Don't tell my mother, but Downton Abbey has swiftly declined from a pale imitation of the original Upstairs Downstairs to a pale imitation of Falcon Crest.
There was a bit of belly laughter last night when they tried to foist a blow-to-the-head-causing-amnesia plot on us. The singing was bad a couple episodes back, but now they're diving into a pool of soap opera tropes.
Not only are smart, complex series like Homeland, Louie, Breaking Bad and Downton Abbey getting on TV, they're finding sizable audiences. Why, then, does the industry feel compelled to play it safe -- dusting off old titles and recycling old ideas?
Oh dear, haven't these experts ever been to a party? Are they so tied up in critical knots that they can't just sit back and let people be entertained? Because that's what Downton Abbey is -- it's entertainment.
Whether its an attempt to hold on to the status quo in a world determined to shatter it or the last gasp of an aristocracy angrily slapping away the elements seeking to dissolve it, the upper classes got the upper hand this time around, which isnʼt exactly surprising.
Picking a stand-out performer on FX's western shoot-em-up hit Justified is like picking a favorite child; you probably have one but that doesn't mean you don't love the rest.
Smoothie Nigel Havers will be lording it up in ITV’s smash hit period drama Downton Abbey. Charmer Nigel, 59, will appear as aristocrat Lord Hepw...
