Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I LOVED the party at the end. It makes me think of MANY family get togethers and miss them a lot.
It's going to be a good season with the well aimed snipes of the two elder matriarcs...
Before, there was a show, part of a new series, about the castle where its filmed. What's fascinating is the owners opened a hospital there during WW1, and the wife was an American heiress. And the family bankrolled the exibition that found King Tut's tomb. Really interesting stuff.
Don't want to suggest any spoilers for anyone who hasn't watched yet.
I watched that show tonight too. The creator said he had that specific castle in mind when writing Downton Abbey. Finding the Eygptian artifacts in a couple of hidden cubbies was cool! I don't think The Lady of the castle had to be talked into opening up the castle as a hospital as Cora was. I think I would've liked the real people more than I do the ficticious ones.
I'm not too happy with Matthew right now. I can't believe he won't help Mary's family. He's being an absolute idiot about his inheritance. His head is too high in the clouds. Or someplace closer to earth.
Loved the premiere of season 3! I love the snarkiness between the two grandmothers.
The head housekeepers 'problem' was of interesting. I did not know they had the medical knowledge and procedures yet to deal with breast cancer.
I wish Matthew would use his inheritance to save DA but I can understand his point about not taking it. And I'm sure this will cause some good dramatic scenes between him and Mary.
There was a special on PBS about the castle they used. Seems the owner, Lord and Lady somethingorother are good friends with Julian Fellows... the writer/creator of Downton. So, he had the setting and... the owners need the income as it takes one million bucks to run the place for a year.
I thought it odd that the lady's maid of Lady Cora, the witch one, used the word "histrionics" when talking to the nasty guy about the shirts. I can't imagine that is a word a woman on that level at that time period would use. Just thought it weird.
I, too, am getting fed up with Matthew not helping the family. To me, he just seems to be interested in himself, how he feels, his honor. It's all about HIM, not about his own family whom he could save from destruction. So he would rather see his wife's grandmother and her father lose their home, at their age, which will be a million times worse with their hidebound respect for tradition and respect. He needs to grow up and realize that we can't always be perfect, that sometimes we have to sacrifice our own perfection and think of the greater good.
I also don't understand how the American grandmother (Shirley Maclaine) is allowed to be portrayed as such a low class slob. I know they're trying to show the difference between the aristocratic British and the pull yourself up by your bootstraps Americans but I just can't believe that someone with her (lack of) manners would have married into a rich American family and have homes in NYC and Newport.
They have her gobbling her food at the table, talking with her mouth full, and saying unbelievably rude and stupid things. Someone like that would not have been accepted into society here in the US, I don't think. I know they're trying to make her obnoxious but I think it could have been done differently. I think of the movie, The Great Gatsby with the rich American society people and she wouldn't have fit in.
I love Bates. I just LOVE him. I know he must get out of jail somehow.
I want to see more of Daisy going back to the farm to visit her dear father in law. He is just so sweet and he wants her to be his daughter. That's a beautiful friendship. I also want to see more of the woman who had the baby and is not welcome anymore. Also, the heir who was badly wounded and no one would believe that he was related--I want him to come back with some kind of proof of who is is.
My favorite part was when Sybill's husband wouldn't get dressed up for the wedding and the grandmother MADE him. hahahahha. His bravado sort of evaporated right in front of her. She's the best character in the show. Can't wait for next week.
I, too, am getting fed up with Matthew not helping the family. To me, he just seems to be interested in himself, how he feels, his honor. It's all about HIM, not about his own family whom he could save from destruction. So he would rather see his wife's grandmother and her father lose their home, at their age, which will be a million times worse with their hidebound respect for tradition and respect. He needs to grow up and realize that we can't always be perfect, that sometimes we have to sacrifice our own perfection and think of the greater good.
I also don't understand how the American grandmother (Shirley Maclaine) is allowed to be portrayed as such a low class slob. I know they're trying to show the difference between the aristocratic British and the pull yourself up by your bootstraps Americans but I just can't believe that someone with her (lack of) manners would have married into a rich American family and have homes in NYC and Newport.
They have her gobbling her food at the table, talking with her mouth full, and saying unbelievably rude and stupid things. Someone like that would not have been accepted into society here in the US, I don't think. I know they're trying to make her obnoxious but I think it could have been done differently. I think of the movie,
The Great Gatsby with the rich American society people and she wouldn't have fit in.
Spoiler
I love Bates. I just LOVE him. I know he must get out of jail somehow.
I want to see more of Daisy going back to the farm to visit her dear father in law. He is just so sweet and he wants her to be his daughter. That's a beautiful friendship. I also want to see more of the woman who had the baby and is not welcome anymore. Also, the heir who was badly wounded and no one would believe that he was related--I want him to come back with some kind of proof of who is is.
My favorite part was when Sybill's husband wouldn't get dressed up for the wedding and the grandmother MADE him. hahahahha. His bravado sort of evaporated right in front of her. She's the best character in the show. Can't wait for next week.
Well, outside the rarified air, some of us - at least in the U.S. - discover that wealth and society are not necessarily inclusive. Molly Brown showed us that.
I love Shirley Maclaine, but last night I thought she got out-acted by Maggie Smith--and the rest of the cast. I wish Ms. Maclaine had been stronger in her role...then again, it must have been very difficult to come in for a guest spot and not have the history of acting with the assemply of characters over the past two seasons.
What about you? Were you happy with Ms. Maclaine's performance?
And why was her make-up so ghastly white--she looked clownish--or was that the intent? And yes, her table manners were gauche and her costumes over the top flamboyant--she did not exemplify the best of the American character, did she?
Anyhow, I loved the start of the third season and hung on every word.
Matthew, a gentleman of honor and a product of his time, refusing to accept the inheritance from his dead fiancee's father to spend on his fiancee's rival and her family, makes sense to me. The fact that he inherited it in the first place was a silly soap opera plot line.
I also agree, that in real life, someone like Cora's mother with her pedigree and background would not behave like that. She also would not be embracing change. While they may have given charity to the settlement houses, no way, did they want to hang out with the immigrants on the lower eastside and they certainly had no love for the Irish in the US either. Americans had their own form of class separation. If anyone has ever visited any of the mansions in Newport, RI, they were designed to emulate European villas and palaces and were furnished with European furniture, china, and glassware. The bluebloods admired and aspired to be like European gentry. However, the depiction of the cultural conflict between the mothers is entertaining and I imagine was written to especially appeal to the American audience since this program is one of the rare British programs to have garnered such large scale popularity in the US. The US has a potentially larger audience than the UK, as well as more $$$ to purchase the DVDs and other merchandising. I noticed how in this first episode, the American point of view won in each clash.
DA is no Upstairs/Downstairs. The latter was more historically accurate and concentrated on social and political commentary, rather than soap opera theater, and had equal appeal to men and women. I agree that the term "histronic" would not be used. Never the less, I enjoyed episoode 1 of season 3 immensely last night. It's great entertainment and i look forward to the rest of the series.
Anyone else notice Edith smiling a lot? I think she smiled more last night than in the previous 2 seasons combined. Also (and it may have been just the smiling but I don't think so) she was portrayed in a more physically attractive way - in the past seasons she was shown as a bit more "unfortunate looking" than her two sisters. Which might explain her cattiness. The only nod to her previous behavior was the comment to Mary on her wedding day about love and position all wrapped up in one tidy package.....
Martha Levinson may have been rich, but she was part of American "new money" society. She wouldn't be accepted much even by American "old money" society...even if she weren't somewhat eccentric and flamboyic. But she has a point about British titled society and their being averse to change back then. I've heard that many such families had to adjust to new realities of modern world. For instance, many of those families fell on hard times and had to become more self-supporting somehow or sell their homes or keep them by making them available for tourism and such. I don't blame Matthew for having scruples and not wanting to accept Lavinia's father's money...he's right, he shouldn't have been an heir! I admire his having a conscience about it. It would be interesting to see how the spoiled formerly very wealthy family would make the transition to a more frugal lifestyle.
I am so happy that DA is back. This show is utterly amazing and each character is so well scripted and defined. I actually care about all of them except for Thomas. The actor who portrays him was on one of the morning shows and that fellow is so cool and laid back that I kept looking at him to see a flash of Thomas and, of course, there never was one.
Some of the cast members are going to be on ABC's "Katie" this afternoon, I think. I could be wrong. I've seen previews and I'm not positive it is today's show but rather later on in the week.
My, my. Our Irish driver certainly made a sight of himself at the family dinner. Yes, he was drugged, but I did enjoy his performance. It's interesting to see the lord of the manor realizing that he needs to bring his Irish son-in-law into the family and that is one of the reasons I like Lord Grantham. He is more attuned to the need to deal with the changes that the 20s are dosing out to the UK.
And I really have to mention the costumes again. I just love the dresses. I always have but to see the subtle change to the chemise and flapper style (as in the wedding dress) is great fun to watch.
Plus, the red-headed daughter is coming into her own. She and Mary were so mean to each other and I suspect they will eventually love each other again.
I am very fond of Shirley MacClain and I think she is a wonderful actress but no one, and I do mean no one, can upstage Dame Maggie Smith, IMO. One of my favorite movies is based on an Agatha Christie novel, Evil Under the Sun, and Maggie Smith is so hilarious in that movie even though it is a murder mystery. The woman is the epitome of an actress. What a delight to see her as often as we get to.
Bates. Oh, Mr. Bates, please come home. I just love that guy. There is something about that actor's face that just lights up the screen. I can't even define it but just looking at him is a joy and when he looks at Anna with all that love I am suddenly brought to a standstill. What a hope it is that he will be released. I think we all know he will be and that is not a spoiler. I want that guy back at DA with his wife and those who love and respect him.
And I don't want to short change Carson. My God, that fellow is just perfect.
When I saw the actress who portrays Daisy I was so surprised. She is as cute as a button and extremely well spoken. See, that shows what a excellent cast DA has. I see these folks in their character roles and I'm taken aback by the reality of who they really are.
Last night was an exceptional episode of an exceptional series. I just simply love it all.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
