Downton Abbey

[jackmanor]

Emmy voters got it right.

 

[mygaybuffet]

Emmy voters got it right.

It swept the Emmys! So did Modern Family!!

 

[maxpowr9]

Why do all the British rags refer to the Emmy awards as "gongs"? In the US, a "gong" is referred to as a booby prize (see zonk on "Let's Make a Deal"). Is this another British superiority complex?

I will say I will definitely have to watch this series. I love me some period dramas.

 

[braex27]

"Gong" is sometimes used in Australia to refer to an award as well - usually a more casual award.

 

[Ram]

it lost best actress....

To the Good Wife actress right? Another great show, great actress...

 

[braex27]

To the Good Wife actress right? Another great show, great actress...

No, she lost to Kate Winslet in Mildred Pierce.

 

[jaysizzles]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31749_162-20108036-10391698.html

Kate won for Outstanding Actress in a Mini Series or Movie..Mildred Pierce.

Julianna Margulies won for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series...The Good Wife.


Both fine actresses.

 

[maxpowr9]

It's great to see that the public is still interested in quality scripted drama.
I really miss the days of the grand and lush mini-series like Centennial, Thornbirds and North & South.
But I guess the networks no longer want to invest in expensive productions when they can attract the same amount of viewers with cheaply produced reality trash and talent shows.
Downton Abbey was a sight for sore eyes, so to speak.

Interestingly enough, I read this article on Sunday night...

Downton Abbey: The Underdog Bites Back

Particularly, these lines explain a lot...

Mad Men will also have a budget of more than $3 million an episode – double the cost of even an expensive British period drama such as Downton Abbey. Ben Stephenson, the BBC's head of drama commissioning, points out that his entire annual budget would be used up by only a few shows if he matched the American spend per episode – and that the BBC has to provide something for everyone.

But there's one small snag that would give the Dowager Countess of Grantham the vapours: Carnival Films, the London-based production company that makes Downton Abbey for ITV, has been owned for the past three years by NBC.

 

[braex27]

It's great to see that the public is still interested in quality scripted drama.
I really miss the days of the grand and lush mini-series like Centennial, Thornbirds and North & South.
But I guess the networks no longer want to invest in expensive productions when they can attract the same amount of viewers with cheaply produced reality trash and talent shows.
Downton Abbey was a sight for sore eyes, so to speak.

North and South was just stunning. And how HOT is Richard Armitage?!

 

[unloadonme]

And how HOT is Richard Armitage?!

I'd say 4 out of 10.

 

[braex27]

I'd say 4 out of 10.

Now you're just stirring.

I rest my case.

 

[nondescript]

I thought this show was depressing.
everyone locked into their roles in life according to an accident of birth.
are things any different today?

 

[pat grimshaw]

I thought this show was depressing…locked into their roles …

I'm sure the 1912 reality was much more depressing than this sugar-ish show.

I was wincing how the characters were given unbelievable modern sensibilties to appease modern audiences. There were feminists, and it suggested the notion that the employers and servants were of equal worth and dependent on each other.

Dear Non, you should get the "Seven Up' videos to if you really want to see people locked into their roles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_Series

 

[Spensed]

I think its possible to enjoy these costume dramas without subscribing to their outdated moralities.

Remains of the Day was better at balancing the attractions of that world with its dangers and limitations.

Downton Abbey, so far, is more just an enjoyable, but romanticized, soap opera, largely ignoring the underlying evil aspects, some of which are dealt with in Gosforth Park.

 

[pat grimshaw]

No. No coincidence at all.

 

[Ram]

I'd say 4 out of 10.

This is borderline trolling.

 

[Spensed]

was answering the post above me, who didn't appear to know this....

I did know that Julian Fellowes was involved in writing both Downton Abbey and Gosforth Park.

The point I was making is that Gosforth Park was grittier and did not just accept the world it was portraying on its own terms as Downton Abbey seems to.

Gosforth Park and, indeed, Remains of the Day weren't just costume melodramas, which is what Downtown Abbey has been to date. IMHO.

 

[goldenmoth]

I wouldn't say it's as modernized as you seem to think it is. I mean Thomas is way in the closet and will probably never be able to come out, Mary is forced into marriage for the sake of her family etc.

As mentioned before, the Suffragettes movement was huge in the early 20th century so the fact that one of the sisters is a feminist is not exactly 2011.

Think of the mother from Mary Poppins.

 

[pat grimshaw]

But maybe Downton Abbey wasn't meant to be a realistic, gritty drama.....

Yes, I think it was designed to be easy entertainment. And I think it succeeds brilliantly, IMO.

It also satisfies those needs which this TV producer was satisfying~

"Knifed in Midsomer: TV boss who keeps out ethnic faces says he is being victimised"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...spended-TV-boss-victimised.html#ixzz1YowRx8C8

 

[pat grimshaw]

Do you have favourite moments in the series?

My favourite is Matthew's blue eyes.

The other was early in the series when the Dowager Countess asked 'What is a weekend?'. I didn't really get the significance of that question until the following day when I was sardined on the train.