TVSquad

Before Dallas and Dynasty and Falcon Crest and Knots Landings captured the imaginations of American viewers, there was a British soap import that was even more compelling.

From 1971-75, PBS aired the British upper crust soap Upstairs Downstairs. And now Upstairs Downstairs is going to be remade. It'll be filmed and shown in England first before coming to America in 2011.

What made Upstairs Downstairs classic television – it won Emmys, BAFTAs and Golden Globes – was the way it depicted of the British class system. Upstairs you had the rich, privileged Bellamy family. Downstairs there were the servants who worked for them. The lives of all these characters intertwined in a well-written, brilliantly acted drama series.

This seems like an odd one. ABC is bringing the 2002 Jennifer Lopez movie Maid in Manhattan to the small screen.

I'm a sucker for romantic comedies, and I actually liked the movie (probably one of the few who did). But even I think it's a weird project to be adapting into a TV series.

The movie features Lopez as Marisa Ventura, a struggling single mom from the Bronx who works as a maid at a posh Manhattan hotel. Ralph Fiennes plays a rising politician who mistakes her for a wealthy socialite. They fall in love, yada, yada, yada. Those two stars had very little chemistry (and yet I still liked the movie).

My first introduction to The Avengers, the classic cult 60s show with Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Honor Blackman and Linda Thorson, was actually the second version of the show in the 70s, The New Avengers. CBS used to run the show late at night, back in the day, when they showed crime and action shows after the local news.

"Back in the day?" I'm getting really old.

The new version also starred Macnee, but this time he was paired with Joanna Lumley (as Purdey), who later went on to fame in Absolutely Fabulous, and Gareth Hunt, who played Mike Gambit. Isn't that a great name for an action hero, Mike Gambit? I really liked this show (and the original series, which I started watching repeats of later). Supposedly it only lasted 26 episodes, though it seems like more.

Hunt died of pancreatic cancer this week in London. Besides The New Avengers, he appeared in Upstairs, Downstairs, EastEnders, Space: 1999, Doctor Who, The New Adventures of Robin Hood, and many other TV shows and movies. Lumley has a lot of nice things to say about her costar.