We Succumb to Downton Abbey

So, let me tell you what Marilyn and I have been doing over the last five days.

We spent much of that time - more than is probably good for any human being - sitting in front of the TV plowing through Seasons One and Two of the hoity-toity PBS Masterpiece Theater British soap opera, Downton Abbey.  Today, thanks to the magic of the PBS iPad app and the DVR, we will watch episodes one through three of Season Three and then we will plant ourselves in front of the TV on Sunday night to catch up with the travails of the Grantham family, and their loyal and scheming servants in real time.  No longer will we be the outcasts when discussions of this insanely popular show arise, and make no mistake, such discussions are ALWAYS arising!

It was a conversation with Marilyn's brothers and their wives last week that tipped the scales and made us hit Target and scoop up the Season One DVD set to see just what in the hell everyone was talking about.  It didn't take long to be hooked and finish that set, and then head out to Target to snap up Season Two, which we finished with a five episode marathon last night.  Lest you think we are completely crazy, we did take a break for dinner.

It is a well made, nicely acted, and beautifully photographed show, and it is, as our behaviour described above indicates, very compelling.  I like the fact that much of the action takes place off-camera.  By that I mean, if Character A needs to tell Character B about a development that we, the viewers, have already seen or been made aware of, we, the viewers, are not forced to see the conversation between A and B.  This avoids the usual glacial pace of most soap operas, and makes for a fast paced series.  Hey, they got through the entirety of World War I in just seven episodes!

And I just love Maggie Smith!!!  If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I want to come back as a Dowager Countess.

I now anxiously await each episode of Season III, but I fear that at some point something in me will snap and I will say, "Hey, I'm tired of Lady Mary and her back-and-forth affairs of the heart;  just marry SOMEONE for God's sake, or I'm going to quit watching!"  That jump-the-shark moment hasn't arrived yet, but, as I say, I fear it's approach.

In the meantime, I shall don my boiled collar and white tie and prepare myself for dinner, whilst reading the numerous messages that arrive in the post each day.