Downton Abbey TV Series 2010

Lord Crawley sees his family heritage especially the grand country home Downton Abbey as his mission in life. The death of his heir aboard the Titanic means distant cousin Matthew Crawley a Manchester lawyer suddenly is next in line and accepts moving onto the vast estate with his even more modernist socially engaged mother who clashes with his lordships domineering conservative mother the dowager. Marrying off the daughters is another concern. Meanwhile the butler presides over a staff which serves the family but also lead most of their entire lives in the servants quarters intriguing amongst themselves.

Review

This is beautifully filmed with authenticity and societal values inherent in both script and acting. The story weaves in and out of two layers of society the masters and the servants giving us glimpses into the power struggles occurring on each level and the colourful characters who inhabit both. I particularly enjoy seeing the largescale production involved in taking care of a household of this magnitude and the care taken with all the details. Given today's rapid pace it's almost peaceful to watch this deliberately slowed pace and to get a genuine sense of what it was like to be an estateowner in this period. Housemaids who gossip independent young men who don't appreciate the butler's code of honour catty women and genteel sophisticates all combine to make this a very enjoyable romp among the rich of yesteryear!