Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey is a TV drama set in 1912 that centers around the residents of the Downton Abbey estate: the Crawley family and their servants. The series begins with the news of the sinking of the Titanic. The only male heir of the Crawley estate was killed in the sink. Also killed in the disaster was the fiancee of the eldest Crawley daughter, Mary (Dockery). We soon learn that years before a legal document was drawn which bestowed the estate (the family fortune and the grounds) to the next male heir. The next male heir is a “middle class lawyer”, Matthew (Stevens), who lives with his mother (Logan). Matthew is the second or third cousin once removed of Robert Crawley (Bonneville).

This show has been around since 2010 and I believe a fifth season was recently announced. I don’t usually watch TV because, one, I don’t get cable and, two, it is such a time commitment. I have a hard enough time getting myself to write reviews as it is, I don’t need seasons of a show to chain smoke. I don’t play video games for that reason. That said, the first three seasons of this show are going down...probably this week.

The cinematography of Downton Abbey is rather quite good. The lighting and color makes the experience easy on the eyes and the focus shifts are spot on. At times, though, the blur can be a little too much. There are a couple scenes in the first few episodes set at night that have a large blurred border. I’m sure you’ve seen those shots of the heroine in old, black and white movies that have a blur to soften her appearance. It’s kinda like that. The acting is pretty good too. Each of the characters are fleshed out with their own back stories which, I’m sure, we’ll hear. I am also a big fan of the costumes.

I think, at some point, the different points of drama will run out. I’m betting sometime around the third season. One of the first few episodes, for example, had the situation where the cook hands a bowl of an ingredient to the assistant. The assistant was already holding a bowl of rat poison. The assistant runs out of the room, hands one of the bowls to someone else and gives them instructions about how to add it to the soup. Of course, she accidentally hands them the bowl of rat poison. Does someone die? Nope, it all works out. It reminds me of a bit on The Mitchell and Webb.

I wouldn’t have started watching this show had it not been for my fiancée and I must say that Julian Fellowes really knows her audience. The first kiss of the show is between two attractive men. The teaser for the second episode features a “dreamy” man moving in to kiss another “dreamy” guy only to have the camera cut over to a scene with said dreamy guy kissing one of the daughters. My fiancée and I summarized this is as period drama where the women dress up and plot while the men make out.

 

Would I recommend Downton Abbey? At this point, the hijinx in which the characters become involved has not run out of steam so, sure, if you are looking for a new program to follow. I probably won’t ever watch this program more than once but once is enough. I think I will go finish the rest of season 1 before it gets too late.

edit: I drafted this review before I finished Season 1...and now I’m done with Season 2. Given that I have two seasons down, let me reflect on my initial thoughts. Some of the plot lines are starting to run a little thin and I am getting a little annoyed with some of the characters but it is still an addictive show. I’m enjoying it as far as it goes but I think, next time, I won’t watch five episodes in a row.