Today I am introducing another series here on Ordinary Entertainment called: Series Sunday. In this series I will talk about all (and there are quite a lot of them) the tv-shows or tv-series I watch. Today's subject, which I think was appropriate after the last Fallen For Fashion, will be all about: Downton Abbey.
P.S. This post might contain spoilers, so beware. I will try not to give anything away.
P.P.S. This post might get a bit long, so grab yourself a cup of tea and enjoy!
Let me start off by saying that Downton Abbey is probably my favourite tv-show ever. I am a huge lover of period dramas and luckily for me Downton is one big period drama. Now let me give you some facts:
- Downton Abbey is a tv-show that first aired on ITV in 2010.
- The show is created by Julian Fellows who has done quite some acting himself, but has also been the producer/writer of the Titantic mini-series, the newest adaption of Romeo and Juliet, The Young Victoria and The Tourist. (all of this according to IMDB.com)
- Downton Abbey stars well-known actors such as Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton, Jim Carter and many more.
- Downton Abbey has won 2 Golden Globes, 38 other prizes and has been nominated for another 138 times.
Enough facts? Let's get to the actual series and let me break it down for those who don't watch it.
First off: the storyline. Now you must understand that Downton Abbey has plenty of characters which also means that it has plenty of storylines, but I'll try to be as concise as possible.
Downton Abbey follows the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the years leading up to the First World War.
Is that concise enough for you? Let me get you a few more details because this sounds like a bad soap opera. In the first episode of Downton you'll find the Crawley family in a bad moment. The first and second heir to the Downton Estate have died in the Titanic accident and now the next heir in line for the estate is a distant cousin no one has met. Besides having trouble with the heirs, Downton is also at a financial risk and both bring along quite some drama.
I guess I'll leave it to this as I don't want to spoil it and Wikipedia actually has an excellent breakdown of the series, but let me tell you that Downton Abbey has some surprising elements and I haven't seen one episode that wasn't interesting.
Let's move onto the characters! Believe me; there are a lot of characters. The main cast in season one - and correct me if I'm wrong - consists out of 18 characters, and yes of course they differ in screen time etc. but still. The cast is huge, which makes it a lot of fun for me, personally, and because we're talking about a aristocratic family we have the upstairs people and the downstairs people.
Downton Abbey follows the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the years leading up to the First World War.
Is that concise enough for you? Let me get you a few more details because this sounds like a bad soap opera. In the first episode of Downton you'll find the Crawley family in a bad moment. The first and second heir to the Downton Estate have died in the Titanic accident and now the next heir in line for the estate is a distant cousin no one has met. Besides having trouble with the heirs, Downton is also at a financial risk and both bring along quite some drama.
I guess I'll leave it to this as I don't want to spoil it and Wikipedia actually has an excellent breakdown of the series, but let me tell you that Downton Abbey has some surprising elements and I haven't seen one episode that wasn't interesting.
Let's move onto the characters! Believe me; there are a lot of characters. The main cast in season one - and correct me if I'm wrong - consists out of 18 characters, and yes of course they differ in screen time etc. but still. The cast is huge, which makes it a lot of fun for me, personally, and because we're talking about a aristocratic family we have the upstairs people and the downstairs people.
I'll try to break every character down as brief as possible and according to how I see them. Be ready for a long list.
Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville): Owner of the Downton Estate, married to Cora, a man who doesn't know how to handle finances and who is as English as can be, meaning he doesn't handle changes that well.
Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern): Wife of Robert, a rich American. Gave all her money to her husband so he could keep the estate.
Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery): The eldest daughter. Can be very bitchy and cynical. Quite self centered, but changes throughout the series
Lady Edith Crawley (Laura Carmichael): The less fortunate sister. A very sweet girl who doesn't really know what she wants in life.
Lady Sybil Crawley (Jessica Brown-Findlay): The youngest sister. The most modern person in the family. She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to tell others.
Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith): Robert's mother. Very old skool and traditional, but has the best oneliner I've ever heard.
Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens): The heir of the Estate after the others have died. Lawyer. Pretty damn handsome and somehow reminds me of one of the teachers at my old school.
Isobel Crawley (Penelope Wilton): Matthew's mother. Always trying to help everyone even when they don't want her too. Often in conflict with Violet which makes the funniest scenes.
Tom Branson (Allen Leech): The family's chauffeur. Irish and political which is a weird thing to the Crawley family.
Charles Carson (Jim Carter): The family's butler and head of the downstairs people. Also the sweetest man ever ,even though he has more trouble with the changing world than the Dowager Countess.
Elsie Hughes (Phyllis Logan): The housekeeper. A wonderful woman who is quite modern for her age.
John Bates (Brendan Coyle): Lord Grantham's vallet. Served with Lord Grantham. Just a nice chap.
Anne Smith (Joanna Froggatt): Head housemaid and Mary's lady's maid. A lovely girl with a sweet heart.
Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier): First Footman. Always having unworthy intentions, but actually feels alone and not accepted.
Beryl Patmore (Lesley Nicol): The Cook. Always yelling orders at others, but she's actually quite sweet,
Daisy Robinson (Sophie McShera): Kitchen maid. Feels like she doesn't get enough appreciation for the work she does, which is an awful lot. A small girl with a big heart.
Sarah O'Brien (Siobhan Finneran): Lady Grantham's lady's maid. Always thinking about schemes with Barrow. Purely evil.
Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville): Owner of the Downton Estate, married to Cora, a man who doesn't know how to handle finances and who is as English as can be, meaning he doesn't handle changes that well.
Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern): Wife of Robert, a rich American. Gave all her money to her husband so he could keep the estate.
Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery): The eldest daughter. Can be very bitchy and cynical. Quite self centered, but changes throughout the series
Lady Edith Crawley (Laura Carmichael): The less fortunate sister. A very sweet girl who doesn't really know what she wants in life.
Lady Sybil Crawley (Jessica Brown-Findlay): The youngest sister. The most modern person in the family. She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to tell others.
Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith): Robert's mother. Very old skool and traditional, but has the best oneliner I've ever heard.
Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens): The heir of the Estate after the others have died. Lawyer. Pretty damn handsome and somehow reminds me of one of the teachers at my old school.
Isobel Crawley (Penelope Wilton): Matthew's mother. Always trying to help everyone even when they don't want her too. Often in conflict with Violet which makes the funniest scenes.
Tom Branson (Allen Leech): The family's chauffeur. Irish and political which is a weird thing to the Crawley family.
Charles Carson (Jim Carter): The family's butler and head of the downstairs people. Also the sweetest man ever ,even though he has more trouble with the changing world than the Dowager Countess.
Elsie Hughes (Phyllis Logan): The housekeeper. A wonderful woman who is quite modern for her age.
John Bates (Brendan Coyle): Lord Grantham's vallet. Served with Lord Grantham. Just a nice chap.
Anne Smith (Joanna Froggatt): Head housemaid and Mary's lady's maid. A lovely girl with a sweet heart.
Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier): First Footman. Always having unworthy intentions, but actually feels alone and not accepted.
Beryl Patmore (Lesley Nicol): The Cook. Always yelling orders at others, but she's actually quite sweet,
Daisy Robinson (Sophie McShera): Kitchen maid. Feels like she doesn't get enough appreciation for the work she does, which is an awful lot. A small girl with a big heart.
Sarah O'Brien (Siobhan Finneran): Lady Grantham's lady's maid. Always thinking about schemes with Barrow. Purely evil.
Are you still here? Thank God! Yeah, that was a lot. Now actually the last thing I wanted to talk about is the absolutely breathtakingly beautiful Downton Estate.
Isn't that really pretty? I mean.. If you don't love the Estate you are out of your mind! The good thing is that the estate actually exists, most of the scenes were filmed at Highclere Castle, West Berkshire, England. And the best of all?! You can actually visit Highclere Castle. Something that is definitely on my To Do list. I will do a separate post on this as there are plenty of places I would like to visit and I think that would make an interesting new post.
I guess that was it.. Oh! Wait a second! I just completely forgot to tell you that season 5 of Downton Abbey will air from tonight onward! I am super excited and I can't wait till I can watch the show again.
I hope you enjoyed this post (I know it is awfully long) and I'll see you soon!
Xoxo,
Bo
source pictures: weheartit.com
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