FIRST DOWNTON ABBEY VIEWING REVIEW BY "RESTLESS"

(the direct link to this person's blog is in the post title)

This isn’t going to be a very coherent post (and probably not the last post either) because I’m mostly trying to air out all these emotions bubbling inside me.


But if I had to sum up my feelings from this evening in one sentence, it would be this: if by next Sunday (say, around 11pm) the nation isn’t gripped with Downton fever and the interwebs overflowing with massive flail and hysteria, I’ll have a sex change.


It’s THAT good. It was a packed theater and the atmosphere was so charged with excitement throughout the screening, it was obvious they/we were completely in the throes of the joys of Downton Abbey II. We roared with laughter over the comedy scenes, and I’m happy to report/confirm the episode is packed with priceless comedy gold that’ll keep our talented gifmakers very, very busy. And yes, Dame Maggie towers over every single scene she’s in. I’d been spoiled for quite a few of her lines but I was still roaring because she absolutely kills with the delivery or just her facial expressions.


I think the best part about this second series is that our familiarity with these characters allows both the Powers That Be and fans like me to explore and feel for these people in ways that just aren’t possible in the first series. It takes a lot of time and effort to lay out the groundwork for character studies, but because they’ve done so much of the work already in S1, it becomes much easier for the PTB to trust the viewers to understand these characters and FEEL, F-E-E-L for them (and all they have to do is put them through the ringer). And I absolutely did. I have no doubt you could watch S2 w/o never having watched S1 and still enjoy the hell out of it. But as someone who’ve come to know all of them so well from S1, I felt incredibly privileged to watch them develop further as characters, witness new layers and interact or bond (even further) with the other people of Downton Abbey. At one point in the episode, I had to bite my lip not to crumble in tears because one of my favorite non-romantic relationships from S1 was sharing a beautiful moment (which I hadn’t been spoiled for and which I will absolutely under no circumstances spoil it and I hope others don’t either).


Which leads me to my 2nd point about the highlight of S2. That as emotional, heartbreaking or at times heart-stopping as the dramatic moments were in this episode, it can only get better from here, because (and I know I’m repeating myself) they’re just laying the groundwork for an amazing rollercoaster ride throughout the entire series.


And I think I will try very, very hard not to watch any video previews from now on (esp. if it’s anything related to key dramatic moments) because the full impact of watching it unspoiled is something else entirely. Every time I came close to tears and tried not to whimper involved emotional scenes I was completely unprepared for, and I loved every second of it.


And I will also try very, very hard to avoid the twists and turns in the plots because I actually gasped out loud at the final scene and I loved the feeling.


A few other comments:


* By the time the ending credits rolled, the audience just broke into applause, and I was still reeling from the ending that I was completely unprepared for what followed the closing credits— a preview of the next episodes. And I do mean next episodes in plural because it just went on and on for so long, far too long for just a single episode that I don’t think I retained everything. And I think this might have been the highlights reel they showed at the press launch last July following the screening of the 1st episode.


* I think the 1st episode clocked at somewhere but not quite the 90 minute mark. The screening was supposed to begin at 6.30pm but there was a little delay, then both the BAFTA president and Peter Fincham (the ITV controller) spoke a few words at the beginning which took up 5 min. or so. and I can’t quite recall exactly when it began. But it did come close to 90 min. so it’s probably a 90-min ep. The Q&A afterwards lasted for half an hour.


* Like I said earlier, Peter Fincham listed quite a few of the actors who were in attendance, but even though I had seen Brendan Coyle and Amy Nuttall in the lobby/bar before the screening (and Julian Fellowes and Gareth Neame), I didn’t realize so MANY would be present and was so surprised that I’m sorry to say, can’t remember most of them. But we’ll know soon enough once the pictures surface. I did hear Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jessica Brown-Findlay, Allen Leech and Cal Macaninch were there too, though I haven’t seen them. Dan Stevens and Joanne Froggatt, absolutely, since they were part of the Q&A. And so were Jessica Fellowes (the companion book author) and Julian Fellowes’ wife, Emma Joy Kitchener. Hard to miss with her distinctive headgear sitting only a few rows in front of you. Wouldn’t have noticed Jessica Fellowes, but she managed to plug the book at the beginning of the Q&A so that’s how we came to know.


* Brendan Coyle was standing before me as we queued for the bar, and it was very difficult not to stare and I didn’t, but even a glimpse will tell you he’s gorgeous up close. :) It’s not so much his looks as his demeanour and bearing that provoke that reaction (the urge to stare).


* I said it before and I’ll say it again, Julian Fellowes is a born raconteur. He’s the kind of guy you want at your dinner parties livening up, and he didn’t disappoint this evening. I had heard most of his ‘stories’ before, but I still enjoyed hearing them again (though perhaps not for the 3rd time) because it’s all in the telling.


* But that also means he talked the most, and why wouldn’t he, when many of the questions were directed to him.


* The issue of ‘merchandising’ Downton Abbey came up, and Gareth Neame made a point of saying they’re careful/selective about what to commercialize from this classy show. He did joke about inflated Dan Stevens dolls. :)


* A lady towards the end of the Q&A related a question from her 15yo daughter (both mother and daughter huge fans of Anna and Bates) who wanted to know whether there could be a spin-off with just Anna and Bates. Which (if I recall correctly) prompted Brendan Coyle from his seat to ask if he/Bates too could have an inflated doll.


* And I don’t know if this was mentioned before, but it was the 1st time I’ve heard of it— apparently Fellowes and Gareth Neame looked at over 400+ houses around the country before settling on Highclere Castle. It was the first house they saw but Fellowes says it took a while to convince Neame THIS was the place.


And what a place it is. Honestly, I wish Downton Abbey could have a theatrical release (and I’d pay for every single episode) because it’s absolutely breathtaking on the big screen. I literally gasped a couple of times whenever they panned over Highclere Castle.