Downton
Abbey
“Daisy:
You've kept me here with a dishonest representation.
Mrs.
Patmore: Oh dear, did you swallow a dictionary?”
Quote
from Downton Abbey, Season 3
I
wonder whether, like me, you are hopelessly addicted to the BBC
television show, Downton Abbey? I am embarrassed to say that I turned
down a perfectly good social invitation last night so that I could stay home and catch up on the story. I think, after all the painfully horrible
American reality shows, the total unreality of Downton Abbey is like
tonic for a wounded soul. And the understated delivery of British
punchlines is delicious.
My
sons, who only watch shows on their laptops and tablets, tell me that
television is on the way out, just as “land-lines” have become
extinct. The things they watch, and think are great, are shows where
guns play a big role and lots of things blow up. I can see why they
think television should die.
I
still have a land-line, too—how else would I receive robo-calls and advertisements for cemetery plots!
Television is my generation's choice of entertainment. We boomers are
the ones who ushered it in in the late forties and early fifties. In
my household, our first television was a huge console of a thing,
with a little six-sided screen that showed pictures in shades of
gray. The whole thing signed off about ten o'clock at night—we
watched until the signal died away.
I
remember seeing Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953—at least, I
watched a reel of it after the fact, since there was no live feed at
the time. Even as a little girl, I was fascinated with all things
British. I think I believed that everyone in England lived in a
castle and spoke in hilariously cynical quips. I'm rereading Daphne
Du Maurier's Rebecca at the moment and reveling in the rich,
descriptive language. British writers, even modern ones, know how to
take their time and give attention to detail.
One
of the lessons from Downton Abbey is that family matters most.
Whether it's the family upstairs or the family downstairs, they stick
together and tough out the rough spots. I think the collective way of
life is appealing, too. They share the house, they share the
lifestyle, and they share the food. As I said, it's total unreality;
just as entertainment is meant to be.
In
the spirit,
Jane
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