Downton Abbey vacillates between two extremes — measured costume drama and out-and-out soap opera. Last night’s episode, the second of the sixth and final season, was the latter, not the former. The episode’s main plot — an autumn farm festival — was the springboard for a number of smaller plots, but then there were otherContinue reading “Downton Abbey: The Politics of Pig Farming”
Tag Archives: PBS
Downton Abbey: An Auspicious Beginning to the Final Season
Downton Abbey was returning. It was impossible to avoid on PBS in recent weeks. There were ad spots between shows. “The Final Season,” we were reminded again and again. PBS’s biggest show ever, winner of Golden Globes and Primetime Emmy Awards. It all got to be a bit too much. Friday night, following the SherlockContinue reading “Downton Abbey: An Auspicious Beginning to the Final Season”
On the Return of Downton Abbey
Last night Downton Abbey returned to PBS for a two hour season premiere. Damn, I love that show. It can be incredibly cheesy at times, it’s not high drama, it wears its soap opera-ness on its sleeve; how to explain Matthew inheriting an insane fortune at the exact moment that Robert is ruined by bankruptcy?Continue reading “On the Return of Downton Abbey”