thomas has a talk with the boy where he tries to make him feel better about being in the middle of a small town circus. He then goes to speak to his brother, who, rather than being humbled by his comeuppance, is bitter, suggesting that Thomas has done enough damage, to which Thomas smartly replies "I thought we'd established that I wasn't the one who did it". Eli's previously beaten down wife seems quite pleased with the new turn of events, apparently figuring her husband isn't perfectly righteous after all and she now has one up on him. So, Thomas and Sarah leave the town for good with Thomas' spiteful bitch of a mother saying she hopes she never sees him again.
Frankly, you could see the ending coming a mile away so it is a bit predictable. Nobody as insanely religious as Eli could be allowed to go unchecked in any art form. I'm not sure it's a series I would find riveting but Pauline Collins as Sarah and John Anderton as Thomas do a nice job of bringing the characters to life. Listening to the characters in the town speak Welsh is very interesting. Sarah keeps needing to tell them "I'm English" so they will switch to speaking English.
All the guest actors are excellent and create rather clear portraits of their characters within the limits of a fifty minute episode. The costumes and other period details are also fascinating to see. I felt that I also gained an insight into the manners and mores of the period. Perhaps one of the best things about the episode is I didn't feel like I had no idea what was going on simply because I had never seen Upstairs, Downstairs or the previous nine episodes in this series
Gary plays the despicable, hypocritical lying rapist minister, Eli. Did I leave anything out? His scenes in the church are amazing as he rails in the pulpit against sin and admonishes that everyone who sins will suffer endlessly. Gary has the perfect voice for this as his resonant tones echo throughout the church and terrify everyone in earshot. At home he's even more unbearable as he insists on prayers and bible readings at every turn. His iron-handed rule of the house is just fine with his mother, who is quite the martinet herself (although she defers to him), but makes his wife deeply miserable.
You can actually see where the domineering violence of the rapist became the domineering dictatorship of the husband and minister. His need to control and subjugate others is overwhelming. And his completely clueless response to being exposed, blaming his brother for his downfall, makes it seem unlikely he will figure out quickly that he has a lot of apologizing to do. It's quite true to the character, no miracle epiphany. He will take some time to come to an understanding of his problems, if ever. Gary is all too believable in this incisive portrait of a very imperfect man seeking to expiate his own wrongdoing through the suffering of all around him. It's an absolutely remarkable performance, especially considering the rather small amount of time he is actually onscreen in the episode.
Gary is done up in white makeup and reddened lips to give him a very haunted, ethereal look. His hair is longish and parted in the middle in the manner of Oscar Wilde. The contrast of his black hair and black clothes with his pallor makes him look even more ghostly. He would have made a perfect vampire in this getup. So, he looks a little creepy in this one but still beautiful in a decadent kind of way.
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