Lovely clothes, locations, and I like the apparently unlikely relationships between the staff and the earl's family. But while I watch this show, which DOESN'T HAVE AN ENDING, I find myself scoffing or wincing at the unlikely plot. The evil downstairs help stay on even though they are caught stealing from, scheming against, and even causing the death of a member of the family. If the earl were really so nice, so forgiving, he'd have gone broke years ago because his tenants in and around Grantham, who are from whom most of those big landowners make their money, would have told him "the check's in the mail" and laughed behind his back.
Almost every character upstairs is an unlikeable cartoon. Matthew is too dreadfully dull and feckless for a lawyer. Mary is the lost rich girl. Edith is sort of cool, flirting with every man with a few bucks in his pocket, but she does only have one thread, doesn't she, to get Mary? The only admirable upstairs character is the sister who's trying to get the maid a secretarial position. And the fact that I can't remember her name is the fault of the writers, not of mine.
Downstairs the characters have interesting pasts, but boring presents. Fatherly Mr. Carson was a stage performer. Perfect Mr. Bates was a thief and a killer and what else. Thomas couldn't be more evil, at all times. Unless he's going to be a serial killer, he has to have a human moment sometimes. O'Brien is a bit more realistic. She has a bit of a soft spot for the lady, but is absolutely cruel to her peers.
Well, tonight I watched the end of Lovely Bones instead of catching the beginning of Downton Abbey. That is a very bad sign for me, for I love English period pieces.
Almost every character upstairs is an unlikeable cartoon. Matthew is too dreadfully dull and feckless for a lawyer. Mary is the lost rich girl. Edith is sort of cool, flirting with every man with a few bucks in his pocket, but she does only have one thread, doesn't she, to get Mary? The only admirable upstairs character is the sister who's trying to get the maid a secretarial position. And the fact that I can't remember her name is the fault of the writers, not of mine.
Downstairs the characters have interesting pasts, but boring presents. Fatherly Mr. Carson was a stage performer. Perfect Mr. Bates was a thief and a killer and what else. Thomas couldn't be more evil, at all times. Unless he's going to be a serial killer, he has to have a human moment sometimes. O'Brien is a bit more realistic. She has a bit of a soft spot for the lady, but is absolutely cruel to her peers.
Well, tonight I watched the end of Lovely Bones instead of catching the beginning of Downton Abbey. That is a very bad sign for me, for I love English period pieces.