You’re entitled to your opinion, of course; but while I agree that the Crawleys face the ultimate First World Problems, that doesn’t make them inherently jerks or unsympathetic. On the contrary, while I can’t relate to their lifestyle I find most of them quite sympathetic
I think the acting is wonderful but I like Daisy, Mrs. Patmore, Anna and even Thomas and O’Brien far more than the spoiled Mary Crawley whining she might have to move into a smaller house or the Earl of Grantham who was dumb enough to invest poorly and now feels a house with only eight servants would be a gross insult to his dignity.
The contrast between their utter lack of self awareness and characters (who are drawn from real life) on Call the Midwife who have literally lost children because the workhouse would not feed them enough makes me want to scream at the Crawleys and tell them to get the fuck over themselves.
I shall still be watching the show of course.
I don’t think any of them expressed any dread of a new diminished lifestyle. A careful reading of the dialog would show that the Crawleys are distraught about moving – but not because they’re horrified at the thought of only having 8 servants and a few dozen bedrooms (instead of a few hundred). Their anguish is at losing a home that’s been theirs for generations.
But the only reason it’s still theirs is because Robert married a foreigner he admits he did not love solely for her money. The Crawleys have apparently known that the house is probably too much of a white elephant for them to hold on to for at least two decades. Intelligent and rational people would conclude that if you have literally give up who you can marry just to hold on to a house then maybe the house isn’t worth it.
OK, they make poor financial choices for sentimental reasons…I’ll grant you that. 
Downton Abbey will ultimately be Mary’s Cherry Orchard. (I single her out because the rest seem willing to move if absolutely necessary; she’d sell her teeth and kidneys to stay there rather than a lesser mansion.)
In the first season nobody knew what a huge hit the show was going to be or even if there’d be a second season, but I do wish they’d held off on the “Cheerful Charlies” subplot with Carson. It would have been much funnier to learn about his music hall past later.
It was nice to hear him singing after the good news about Mrs. Hughes.
Why would they? Members of the aristocracy had for centuries believed that marriage was for political, social, and economic alliances. The idea that one had a right to marry for love had never been part of their tradition.
That’s one of the reasons why in the very first episode Mary notes that it is odd that her parents share a bedroom. Aristocratic couples generally slept in separate rooms, a major reason being that they had not married for love and wanted to be free to have affairs.
But this is how they’d lived for generations; it wasn’t black and white to them like it is for us now, looking back on that time. The gentry married for position and politics, not for love; the manor was their very world, it wasn’t a house.
And this is the whole thing about the series … this Edwardian way of life, that had been going on unchanged for generations, is coming to an unanticipated end. Everything they thought they knew about Life is changing, but they’re not sure how it’ll change, what that change will mean. We can see it from here, but just imagine how it felt back then - like the very ground beneath you is faltering. This is one of the main reasons I so enjoy the series.
*But this is how they’d lived for generations; it wasn’t black and white to them like it is for us now, looking back on that time. The gentry married for position and politics, not for love; the manor was their very world, it wasn’t a house. *
Highclere Castle is the stand in for Downton Abbey. There’s been a house on that land since the 8th century Bishop of Winchester. For much of that time it was a “square, classical mansion.” During the 19th century it was expanded & remodeled into the Jacobethan monstrosity now standing, completed in 1878. (Now standing with many rooms empty & needing work.) Previously, the local village had been “relocated” to expand the ornamental parks. Lovely–but not producing any income.
So the Crawleys really have* not* been living in that particular pile since time immemorial. The “village” & Dower House we see in the show are separate locations in other parts of England.
Yes, I liked that, too. Another good Carson moment: When the Tall New Footman criticized Sir Anthony for jilting Edith and Mr. Carson reproved him for bashing one of his betters, Mrs. Hughes said she actually agreed with TNF, and Carson allowed, “Well, perhaps this once…”
Well, no, they haven’t, but that’s because the Crawleys are fictional and so is Downton. The actual history of Highclere Castle isn’t necessarily the history of Downton Abbey.
Speaking of, just as I’m certain that Daisy will get pregnant (probably accidentally and with no clue how it happened) with a child who will make her a great-grandmother of Bubbles from AB-FAB, I’m convinced O’Brien’s nephew will be hired by a rich American family named Addams who call him by his surname of Lurch.
But the architectural style of Downton Abbey shows that it is not really “ancient”–it’s just pretending to be! It’s not truly Elizabethan or Jacobean–or even Georgian. Owners a generation or two older than Violet decided to pour a substantial amount of their wealth into building a giant folly. Their descendants are still going broke trying to maintain it–just as the Carnarvons struggle to maintain Highclere. (But the money & publicity from Downton Abbey help–their friendship with Lord Kitchener-Fellowes is paying off.)
Only if they actually say that in the show.
[QUOTE=Acsenray]
<snip> a major reason being that they had not married for love and wanted to be free to have affairs.
[/QUOTE]
That actually gets addressed this season.
Thanks for the spoiler. That is so not cool, AK84.
How is it a spoiler?:dubious:
Many of us who appreciate period drama also enjoy doing a bit of research. The fashions, hairdos & architectural styles are part of the story.
I would no more believe that Downton/Highclere is fully “ancient” than an auto buff would confuse Matthew’s snappy sports car with a Jaguar XKE…
There’s a difference between doing research and actually applying it to the plot and characters. If the characters say that they’ve been living in that house for generations, then they’ve been living in that house for generations.