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Nope, men were still pretty much in charge back then, but the show has to lay it on thick with the PC version of the "strong female" because the audience is primarily female. If the show was actually historically accurate, it would be nowhere near as popular as it is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gandalara
Violet being Violet.
"Behind every man who thinks they're in charge, there is a very wise woman"
They showed Mathews and Barrow in relatively tiny, low rent WW I sets. If they have Tom in Boston then they have to build sets to represent Boston and hire a bunch of American actors to portray Bostonians. All that costs money. They already have an unusually large cast of regulars, and they have a limited budget. The steeple chase scene probably ate up most of this season's discretionary funds.
Downton Abbey has great production values compared to "Upstairs-Downstairs" which if you watch it today will leave you feeling claustrophobic, the same effect you get from the earliest "Dr. Who" episodes or "The Avengers" in the Honor Blackman days. My feeling is that they are already giving us maximum budgeting and aren't looking for ways to make it more costly.
Apropos of the above, I might be one of the few people here who watched the first Doctor Who episode when it was broadcast back in 1963. Yes, the sets were shaky and the costumes decidedly make do by contemporary standards.
I seem to recall the early Avengers taking place in a couple of rooms (I probably remember them from later on). For me (kudos to Ms. Blackman for kicking things off) The Avengers didn't really get underway till the appearance of the able and delectable Mrs. Peel.
Nope, men were still pretty much in charge back then, but the show has to lay it on thick with the PC version of the "strong female" because the audience is primarily female. If the show was actually historically accurate, it would be nowhere near as popular as it is.
also ... because the audience is a 21st century one.
I read a review of Downton that said it's like the Hotel California--you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. Edith was in London at the paper with her kid, and she gets dragged back to Downton. Daisy wants to continue her education in London, but a few tears from Patmore keeps her at Downton. Bates and Anna are always in trouble with the cops, but no one thinks to kick them out of Downton. Who knows, maybe Tom will be able to get out.
That's funny. It reminds me of The Godfather-"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in."
With childhood mortality being what it was, you would think they would have done it the other way around. I guess it was resistance building though.
This was the period when they were just figuring out how diseases were transmitted. And they just recently figured out about bacteria. Remember how they were clueless about Maleria and TB?
The lower classes would know even less about disease since they had no education. Illiteracy was still very high.
It would be unwise for Isoble to marry Merton. He would gain control of her money or at least some of it. I don't know if she could put all of it in some sort of trust for her grandchild. Then Isobel will outlive Merton and the sons will kick her out and take control of her money that ended up in Merton's hands. She needs to consult iwth a lawyer first.
Yes, but the Brits are skimpy with the kind of vulgar language, fiery explosions and mass murder that make American TV dramas so piquant, and provide such exemplary models for our youth.
I wish they showed more British shows here so they might hint to the networks that a lot of us are over crappy game shows and yet more cops and doctors. Yes, there are British cop shows, but they don't seem shoved into some 'formula'. Not even saying anything about all the stupid reality shows which pass as 'entertainment'.
The times are changing quickly, especially during that time - I noticed that the dresses the ladies wore to the cafe (tea shop? when they saw Atticus' pics) were dresses that could be worn today to a garden party. No more Victorian corsets, laces, etc. The clothing in a few years has modernized - everything is light and rather short even, showing a lot of skin. The 1920s were really a time of liberation for women.
I noticed Rose's blue necklace (like three blue gems) - she wore it last week, too during a party. I thought that necklace was very nice. They have a line of Downton Abbey jewelry, too for sale at major dept. stores. The show even has an influence on today's fashion!
The change in the underdressing is clear in the more free and less stiff way the women move. I remember seeing something once about how women who'd worn corsets all their life continued to wear light support garmets, since their bodies were used to it, but they more resembled the types sold today. And when in the recent episode, they left their maids behind for the trip, this wouldn't have been possible with the sort of clothes they wore at the start.
Clothes do matter, and the heavily bundled way women dressed before was the first casualty when more opportunities came into being.
Apropos of the above, I might be one of the few people here who watched the first Doctor Who episode when it was broadcast back in 1963. Yes, the sets were shaky and the costumes decidedly make do by contemporary standards.
I seem to recall the early Avengers taking place in a couple of rooms (I probably remember them from later on). For me (kudos to Ms. Blackman for kicking things off) The Avengers didn't really get underway till the appearance of the able and delectable Mrs. Peel.
I watched the early Dr. Who's in the seventies on pbs. The aliens were made out of cardboard and even looked like it but it didn't matter. It was the story and the acting and the rest which made that inconsequental. The new series has good fx, as adversed to the really bad ones, but they've tried hard to keep the put together look of the Dr. Who worlds. If it was slick, it wouldn't be Dr. Who.
And I've seen stories done without all the normal costuming which worked perfectly fine and were better than productions with all the stops pulled. They were just excellent productions and material.
DA is part story and part recreation of a lost time. That its filmed at a real estate and the art on the walls is real, and the furnature tells a story definately adds to it and makes the house part of the story. And along with changing fates, that the clothes change too as time goes on, adds to the story as well. But it would be nothing if the production itself wasn't top notch. Dr. Who sold you on the cardboard aliens because of the acting and characters but DA still has to sell you on its characters and story, which it does.
I have the series dvd's for Upstairs Downstairs, and its surprising how bare some of the sets look. I don't remember then looking like that. But it transended the sets. DA has to do the same. If it wasn't played in such a rich and real sets it still would.
Beautiful sets and clothes can add to a good story, but not make it better, and its just a well dressed picture.
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