Rest in Peace Downton Abbey- Page 3

[Scripps2]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 11:30am

It really did.

And there's a wealth of truth-is-stranger-than-fiction stories in the aristocracy's attempts to adapt to what the c20th had throw at them. Particularly if, as Robbie suggests, it was rebooted later in the century when they were having to find ways to pay 80% tax rates.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 12:15pm

All of these comments underscore what a catalog of missed opportunities the show has become. It's one thing to eschew melodrama, quite another to be a chronic drama remover. Fellowes's fear of soap puts severe storytelling handcuffs on the writing. If he doesn't want to be Bill Bell or Agnes Nixon, he's no Charles Dickens. Dickens would never waste such a rich premise and put up with this degree of stagnation.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 12:57pm

I also wish that Fellowes would have written a female character that had a questionable reputation. I think an Alice Keppel type character, a high powered person's mistress, would have added a bit of color to the show.

But this last season was dreary. The Bates/Anna story dragged on way too long and didn't add anything. And the liberal schoolteacher was obnoxious and not a help to the story.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 3:35pm

"I think an Alice Keppel type character, ...would have added a bit of color to the show."

Now that really would have been interesting. Cora, perhaps? And my noble Lord Grantham's reaction? Would it really be an honour, as Parker Bowles' husband was supposed to assume? Or would he have put bullets through the skulls of her ponies? On the front lawn?!

Truth is stranger than fiction!



Updated On: 3/27/15 at 03:35 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 4:13pm

I actually think that an Alice Keppel type character would be separate from the family. But it would reference back to Gone With The Wind where Scarlett was appalled at the likes of Belle Watling, but Melanie extended grace and said she would be proud to say hello to her in the street. To mirror that, Mary (and Carson) would be repulsed to see this woman (common woman!), but Edith might extend a kind word at the annual flower show. It would just add a bit of balance to the closed in feeling that the show has become. Even Rose with the black man was interesting, but this past season was just void of any real daring.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 4:16pm

"Or would he have put bullets through the skulls of her ponies?"

I'm currently reading The Heir Apparent and that story was mentioned. British history is full of fascinating stories.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 7:37pm

The only possible way this could end with any credibility is with Edith going crazy and shooting everyone in the house.

Then Maggie Smith, who has been taking a nap upstairs, comes to the head of the stairs. She sees all the carnage and:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=hi_0ARwtxDI#t=6079

[HorseTears]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 8:30pm

There was one simple solution to all of the issued described in the past few pages: hire a writing staff. If the credits are to be believed, Fellowes wrote every single episode himself. He's undoubtedly a talented writer, but I imagine most writers would struggle to keep everything moving on such a massive show. He didn't have anyone else in the room with him saying, "Hey, Julian, that's a bit naff. We should rewrite that."

I know it's more common in the UK for dramas to be written entirely by their creators and that probably worked for s1-2, but after that some fresh voices - or even people just to bounce ideas off of - would probably be helpful.

[ArtMan]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 8:49pm

While we are talking about the writing, did Rose magically become a virgin when she married? There was never a discussion in the show, about the fact she was worried what the fiancée might think. Remember she had the affair with the married man, that Edith and the Aunt put a stop to, a season or two ago.

[degrassifan]

Posted: 3/30/15 at 5:38pm

Did Rose lose her virginity to that man, or are we just assuming she did?

[ArtMan]

Posted: 3/30/15 at 6:25pm

See, I wouldn't had assumed she lost her virginity to him. The way her part was written, I would had assumed she lost it way before him.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 3/30/15 at 7:47pm

Auggie--I agree with both of your posts, although I probably enjoyed this past season more than you. But the fact that Fellowes does seem to want to avoid "soap opera" (as he has himself said--as you point out,) does the show a disservice. Especially since he still sets up some very soapy situations (I mean he brought back a soldier who may have have an heir and was suffering from facial scars and amnesia, for Heaven's sake.). It just seems like, increasingly, whenever a story or idea shows potential it gets quickly and quietly resolved--sometimes barely even on camera. We now have Matthew Goode, who I love, as yet another suitor for Mary--but I'm still kinda confused as to what was the point of the past two, etc, etc.

I think the story set up is still mostly there. But, except for the endless Bates drama, it increasingly has no follow-through.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/31/15 at 10:23am

"It just seems like, increasingly, whenever a story or idea shows potential it gets quickly and quietly resolved--sometimes barely even on camera."

It seems to me that the upstairs people's drama goes on longer than the downstairs people's drama. Mrs. Patmore overcame blindness in one episode, Mrs. Hughes beat breast cancer in one episode, Carson hid his past in one episode. Yet Mary's love life and Edith's baby and Chauffer's indecision about America just goes on and on and on. The only downstairs continuing story has been Anna/Bates which everyone hates. And they tried to build a storyline around Baxter's secret, but that fell flat.

But if it's any consolation, I'm noticing the same poor storylines in Mr. Selfridge and Call The Midwife. Once they get a series running, they don't seem to know what to do with the characters and they start ripping off storylines from other shows.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/31/15 at 12:34pm

The only possible way this could end with any credibility is with Edith going crazy and shooting everyone in the house.

Or they could do something very unpredictable for Edith and have her get married to a loving husband, maintain a successful career and live happily ever after as a well-respected confident woman. Nobody would see it coming.

[Tag]

Posted: 3/31/15 at 12:57pm

It seems to me that the upstairs people's drama goes on longer than the downstairs people's drama.

I don't know about that…the whole Bates/Anna murder plot has dragged on for like 23 seasons now.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/31/15 at 1:19pm

"I don't know about that…the whole Bates/Anna murder plot has dragged on for like 23 seasons now."

Yeah, but Bates got rid of his gimpy leg in one episode. You don't even see him limp anymore.

[Almira]

Posted: 4/1/15 at 2:44pm

It makes sense that DOWNTON ABBEY is wrapping up now. 

UPSTAIRS/DOWNSTAIRS historically ended around the same period, so Fellowes wont have a source from which to crib anymore characters or story ideas.

Updated On: 4/1/15 at 02:44 PM

[Scripps2]

Posted: 4/1/15 at 3:18pm

Please ignore, as I can't get the link I wished to share to work. 

 

Updated On: 4/1/15 at 03:18 PM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/1/15 at 4:11pm

The 1920s (well going back earlier to WWI and the decade after,) seem to be *the* thing to cover in UK period dramas at the moment.

 

Scripps, I answered your Cucumber question in that thread.

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/1/15 at 4:16pm

I was (more or less) happy with the recent trilogy of Downton Abbey, Mr. Selfridge, and The Paradise.

 

But The Paradise was cancelled after its second season, and I'm guessing it's touch-and-go with Selfridge, too. And with Downton's swan-song season, I'll be looking for other escape shows like these.

[Almira]

Posted: 4/1/15 at 5:14pm

I wonder if  THE GILDED AGE will have a similar fate as 1975's BEACON HILL.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 4/1/15 at 5:24pm

I've read that Selfridge has been renewed for a fourth season.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 4/1/15 at 5:36pm

"I've read that Selfridge has been renewed for a fourth season."

I don't know why.  In the last episode, Selfridge was talking to his daughter Violette and the two of them were competing to see who could be the hammiest actor in the show.  It was really bad acting, it must have been the last scene they filmed and everyone just said "Oh the h*ll with it, don't even try to be natural." 

The one good thing about this season is that they added Zoe Wannamaker who is always fun to watch.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/1/15 at 10:26pm

Yeah, Selfridge does alright and is safe, for now.

 

The first two (back to back) episodes did disappoint me.  I complain that Downton should be soapier, but on Selfridge you could feel the soapy plots being forced into place--when Mr Lovewhashisname came on, he really should have been twirling his mustache (the fact that ANYONE would trust that character the way he acts is ridiculous.)  Still, I like some of the side characters, so...  And couldn't they make Sergei a LITTLE more likeable?  It's hard to get invested when we've never seen why the daughter (Violet?) would care for him in the first place.  Even a scene or two of them would help.  Agreed on Zoe Wannamaker, though--I was pretty leased to see her pop up.

(And the daughters being suddenly SO front and center seemed a bit forced.)

 

Re WWI, after the premier they had a preview of upcoming UK imports on Masterpiece--the ones I knew about (Wolf Hall, the Poldark reboot,) but there's one about nurses in WWI.  Which is why I was thinking it seemed a common theme right now (yes, I know it was recently the anniversary, etc.)

 

I suspect The Gilded Age--if it even gets picked up, will suffer the fate of the US Upstairs Downstairs--Beacon Hill.  That did apparently start with huge ratings that disappeared overnight.  People don't seem to realize that a large part of the appeal of these period soaps for Americans *IS* that they're British.

Besides apparently doing a 2013 treatment for the Babs Gypsy (which rumour says someone else is writing now,) Julian has NO major credits that are about anyone but Brits--  Can the Baron Fellowes of West Stafford write American historical drama?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 4/2/15 at 10:38am

Can the Baron Fellowes of West Stafford write American historical drama?

No.  And they chose the wrong time period.  The Gilded Age is after the Civil War.  While America was growing as a country, it would have been better if they chose a story around one of the wars.  The story should take place in the lead up to the Civil War.  Would give much more material to work with.  I just finished reading The Heir Apparent and America barely fits into the British story.  It's just not an interesting time in American history.

 

I also question if Americans, at this point in culture, want to see rich people swanning around.  It works for the British shows because Americans have this high expectation about the British (royalty, afternoon tea, etc).  I don't think it's a good time in American culture to be doing stories about rich white people.

One of the problems with the Anna character is that they made her too sweet and pure.  What can you do with a character that is so goody-goody?  I think that's why we're so tired of the Bates/Anna storyline.  Even after her rape, she was playing "Song of Bernadette".  Goody-goody characters don't last on soap operas.  I think that's why Wendy Richard lasted so long on EastEnders.  The audience loved when she verbally ripped someone apart.

I think they got 9 episodes out of Selfridge, so what do I know?  There is a demand for it or they wouldn't have done 9.