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Farewell to “Downton Abbey”
If you were to draw a Venn diagram of two sets, with one representing male police officers and the other representing fans of “Downton Abbey,” I suspect the overlap would be vanishingly small. Some might consider this unmanly, but I’m proud to admit my membership in that sliver of humanity, and I will be a bit downcast Sunday evening as the show fades to black for the last time. Equally downcast will be Mrs. Dunphy, who perhaps represents a more typical demographic among the millions of people who today wonder how they will spend their wintertime Sunday evenings from now on.
Most of us take for granted the shows we watch on television, even those rare ones of exceptional quality like “Downton Abbey.” If a show is produced well, the viewer can immerse himself in the story and the characters while paying no mind to how it all came together. I once worked in television, spending a single season as a technical adviser on a network cop show, for which I also wrote an episode. The experience offered me an insight into how difficult it is to put an hour’s worth of drama on the air in the hope of attracting an audience. It takes scores of people to bring a television show into being, each of whom must be relied upon to do his job well and on time. And in a period drama like “Downton Abbey,” on which a mistake of seemingly insignificant detail results in a torrent of tweets and Facebook postings informing the producers that the buttons on the underbutler’s waistcoat were all wrong, or that the windscreen on a Rolls Royce was improperly positioned, or that the dinner’s second course was lacking an ingredient, attention to minutia is paramount.
And beyond the period details, there are the technical elements that the viewer perceives but does not notice: the set decoration and the lighting and the flow of action from scene to scene, all of which in “Downton Abbey” begins with the words on the page as written by Julian Fellows, the show’s creator. Fellows shared a writing credit on only two of Downton’s 52 episodes, both in the 2010 season, so for all practical purposes every word of every script is his. And it was he who assembled the cast and crew that made the show the phenomenon it became: a series beloved by millions, one whose ending is lamented across the Western world, even by a cop in Southern California.
For the cast and crew, Downton’s finale is surely bittersweet. Even in my brief experience in television I learned of the friendships that form among those who work the long days required to produce a show. How saddening it must be to know that this talented assembly has dispersed for the last time. Many of them surely will go on to other successes in the business, some even to stardom, but they know, as they must know, that whatever successes they might enjoy in the future, “Downton Abbey” was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
American fans of “Downton Abbey” know that the show has already run its course on British television and that a simple Internet search will reveal the details of the show’s ending. I have assiduously avoided even a hint of how it all concludes, the better to enjoy speculating on the matter with Mrs. Dunphy and other fellow fans, of which there are many among the Ricochetti. And so I put it to you: What do you expect in the final episode?
What hopes do you have for those characters whose fates are not well mapped out? Now that Mary is again wed (a bit precipitously, if you asked me), now that Mr. Mosely and Mrs. Patmore have stepped tentatively beyond Downton’s walls, he as a teacher, she as a hotelier, now that Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes are united in marriage, and now that he seems out of danger of having her poison his pudding, what’s to become of the rest of them? Will Thomas find the happiness that has eluded him for six seasons? Will Spratt find his path out of service through his talent as a pseudonymous writer? These and so many other questions linger, the most pressing of which of course is this: When the final credits roll, will Edith forever be known as “Poor Edith,” or will Providence at last bestow that which it has so often dangled before her only to snatch away. For heaven’s sake, Mr. Fellows, how much can one woman be expected to take?
Whatever the outcome for Edith and all the others, I will miss their company. I wish the best for everyone who had a hand in Downton’s production. We in the Dunphy house are and will remain grateful for their efforts.
Published in Entertainment
There’s one in every crowd.
For all the problems with Edith’s love life, we shouldn’t forget that she is a successful magazine publisher. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
I trust you are right. Anna deserves a happy ending, too. My wife and I just joke that her life of woe and disappointment is remarkably unremarked upon. Edith gets all the attention.
Mr. Dunphy, I think you are wrong about the size of the Venn diagram intersection. My partner the hardboiled contractor and my brother the hardboiled scientist are both fans of the show. It has impressively broad appeal.
I can’t say I’ve ever heard any Downton talk among my colleagues. Maybe there are others like me, enthralled with the show but afraid to reveal it around the station.
My 24-yr. old son was between jobs for a couple months & lived with us, about a year ago. We were binge-watching Downton, having missed the beginning seasons, and he started to watch too, & caught up on previous episodes by himself. Now he’s working in NYC and is too busy to keep up, but he watches all episodes he missed whenever he visits for a weekend. Broad appeal indeed!
My wife and I are still in mourning over the series finale. I’ve remarked to her a couple of times over the last two weeks that we need to find another “British show” to watch (she said “no” to Top Gear). Any recommendations? Do we have to confine ourselves to PBS’s Masterpiece or can we find a good series elsewhere? I’m not looking to pay any more in fees than I already do for Hulu and Netflix. Thoughts?
I never got into “Downton Abbey” but I am a man and luv period pieces. I watched the recent “War and Peace” on cable. Mr. Dunphy you are not alone. Here are links about Mr. Fellows next project:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3479772/Spectacular-makes-Downton-Abbey-look-like-bungalow-CHRISTOPHER-STEVENS-reviews-weekend-s-TV.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3474703/Prince-Harry-s-ex-Cressida-Bonas-joins-builder-s-daughter-Stefanie-Martini-Doctor-Thorne.html
The finale reminded me of the old show “Love American Style” which was broadcast in the 1970’s. Lots of craziness happens and then it all wraps up nicely at the end with all the guest stars pairing off for a bright future.
Perhaps not quite that clean but it was definitely a high note with a sense that things would work out.
There are various Jane Austen novel adaptations (the better include the 1995 Pride and Prejudice mini-series with Colin Firth, the 1995 movie Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thomson, and the movie Persuasion, also from 1995). One could also look for adaptations of Charles Dickens. Our favorite is a series of Little Dorrit starring Claire Foy. I think someone already mentioned the Jeeves and Wooster series with Stephen Fry that is the only decent visual adaptation of P.G. Woodhouse’s literary work. I don’t know if any of these are on streaming.
When I rummaged around Netflix streaming for ‘BBC’ I found some interesting documentaries on some country houses (including one on Highclere Castle, the filming location of Downton Abbey) and some of the old kings.
Lark Rise to Candleford from 2008 is enjoyable (you will see the actor who plays Mr. Bates the valet as a stonemason, which character disappears from the series as the actor begins his Downton Abbey role).
Of a completely different genre (contemporary comedy), but thoroughly British is “Doc Martin,” which is on Netflix streaming.
Back on the period drama, there’s the 2004 mini-series North and South about a family that moves from the genteel countryside of southern England to a factory town in The North.
If Downton Abbey is your introduction to British period drama, you have been spoiled from the outset. It is hard to find other series that have such a high level of production value.
Back on the period drama, there’s the 2004 mini-series North and South about a family that moves from the genteel countryside of southern England to a factory town in The North.
Based on the novel of the same name by Elizabeth Gaskell. Richard Armitage, most famous as Thorin from “The Hobbit” trilogy, plays the cotton factory owner Mr. Thornton. Awesome Northern English accents in that production.
Yup. Tune in to the live-stream of “Never Lose a Debate with a Global Warming Alarmist” on Wednesday, 6 pm CT. http://bit.ly/1W4OXB2
You don’t think Anna’s arc has been as tragic as Edith’s?
I doubt it. Pseudonymous writers almost never do well. :-)
My father was a manly man, and he and my mother immensely enjoyed “Upstairs, Downstairs”, which I watched with them back in the day. I know they would have adored “Downton Abbey”. This may sound a bit flaky and spiritual, but when I watched the show, I felt like my late parents were watching it with me, because I knew exactly what their reactions would have been to various lines of dialogue and plot points.
The series was not perfect (nothing on TV is, unless its title is “Breaking Bad”) – it could be repetitive and a bit obvious at times – but it was quite wonderful overall. From the first episode, I was hooked by the interesting chord structure of the theme and the elegant title sequence. And that was before appreciating the acting, writing, set design, and costumes.
I don’t disagree with that. I was commenting on the predictions in your second paragraph. Into dark humor, are we?
Cranford, and Return to Cranford, are lovely. I always buy the DVDs because our internet service is so expensive, by the gigabyte, that I can’t afford to stream anything, so I don’t know what the situation is with them on Hulu and Netflix.
You’ll recognize many in the cast if you’re at all familiar with BBC/ITV serials. Suffice it to say that in the first series you’ll get Dame Judi Dench, Dame Eileen Atkins (who made a name for herself in the 1970’s as the co-creator of Upstairs Downstairs), Imelda Staunton (who in real life is Mrs Jim Carter (Mr Carson), Jim Carter himself, Greg Wise (Mr Emma Thompson, also late of Sense and Sensibility), and Francesca Annis (Wow. Remember her as Lillie Langtry on Masterpiece Theatre in 1978). Most of these stalwarts return for the second series, and in addition you may spot Tim Curry, and Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary Crawley) in small roles, as well as Celia Imrie (most recently seen in the First and Second Best Most Exotic Marigold Hotels).
A veritable feast.
Speaking of which, on the movie front, Calendar Girls is quite fun.
I agree. Others may approach it, but Downton combined so many rare elements. I can scarcely imagine it being equaled.
Thanks to all for your commentary. If you’re not already aware of it, there’s a weekly Masterpiece podcast that recaps each show and features an interview with someone from the cast or crew. Julian Fellowes himself was interviewed for a recent one. He offered some interesting insight into the show and his writing decisions for the finale. (And shame on me for misspelling his name in the post. Same for Mr. Molesley.)