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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 350446" data-attributes="member: 23">Thomas & Sarah Putting On The Ritz / The New Rich / Love Into Three Won’t Go Putting On The Ritz is one of those episodic shows that in some ways feels as though it could be written for any number of series - or, indeed, as a standalone theatrical piece - while at the same time feeling perfectly in-keeping with T&S since the series’ main characters are dodgy schemers whose word can rarely be trusted.It is very play-like, with a relatively small main cast playing several “characters” (since nobody is who they seem) and three defined acts. It doesn’t feel like an essential episode nor a great one, but it works and there’s also a welcome continuity with the house they “inherit” at the end of this episode providing the following episode’s backdrop.Ritz introduces the theme of Upstairs Downstairs: Through A Glass Darkly with several characters (including the returning Tubby) posing as household staff - butler; footman; maid - yet being terribly inept because they have no experience of service. The satirical series of faux pas seem at times to be almost mocking UpDown’s very premise. At the very least, it lacks reverence for the all-important order and hierarchy.The New Rich continues this theme but explores it in a more satisfying way. This time the staff are real, and there’s a suitably passive-aggressively frosty butler, Wilson attempting to make order out of the chaos. Played by the wonderful Nigel Hawthorne, Wilson has Hudson’s knack for sucking the warmth and life from a room simply by being present, as well as his haughty disdain for those beneath him and his intolerance of those who don’t toe the line.He’s not the only familiar character template: there’s the opinionated cook Mrs Ambrose; the amiable footman; the cheerful parlourmaid and Nelly the timid kitchen girl (played by Linda Robson, pre-Harvey Moon).The big twist here is that the upstairs characters here are none other than Sarah and Thomas. And  what better way to show they’ve “made it” than to bring things full-circle. While this turn of events would have been unthinkable in UpDown, this is the point here. It’s in the episode title, and the pair’s lack of social graces and propriety is frowned upon by Wilson and Mrs Ambrose, both coming from “best houses”. Mrs Ambrose’s hackles are raised when Sarah tries to be nice to her, which doesn’t sit well. Meanwhile, Wilson is horrified when Thomas asks him to take a seat in the drawing room, which just isn’t done.The strokes in this series are far broader than those in UpDown. There’s less subtlety and nuance, and with that accepted it’s quite fun to see what happens when the order of things established so well in UpDown is thrown into turmoil when “upstairs” haven’t had the memo.The final straw for Wilson is when arrives back at the house to discover that Thomas and Sarah have sneaked downstairs and enjoyed champagne and records with their own staff and those from next door. Thinking about it, this scenario is the exact reverse of that seen back in UpDown’s Board Wages where Sarah encouraged the downstairs staff to sneak up. Eight-and-a-half years on  (in screen chronology. Seven-and-a-half in “real world” time) and Sarah hasn’t lost her thirst to see what’s on the other side.In Thomas & Sarah, she finds out pretty quickly. A combination of financial losses and the house owner returning means that they are both out on their arses by episode’s end, setting up their return to service in the final episode. continued...</blockquote>

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