When I’m home for breaks, I make it a priority to catch up on all of my shows. The DVR is ready to go when I get back and I tend to camp out until I have successfully caught up with my friend Mr. Castle or Special Agent Gibbs. But this break was slightly different because I found myself with a new show to watch – meaning more couch time, but I’m not complaining.
Some people read “The Hunger Games” – a worthy way to spend a day or two of break – and I would say my viewing of PBS’ Masterpiece Classic “Downton Abbey” season one is comparable to staying up late flipping through the pages of a book. With only seven episodes in the first season, it was an easy task to watch the whole thing in one week – thanks Netflix!
Unfortunately, season two is no longer on TV, not online and not even on Netflix. With only a day left of break, I resorted to buying episode one of season two from iTunes. It was well worth it and definitely whet my appetite for future viewing sessions of “Downton Abbey.”
I probably should have prefaced my new appreciation for this show with a “nerd alert!” warning, and perhaps the phrase “PBS Masterpiece Classic” gave that away; however, this show is filled with as much early 20th century scandal as any other TV drama. It definitely can hold its own next to “Desperate Housewives” and “Gossip Girl” in terms of rumors, tawdry gossip and scandal. But because it’s set in early 1900s Britain, it automatically bumps it up on the TV totem pole.
The show revolves around the Crawley family: Robert, the Earl of Grantham, his wife Cora, an American heiress, and their three daughters: Mary, Edith and Sibyl. However, unique to the show, it also focuses upon the Downton staff, which includes the butler, housekeepers, footmen, valet and anyone that keeps Downton up and running behind the scenes.
As you watch, drama unfolds on the socialite and servant side of things. Romance, lies and deceit ensue during an upcoming wartime create an addicting storyline.
If nothing else, it also provides viewers with a little history lesson with each episode. Advancing technology, electricity and the telephone are introduced to the Abbey, although received unwillingly by the staff – why would they need electricity in the kitchen? Season one starts with the sinking of the Titanic and – spoiler alert – ends with Britain going to war against Germany in the early years of WWI.
Season two starts in the trenches of France, giving viewers a snapshot of life on the warfront and back on the home front at the Abbey. Googling “British aristocracy” would be helpful for an understanding of the storyline, for the Lord and Lady have to battle with the medieval rules of entail, otherwise Lady Mary will not receive any benefits of the estate after her parents pass.
My favorite character, hands down, is Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham. Probably most recognizable to young adults as Professor McGonagall, Maggie Smith is keeping busy post-Harry Potter. Despite her stuffy sounding title, she is a force to be reckoned with.
As the mother-in-law to Cora, she can be a handful and an eye roll inducer for Cora, – typical mother-in-law, daughter-in-law relationship – but most of the time she provides comic relief with her quick wit. This is a British show, so obviously no playback of an audience clapping or laughing is used, and yes, when you hear “PBS Masterpiece Classic,” one hardly thinks “Oh, this show could be funny.” However, her one liners are what makes her so likeable and definitely lighten the mood at appropriate times.
If you have time, or are in need of a new show, consider “Downton Abbey.” It’s smart, funny and historical, so you can’t feel guilty spending all day to watch it. I will wait anxiously for season two to be available back online. If not online, then for my DVD in the mail. The website describes it best: “’Downton Abbey’ offers a spot-on portrait of a vanishing way of life.”