Downton Abbey Prime, Tuesdays, 8.30pm Reviewed by Nick Ward
Downton Abbey reportedly costs a million quid an episode, and looks like it – a rare case of a television show's quality matching its budget. The first series was one of the must-see (or at least, must-record) shows of last year, and the second has the same warm, inviting feeling – like relaxing in a comfortable old smoking jacket and slippers with a glass of port and a good book. Yes, it's basically a big-budget update of Upstairs, Downstairs – but by Jove, it's a delight.
Not that I have any particular affection for the English aristocracy and the medieval class system they sit at the pinnacle of. But Downton Abbey is a perfect combination of good writing, good acting and good manners – and in tracing the decline of a way of life that had been taken for granted for centuries, it blends drama, poignancy, humour, tragedy and nostalgia with a skill that has rarely been seen.
Series one ended with the crumbling of the relationship between cousins Mary, cruelly denied the family inheritance because of her gender, and Matthew, suddenly promoted to heir and uncomfortable with the stuffy formality of life at the manor. And then World War I broke out.
Matthew has done the honourable thing and enlisted, and is now knee-deep in the mud, blood and horror of the Western Front. Former footman Thomas was there as well, until the conniving, cowardly little creep engineered a Blighty wound to get himself out of the trenches.
The great Maggie Smith, as the Dowager Countess, still gets the best lines, even if her character is an appalling snob. Matthew's mother, Isobel, is still the voice of reason, insisting that everyone must do their bit for the war effort, rich and poor – which includes busting the Dowager for seeking medical exemptions for the servants. This looks set to reignite their ever-so-well-mannered feud, which was one of the highlights of the first series.
Meanwhile, Mary's sisters are spreading their wings beyond the family nest. I suppose it beats sitting around all day doing needlepoint and reading romance novels. Edith has learned to drive and Sybil is working as a nurse – which is causing further cracks to appear in the class barrier, with the family's Irish chauffeur declaring his love for her. Surprisingly, the Dowager has no problem with the young ladies doing their bit, after all, their great-aunt "loaded the guns at Lucknow."
Below stairs, the tragic, self-sacrificing valet Bates continues to epitomise the great English stiff upper lip attitude. Having earned the respect of his fellow servants, he's been forced to quit by the arrival of his estranged wife, played by Maria Doyle Kennedy, last seen as Sonya the nanny in Dexter and the miserable Katherine of Aragon in The Tudors. And the spectre of Mary's involuntary indiscretion with a horny Turkish diplomat still lingers. It's a good thing she's now involved with a newspaper owner – but will he use his influence to kill the story, or spurn her, publish and be damned?
This was a time when everyone in Britain knew their place and there wasn't much anyone could do to change that.
There's something amusing about the emotional repression and slavish devotion to duty the characters display, but something comforting as well. They may be polite to the point of ridiculousness, but it makes a nice contrast to some of our modern-day social interactions.
- Nelson
No comments:
Post a Comment