Downton Abbey

[strawman]

My wife and I got into this recently, and finally finished the first two seasons. The third season is already airing in the UK, but the first episode premiers here in the US this Sunday at 9pm on PBS stations. The first two seasons are available on amazon prime and hulu+, and netflix has the first season.

You can also get a free 6 minute overview of the first two seasons on amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00APPJELG

It has a lot of Jane Austin feel to it, but set in the early 1900's and covering the events surrounding an old english manor and the family that inhabits it as well as their servants as major events occur (titanic, WW1, etc) and they adapt to changes in society.

The writing and acting is fantastic, and you should consider watching an episode or two even if you don't usually like period pieces.

Besides, you can't go wrong with Maggie Smith as a crotchety old matriarch.

 

[North_Ranger]

Watching the final episodes of Season 3, and agreeing wholeheartedly. For me, the closest reference is Upstairs Downstairs, but done better. And yes, Maggie Smith delivers with every single line of dialogue.

 

[Espy]

It's surprisingly entertaining. We are on season 3 right now.

I really want to make a show called Downtown Abby, about a lawyer lady who is just trying to make it in a mans world.

 

[GasBandit]

It's surprisingly entertaining. We are on season 3 right now.

I really want to make a show called Downtown Abby, about a lawyer lady who is just trying to make it in a mans world.

Grats, you just conceptualized Ally McBeal.

Yeah, Downton Abbey is freakin addicting.

 

[strawman]

I really want to make a show called Downtown Abby, about a lawyer lady who is just trying to make it in a mans world.

I would have expected it was an advice columnist who's common sense advice and newspaper audience find declining readership, and thus she has to learn how to promote herself online and change her "common sense" so as to attract new readership.

Oooh, maybe a video blog musical!

I'd watch it.

 

[Gilgamesh]

As Gas said, it'd be called Downtown Ally and it's been done.

 

[Charlie Don't Surf]

how would you sell this to someone (for example me) that hasn't watched this yet since it seems like it's boring as shit?

 

[Gilgamesh]

how would you sell this to someone (for example me) that hasn't watched this yet since it seems like it's boring as shit?

It's full of white people to hate?

 

[Covar]

You're going to love season 3. It was much better than season 2. Really just more consistent, I don't know season 2 felt like the writing was a bit more rushed.

 

[Covar]

how would you sell this to someone (for example me) that hasn't watched this yet since it seems like it's boring as shit?

It's the best written show on television. Characters are extremely well developed, the time period is presented in a way that it affects the story while not dominating it (unlike a certain AMC show it uses the irony provided from being viewed in the present for more than cheap jokes and ridicule).

 

[Charlie Don't Surf]

It's full of white people to hate?

The same can be said of every single television show on television[DOUBLEPOST=1357320452][/DOUBLEPOST]

(unlike a certain AMC show it uses the irony provided from being viewed in the present for more than cheap jokes and ridicule).

Did you only watch the first three episodes or so of Mad Men?

 

[strawman]

how would you sell this to someone (for example me) that hasn't watched this yet since it seems like it's boring as shit?

I'd tell you how critically acclaimed it is, which ought to at least make you wonder why so many love it:

Downton Abbey has received critical acclaim from television critics and won numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries. It was recognised by Guinness World Records as the most critically acclaimed English-language television series of 2011, and became the international television series to receive the largest number of nominations in the history of the Primetime Emmy Awards, with twenty-seven in total.[2] It was the most watched television series on both ITV and PBS, and subsequently became the most successful British costume drama series since the 1981 television serial of Brideshead Revisited.

(source)

I don't yet understand why I like it. I just can't stand soap operas - too many characters and interwoven plots, and really really stupid people making stupid decisions.

This has many characters, but for the most part they make rational decisions for their character. It doesn't seem like the writers are trying to force the characters into a plot.

It has a lot to love if you appreciate dry wit. Tons of little bits here and there that are hilarious if you catch it, and while they don't hide them, they don't telegraph it either. (it would be hilarious if someone took an episode and added a laugh track and put it up on youtube! Terrible and glorious)

There are clearly characters that are bad, some clearly good, and some that just are trying to get by. Sometimes you hate the good characters and sometimes you love the bad characters. No one is perfect. Sometimes the bad character gets away with their scheme, and sometimes the good character loses in a situation they should have won.

While there are clear stereotypes at play helping us to understand the characters, particularly at the beginning, the main characters have depth, and develop and change over time.

The pacing feels pretty good. It's not a thoughtful plodding documentary, nor is it a race to get to the point of the story.

But I don't know that I could sell it to you based on anything I might say. Watch an episode or two - it's only a few hours of your time - and see if it grabs you. If it doesn't, don't watch it. If it does, maybe you can figure out how to sell it to a person such as yourself.

 

[WasabiPoptart]

I love this show! I absolutely cannot wait for season 3 to come out on Hulu. I enjoy historical fiction and this is very well written.

 

[Espy]

how would you sell this to someone (for example me) that hasn't watched this yet since it seems like it's boring as shit?

It's a surprisingly entertaining. It's not Mad Men and it's not Breaking Bad but it is a very entertaining and reasonably well written soap. I would guess you will enjoy it.[DOUBLEPOST=1357322686][/DOUBLEPOST]Also: Downtown Abby could also be a hooker trying to make it in a mans world instead of a lawyer lady. It would be surprisingly similar show but it would have to be on HBO instead of CBS. Because of the butt sex.

 

[GasBandit]

Watch it or don't. I don't give a flying shit if you miss out on good TV. It's good TV, I get to watch it and you can go fuck yourself.

 

[Charlie Don't Surf]

Watch it or don't. I don't give a flying shit if you miss out on good TV. It's good TV, I get to watch it and you can go fuck yourself.

lol

 

[GasBandit]

/like a BAWSS

 

[North_Ranger]

Let's see now... well-written, with interesting characters whose motivations and actions are realistic, loyalty to the depiction of the time period, the constant play between the upstairs (the family) and the downstairs (the servants), interesting plot developments, Maggie Smith deadpan snarking awesomeness with every line, beautiful score, complete and total lack of annoying and artificial characters, the depiction of a societal status quo slowly changing, and a professional cast that you can only find in British productions.

What's not to love? Also, I reserve the right to pimp slap Charlie for calling this show "boring as shit".

 

[Zappit]

I can't begin to tell you how pissed I was that every damn news site on the Internet was revealing who was getting killed off this season. They literally told the cast to burn scripts after memorizing them, yet the biggest shocker so far gets plastered all over. There really is no way to keep a secret nowadays, is there?

 

[North_Ranger]

I can't begin to tell you how pissed I was that every damn news site on the Internet was revealing who was getting killed off this season. They literally told the cast to burn scripts after memorizing them, yet the biggest shocker so far gets plastered all over. There really is no way to keep a secret nowadays, is there?

I know. I never realized the magnitude of the dire weasel infestation in Edwardian Britain...

 

[strawman]

I can't begin to tell you how pissed I was that every damn news site on the Internet was revealing who was getting killed off this season. They literally told the cast to burn scripts after memorizing them, yet the biggest shocker so far gets plastered all over. There really is no way to keep a secret nowadays, is there?

I suppose that's how people outside the US sometimes feel about shows that make it overseas a year late whereas the internet has spoiled the major points already.

Honestly these don't bother me that much, since I don't also find out how, when, and why, and the important issues are how people around them act and change as a result. I learned about the death in Harry Potter the day before I got the book and read it, and it didn't detract from the experience. If anything, it made it more intense because I knew it was going to happen, but not when or how, and everything seemed to build up because of that. Still, I avoid spoilers when I can.

 

[WasabiPoptart]

...complete and total lack of annoying...characters.

I'd love to slap the taste right out of O'Brien's mouth. I despise her more than any character in any book, tv show, or movie I have ever watched.

 

[GasBandit]

I can't begin to tell you how pissed I was that every damn news site on the Internet was revealing who was getting killed off this season. They literally told the cast to burn scripts after memorizing them, yet the biggest shocker so far gets plastered all over. There really is no way to keep a secret nowadays, is there?

Screw your enjoyment, we need pageviews, peasant!

 

[Covar]

I'd love to slap the taste right out of O'Brien's mouth. I despise her more than any character in any book, tv show, or movie I have ever watched.

Have fun with season 3 [DOUBLEPOST=1357335181][/DOUBLEPOST]

What's not to love? Also, I reserve the right to pimp slap Charlie for calling this show "boring as shit".

In Charlie's defense he said it looked boring as shit. If he had watched it, I'd probably be getting in the queue.

 

[North_Ranger]

I suppose that's how people outside the US sometimes feel about shows that make it overseas a year late whereas the internet has spoiled the major points already.

This man speaks the truth.[DOUBLEPOST=1357335642][/DOUBLEPOST]

I'd love to slap the taste right out of O'Brien's mouth. I despise her more than any character in any book, tv show, or movie I have ever watched.

Yes, she is a despicable character. But she's despicable because what her character is like, not because she is just there to annoy people - like Joey from Friends.

 

[Espy]

When I saw my wife watching it and only caught a few random bits I thought it looked super boring as well.

 

[Calleja]

Downton Abbey is incredibly awesome. Once you're done with it, looking back it has its issues, but I swear you don't notice them as you're watching since you're so fucking gripped since the second you start watching and that dog's ass comes on screen. The damned show grabs you by the throat and pulls you along until you find yourself giggling like a schoogirl at remarks done at a dinner table or clenching your fists in outrage at aristocratic machinations. It really is something you should see if only to witness it's impact on the current zeitgeist. I'll bet you'll end up inexplicably hooked like the rest of us.

 

[strawman]

I, er... procured season 3 including the christmas special and wow. They do not pull their punches.

 

[Calleja]

I, er... procured season 3 including the christmas special and wow. They do not pull their punches.

I hated the Xmas special. I'm gonna spoil why, so if you haven't seen the 2012 Xmas special DO NOT READ. You've been warned.

Spoiler

FUCKING DAN STEVENS!! That fucker decided to leave pretty much at the last moment, which is why the special feels so... rushed. I read an interview the fucker did after we knew his character died and he's pretty smug about the whole thing, like the show was beneath him. Fucker. I feel that's why Fellowes made sure we were SURE Matthew was dead, so the fucker couldn't later change his mind. I really hated what his big-headedness did to Downton Abbey, Fellowes was not plannng for this. At least he's got time to figure out where to go from here. I'm thinking Mary is going to go Full Evil.

 

[Espy]

I hated the Xmas special. I'm gonna spoil why, so if you haven't seen the 2012 Xmas special DO NOT READ. You've been warned.

Spoiler

FUCKING DAN STEVENS!! That fucker decided to leave pretty much at the last moment, which is why the special feels so... rushed. I read an interview the fucker did after we knew his character died and he's pretty smug about the whole thing, like the show was beneath him. Fucker. I feel that's why Fellowes made sure we were SURE Matthew was dead, so the fucker couldn't later change his mind. I really hated what his big-headedness did to Downton Abbey, Fellowes was not plannng for this. At least he's got time to figure out where to go from here. I'm thinking Mary is going to go Full Evil.

Spoiler

Yeah, it was a weird ending. It felt very, very forced.

 

[Calleja]

Spoiler

Yeah, it was a weird ending. It felt very, very forced.

Consider my "Like" an "Agree", cause for some reason we STILL DON'T HAVE THAT

 

[strawman]

Like is agree for all intents and purposes. On the rare occasion when you agree but don't like something or vice versa a reply is fine. Otherwise you can assume they are one and the same.

Re: Christmas special

Spoiler

Yeah, it was a shocker to my wife and I. It certainly did put a damper on the whole "special" but as things go it wasn't a bad cliff hanger, and the reality is that all it does is open the show up to many more possibilities. It was very symmetrical - daughter lost, replaced with granddaughter. Son in law lost replaced with grandson. Of course they had to have the child prior to his leaving the show so there was one obvious heir, but now everyone's going to be on pins and needles because once he's gone they have no claim to downton - which matthew obviously saved.

Thinking back, though, it was a little over the top how lovey dovey Mary and Mathew were being. I'm now going to worry about any episode where one pair has a completely perfect relationship the entire episode.

 

[Calleja]

Like is agree for all intents and purposes. On the rare occasion when you agree but don't like something or vice versa a reply is fine. Otherwise you can assume they are one and the same.

Re: Christmas special

Spoiler

Yeah, it was a shocker to my wife and I. It certainly did put a damper on the whole "special" but as things go it wasn't a bad cliff hanger, and the reality is that all it does is open the show up to many more possibilities. It was very symmetrical - daughter lost, replaced with granddaughter. Son in law lost replaced with grandson. Of course they had to have the child prior to his leaving the show so there was one obvious heir, but now everyone's going to be on pins and needles because once he's gone they have no claim to downton - which matthew obviously saved.

Thinking back, though, it was a little over the top how lovey dovey Mary and Mathew were being. I'm now going to worry about any episode where one pair has a completely perfect relationship the entire episode.

Spoiler

That would have meant Bates and Anna dead a long time ago. I love those two so much. <3

 

[Espy]

Like is agree for all intents and purposes. On the rare occasion when you agree but don't like something or vice versa a reply is fine. Otherwise you can assume they are one and the same.

Re: Christmas special

Spoiler

Yeah, it was a shocker to my wife and I. It certainly did put a damper on the whole "special" but as things go it wasn't a bad cliff hanger, and the reality is that all it does is open the show up to many more possibilities. It was very symmetrical - daughter lost, replaced with granddaughter. Son in law lost replaced with grandson. Of course they had to have the child prior to his leaving the show so there was one obvious heir, but now everyone's going to be on pins and needles because once he's gone they have no claim to downton - which matthew obviously saved.

Thinking back, though, it was a little over the top how lovey dovey Mary and Mathew were being. I'm now going to worry about any episode where one pair has a completely perfect relationship the entire episode.

Spoiler

I have no problem with him dead, I think he's rather boorish to be honest, more the kind of heavy handed way he died. Felt very out of place for how the show is normally written.

 

[Calleja]

Spoiler

I have no problem with him dead, I think he's rather boorish to be honest, more the kind of heavy handed way he died. Felt very out of place for how the show is normally written.

Spoiler

Yeah, it was really heavy.handed and just.. bad. I mean, the relationship between and Mary was always a nice one, but they were NEVER as love-dovey as they were in the special, it felt forced and artificial. And then that scene with him looking up at the sky in happiness in his car? No, sorry, you could tell a mile away it was a story element done in haste they had to shoehorn in. The effects of the death itself could be interesting, but I'm pissed that they were forced to do it for stupid reasons.