This has been on my Netflix Instant Streaming queue for ages, just waiting for a time when I felt in the mood for a period piece. Yesterday afternoon turned out to be the date. So I embarked on the first episode, quickly felt transported, and wondered, "Why did I wait so long?"
I love the details of the story. It is one of those tales of a wealthy family and a household staff, and part of the pleasures of viewing it is to see the enomous amount of varied tasks that the staff does. For example, ironing the newspaper. I never would have conceived of that as a task, but it's something done every morning before the head of the household reads his newspaper. There are moments when we just watch them carry up plates for the dinner when the duke comes to visit, and it's interesting just to see the number of plates and serving dishes that are deemed necessary for honored guests. The amount of preparation and organization that is needed to efficiently and effectively run a household on this grand of a scale is rather amazing to behold.
It's a story of class distinctions, of hierarchies, of jealousies and ambitions, of proprieties and transgressions, of gossip, of basic decency, and of pettiness. There are the realities of women and dowries and fortune hunters and inheritances. All of these things were addressed in the first sixty minutes of this series. I was fully engaged; at one point I found myself cheering. There are surprises. It's a plot intelligently devised. It's one that sets your mind in motion during the day while you're doing other things. You think about the characters. You wonder what they'll do next.
As for the acting, Maggie Smith is a member of the cast. Greatness is assured. Everyone shines here, and I particularly enjoyed Hugh Bonneville, as the Earl of Grantham, the head of the household, a quiet man with an expressive face, one who seems to want to do the right thing, a man who seriously considers things before acting.
It is a wonderful series. It's one of those stories where you just want to say, "Can I put my life on hold for half a day?" If one could, it would be wonderful to retreat for that time and just spend it in the story of Downton Abbey.
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