Posted on 04/06/2021 5:14:24 AM PDT by C19fan
A lot of times when I post about period dramas, many Freepers rave about Downton Abbey. I finally took the plunge.
I will not go into the plot but make some observations.
In my mind the show is conservative. The Earl of Grantham views himself as a steward of the family tradition, including the estate, even if it comes at a cost to his own family. For the Downstairs component, the butler Mr. Carson holds onto the importance of tradition.
The eye candy is top notch. Highclaire Castle is beautiful and refined. Although the story has the estate in Yorkshire the actual location is in Hampshire so there is none of the romanticism of the wind swept moors one associates with Yorkshire. All the young women are so pretty from the daughters of the Earl to the household staff. I can see why Mr. Crawley instantly fell for Lady Mary when they first meet with her wearing her riding habit. One interesting aspect to compare with our crass modern age is when the household staff goes out to the village they wear the best clothing they could afford. If they stepped out into our modern world, one would have no idea they were in service.
The series does highlight the massive changes experienced during the previous century. There are two medical procedures that show the great progress that occurred with medicine. I must admit I was quite enthralled when the local doctor performed a procedure to save the life of a man with dropsy using a needle to remove fluid then restarting the heart with an injection of adrenaline. As I mentioned before, the servants even have access to nice clothing highlighting the increase in standards of living thanks to the Industrial Revolution and technological changes. Another item was the increased opportunities for women as new positions and careers were opened up.
I have to focus on Brandan Coyle as the valet Mr. Bates. I remember him as the labor leader from the adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's "North and South". You hear the saying "the clothes make the man" as it truly applies here. Mr. Coyle looks so distinguished with his hair slicked back and his suit. Mr. Bates has quite an interesting life experience forging him into a man of honor. One can see why many of the other staff looks up and admire him.
Of course, everyone raves about Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess. She does not even have to say anything with her facial expressions.
The ending scene was so filled with symbolism. The Grantham's are hosting a garden party. It is August 4, 1914. People noted that summer was one of the finest in living memory. We see beautiful people in beautiful clothing enjoying themselves. We know previously there are some worries about the events unfolding in Europe. Then Lord Grantham calls for everyone's attention and announces Britain is at war with Imperial Germany representing the end of this era.
On my scale of 1 to 5 bonnets, I would give this 5 bonnets. Off to season 2.
The show changes from Season 1 to Season 6 and not for the better. It gradually takes on more progressive themes, but by then, the viewer is invested in the characters. Overall, it’s one of the better television efforts of the last 20 years. It declined a lot more slowly than say Game of Thrones, and never really descended into vulgarity or cheap plot devices. That’s rare.
Interestingly, the same was said of summers 25 years later in England:
I have memories of a glorious summer in 1939, and an absolutely brilliant summer in 1940, the latter being distinctly dry, but no recollection of water shortage problems.
Source: LETTER : Weather we remember, 1939
The Dunkirk rescue took place between 27 May and 4 June, 1940; The Battle of Britain commenced 10 July 1940.
Love Downton Abbey! Excellent series. If you can access (Amazon Video), the UK-released version has extra footage vs. that shown on PBS. Great series!
Yes I have been watching via Amazon Prime.
I loved this show-—was prepared to hate it-—and the genius of starting it with the Titanic really set the stage. You really do grow to love many of these characters.
There were so many books about how wonderful things were prior to August 1914-—”The Grand Illusion,” “The Future of War,” and even Keynes chimed in.
It does seem to say that God, through history, has His own plans and that no matter how many logical, rational arguments you can create for why things “should” go a certain way, . . . they often don’t.
I agree with your review. As the seasons go on I use the fast forward button more often.
It was pretty good. My wife and I have to compromise if we’re going to spend any evenings watching tv together. I watched this with her as well as the Crown, she watched Bosch and the Night Manager with me. It worked out.
Shows we both agreed to watch together but gave up on or never finished:
Sneaky Pete (decided we didn’t care what happened to Pete. watched 3 or 4 episodes)
Ozark - unlikable characters, unnecessary homosexual scenes. Gave up after 3 episodes
Mindhunter - watched first season. It was ok. No interest in continuing
Mozart in the Jungle - terrible. watched 2 episodes somehow
Afterlife - Ricky Gervais dark comedy. I liked it, my wife was not as impressed. She won’t watch Derek (his other show)
Jack Ryan - Decent. We watched both seasons. Popcorn fare
Downton was about intrigue, lust and tragic death. The Dallas series, with keener accents.
It really is a good show, but I didn’t much care for the movie. It was like a mediocre really long episode. Not bad, but underwhelming.
I didn’t watch the movie. The previews seemed like an extension of the end of the series.
I do like Downton in general. The characters are well written and the acting is top notch. Some of the storylines go off the rails but the period clothing and beautiful sets are fun to watch.
I’m rewatching it now and am halfway through season 6.
One of the great things about the show is how they weaved the narrative around the historical events. Masterfully done. It never actually becomes a show about the period while undeniably being a period piece. Great characterization. There is no main character.
I recently started watching on Britbox. I am a bit disappointed. Maybe it was all the hype. I am half way through Season 2. I just do not like Lady Mary or find her sympathetic. I do enjoy the costumes and period pieces. I wish the theme was based on period music. The theme is too modern.
I’ve seen the entire series and truly enjoyed it. My favorite line from one episode was the Dowager Countess asking “What is a weekend?” Priceless.
I enjoyed the series, although I saw the 21st century modern ideas imposed upon early 20th century situations.
The movie was a total letdown for me.
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