Downton Abbey Indulges

PBS has joined the other major US networks in making its prime content available for free on its web site. This is good news for us because we can now watch the BBC’s newest and most expensive period drama, Downton Abbey, right after it airs.

A Masterpiece Theater production, Downton Abbey is an original miniseries by Julian Fellowes, who also wrote Gosford Park. The miniseries plays like a beginner’s Gosford Park—a gateway period drama. Set in 1912, it opens on the day after the Titanic sank. Lord Grantham’s household wakes up to the news that both of Grantham’s heirs died on the Titanic. Lord Grantham’s, (given name Robert Crawley), eldest daughter, Mary, who was engaged to one of these heirs, is suddenly free to have a new mate. But the rest of the household is nervous about what will happen to the Downton Abbey estate.

And so we are thrust into the intrigue of British entails. Because Crawley’s estate is entailed, it may only pass on to the next heir. Even Robert Crawley’s wealthy American wife, Cora, who traded her inheritance for her position, will not be able to get back any part of her inheritance estate. Like the Bennetts of Pride and Prejudice, the Crawleys only have daughters. Thus, the estate is going to a lawyer third-cousin, Matthew Crawley.

The first episode lays out this set up quickly. Even though the idea of an entail may seem ridiculous to a contemporary American audience, we buy into the stakes because Robert Crawley (played by Hugh Bonneville) takes the idea so seriously. Lord Grantham repeatedly explains that he does not want to break the entail because he has lived his whole life as Grantham and needs to keep the estate in tact. Meanwhile, Cora Crawley and Robert’s mother, Lady Grantham plot ways to, hinting at marrying Mary off to Matthew.

A Julian Fellowes script, Downton Abbey uses some of the same devices to show the inner workings of the household. The camera swiftly follows the servants’ movements from their behind-the-scenes production downstairs to their serving the Granthams upstairs. The servants’ actions are reminiscent of an actors’ backstage preparations. Some of the upstairs-downstairs social commentary is a bit heavy handed. In one scene, Lord Grantham’s new valet remarks to a footman “We can touch all of these fine objects all the time, but none of them is ours.” Fellowes shows the hierarchy within the servants, with the head butler stemming from a line of servants who once served Charlemagne, to the young footman who will do anything to advance to valet. Again, even though modern American audiences care nothing about the distinction between footman, valet, and butler, the performances draw us into the stakes.

The story is more observed when it comes to the issue of Great Britain entering modernity. Matthew Crawley represents a progressive Britain while Robert Crawley’s mother (Dame Maggie Smith) represents a conservative Britain. Robert and Cora are caught in the middle. Just how things are about to change for England is foreshadowed in conversations between the three generations. Upon hearing David Lloyd-George, the liberal prime minister’s name, Lady Grantham gasps “Don’t mention that name here.” She would be appalled by his overwhelmingly positive legacy today.

When the Crawleys invite Matthew over for dinner, he discusses his plans to continue lawyering despite his new inheritance. Since real gentlemen don’t work, a shocked Robert says “You’ll be needed to run the estate.” Matthew replies that there’s always the weekend for that, to which a confused Lady Grantham remarks “What’s a weekend?” Moments like these where Fellowes doesn’t spell everything out, but gets the message across effectively, make Downton Abbey fun to watch. Even if you do not care about entails or titles, Maggie Smith’s caustic remarks delight.