And one bonus link

[yendi]

Downton Abbey's missing Jews. A fascinating examination on the omission of antisemitism on a show obsessed with period authenticity. Note that I'm the one person who hasn't seen an episode of the show (although I do keep making vague plans to watch it at some point), so I can't speak to how accurate this one is.

Comments

[lurkerwithout.livejournal.com]

You're not the only person...

[yendi]

We're definitely amongst the few, it seems.

[silme.livejournal.com]

A show obsessed with period authenticity? Downton Abbey? That's not the same show I've watched. (I watch it for the comedy value. With every series, good old boy Tory Fellowes has been writing funnier scripts.)

[yendi]

As I said, I don't watch, but that's how it's always pitched whenever folks talk about it (there was a full article a few weeks ago on the obsession over getting the food on the show right, for example).

[silme.livejournal.com]

Maybe some Americans think that, but the British quality press certainly doesn't. Here's a recent one from the Telegraph, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/downton-abbey/8868732/Downton-Abbey-historical-inaccuracies-and-mistakes-plaguing-ITV-show.html. You can see the title in the url. :)

And here's what Simon Schama has to say about it.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/downton-abbey/9022087/Simon-Schama-attacks-Downton-Abbey-as-silvered-tureen-of-snobbery.html

BBC2 has run a series about what life was really like for servants in that time period -- and both the PR for that series and the shows themselves made it quite clear that Downton's representation of servants was far too positive and rather inaccurate.

The costumes aren't bad. And maybe they've tried to work on the food, but the language they speak is blatantly 21st century. (Hey, and they film in Berkshire and Oxfordshire for a Yorkshire setting with hardly any Yorkshire accents to be heard. Imagine that. :)

[marlowe1.livejournal.com]

http://www.avclub.com/articles/downton-abbey-and-entourage-are-pretty-much-the-sa,90446/

Mostly along the lines of how everything is pretty low stakes but treated like it's the end of the world - until the next episode when everything is fine and the douchey rich people can keep being douches.

[silme.livejournal.com]

Heh. Of course, I've never watched Entourage. I think we get it over here, but I've not seen it.

Interestingly, Jeremy Pevin is in a ITV show (Downton is an ITV programme) over here called Mr. Selfridge, in which he plays the founder of that London department store. This Guardian piece compares it to Downton, stating it's not nearly as silly as Downton. Thank goodness. I missed it last Sunday, so maybe I'll sample it on ITV Player to see how bad it is.

[vschanoes.livejournal.com]

I've never seen an episode either. I watched the first five minutes of the first episode, and started chanting "Put those motherfuckers up against the wall! Revolution! Revolution!" and my hostess decided we should watch something else.

[marlowe1.livejournal.com]

You would have not liked it when the socialist driver shows up and then loses pretty much every shred of ideology he has when he runs off with the youngest.

[yendi]

Hee!