Am I the only member of TSR who enjoys Downton Abbey?

OP

I made a slight mistake in my poll that only true Downtonians will pick up on.

Original post by bittr n swt

It's boring.

Be silent this instant, sir!

Original post by lustawny

I've never watched it. It does look pretty boring though, to be fair.

What strikes you as boring about it - that it's old or doesn't have car chases and regular murders and rapes? Give it a chance before you watch it - you have a perfect opportunity at 9PM this evening.

I like it.

I love it.

Like, to the point where I read the fanfiction :')

Reply 6

OP

Original post by littleangel9914

I like it too. It is a bit slow paced but nonetheless interesting and different compared to the usual stuff on TV. I haven't had time to watch the lastest series but I'll catch up once my exams are over.
The Dowager Countess and Tom are my favourites.

Lord Merton is my favourite character by a country mile. His recent proposal scene was so charming, I love his super-English voice and mannerisms. I have quoted him somewhere in this thread, can you find it? :beard:

The Dowager Countess is faultless too, of course.

Will you be watching the Christmas special at 9pm?

Admittedly I had to google that as I mostly refer to her as just Dowager.

He he, my sincerest apologies for the error.

Reply 7

OP

Original post by battycatlady

I love it.

Like, to the point where I read the fanfiction :')

I'm not familiar with fan fiction...what happens in these stories? Are they any good?

Reply 8

Just a drudgery in the vein of Eastenders. Except instead of poor people, rich people.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 9

OP

Original post by AntisthenesDogger

Just a drudgery in the vein of Eastenders. Except instead of poor people, rich people.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Nonsense. Have you even watched it? That you think it is made up of rich people suggests not since the paupers below stairs have just as much screen time and are just as important in the plotlines. It is a period drama, not a soap. I don't think Julian Fellows claims it to be Shakespeare but it is certainly not Emmerdale. There is a wide spectrum between the two.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 10

Original post by Birkenhead

Nonsense. Have you even watched it? That you think it is made up of rich people suggests not since the paupers below stairs have just as much screen time and are just as important in the plotlines. It is a period drama, not a soap. I don't think Julian Fellows claims it to be Shakespeare but it is certainly not Emmerdale. There is a wide spectrum between the two.

Rich people and some poor people* still as much a drama as east-enders. East-enders is set in modern time, Downton In pre and now post WW1. Makes no special difference par the rhetoric usage. The ethos is the same as any drama.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 11

littleangel9914

15

Original post by Birkenhead

Lord Merton is my favourite character by a country mile. His recent proposal scene was so charming, I love his super-English voice and mannerisms. I have quoted him somewhere in this thread, can you find it? :beard:

The Dowager Countess is faultless too, of course.

Will you be watching the Christmas special at 9pm?

Lord Merton is a strange choice for a favourite but I'm guessing he appears more as series 5 progresses. I'm undecided about the special tonight as I have not watched much of series 5 yet. Do I watch it and ruin the series or wait until I've caught up but who knows when that will be.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 12

OP

Original post by AntisthenesDogger

Rich people and some poor people* still as much a drama as east-enders. East-enders is set in modern time, Downton In pre and now post WW1. Makes no special difference par the rhetoric usage. The ethos is the same as any drama.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Probably more poor people than rich people* (not that that matters to non-snobs). I get the strong impression you're saying this more to seem enlightened and above popularity rather than because you actually believe it. You didn't say whether you have actually watched it or not; if you had, you would not be able to truthfully say that it was of comparable quality with EastEnders. Claiming that the 'rhetoric usage' is the same between them makes me confident you have not.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 13

OP

Original post by littleangel9914

Lord Merton is a strange choice for a favourite but I'm guessing he appears more as series 5 progresses. I'm undecided about the special tonight as I have not watched much of series 5 yet. Do I watch it and ruin the series or wait until I've caught up but who knows when that will be.

Indeed. I hope I have not inadvertently ruined anything, but it becomes extremely obvious well before it happens. I would make a quick Wikipedia catch-up of series 5, watch the special tonight, then catch up with the episodes another time.

Reply 14

Original post by Birkenhead

Probably more poor people than rich people* (not that that matters to non-snobs). I get the strong impression you're saying this more to seem enlightened and above popularity rather than because you actually believe it. You didn't say whether you have actually watched it or not; if you had, you would not be able to truthfully say that it was of comparable quality with EastEnders. Claiming that the 'rhetoric usage' is the same between them makes me confident you have not.

I have. And the entire premise is based on the exuberant lifestyles of central aristocrats. The fact that a lot of serving staff are in doesn't allay that fact. I think it's comparative to East-enders; you disagree, that's fine. We're allowed to hold our subjectively different views.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 15

OP

Original post by AntisthenesDogger

I have. And the entire premise is based on the exuberant lifestyles of central aristocrats.

I think you may need to re-watch it. The central premise is the exponential financial and social decline of the British aristocracy. Sub-plots are dedicated equally to characters from above and below stairs.

The fact that a lot of serving staff are in doesn't allay that fact.

It does when the 'fact' is your belief that 'the entire premise is based on the exuberant lifestyles of central aristocrats', which to anyone who has ever watched the show is patently not the case.

I think it's comparative to East-enders; you disagree, that's fine. We're allowed to hold our subjectively different views.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Did I say otherwise? It doesn't make for a particularly stimulating discussion when one participant is unwilling to justify his views, especially when a great many people would strongly disagree. What sort of 'rhetoric usage' do you find comparable between EastEnders and Downton Abbey, for instance? It also irritates me when I feel people express opinions more to be seen to hold them than because they genuinely do.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 16

Original post by Birkenhead

I think you may need to re-watch it. The central premise is based on the exponential financial and social decline of the British aristocracy. Sub-plots are dedicated equally to characters from above and below stairs.

The fact that a lot of serving staff are in doesn't allay that fact. I think it's comparative to East-enders; you disagree, that's fine. We're allowed to hold our subjectively different views.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Did I say otherwise? It doesn't make for a particularly stimulating discussion when one participant is unwilling to justify his views, especially when a great many people would strongly disagree. What sort of 'rhetoric usage' do you find comparable between EastEnders and Downton Abbey, for instance?

I need to justify why I subjectively dislike Downton Abbey? No I don't. I just find it boring and that it has equivocal merit with other dramas on a basis of script. Why? I can't assuage you to believe that or you to I. That's subjective. Both pander to an audience in equally wily ways. And I disagree with you about the thematic premise of the show. Dramatisation of personal lives are the sole theme, there are divergent and background events which are catalysts for developing characterizations. You could ostensibly have no non-immediate environmental events (decline of a social caste) and still have the exact same ploys and rhetoric in Downton; the same can't be said in the opposite sense.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 17

OP

Original post by AntisthenesDogger

I need to justify why I subjectively dislike Downton Abbey? No I don't.

It's not unreasonable to expect you to explain your opinion of a TV show in a TV show discussion thread.

I just find it boring and that it has equivocal merit with other dramas on a basis of script.

Other dramas, certainly, but not EastEnders. I am willing to be persuaded if you can elaborate or give some examples.

Why? I can't assuage you to believe that or you to I. That's subjective

Obviously.

Both pander to an audience in equally wily ways.

What are these 'wily ways' that EastEnders and Downton Abbey share?

And I disagree with you about the thematic premise of the show. Dramatisation of personal lives are the sole theme, there are divergent and background events which are catalysts for developing characterizations.

Of course the show revolves around dramatisation of personal lives - it's a drama. That doesn't make it comparable to EastEnders in any meaningful sense just because it examines the lives of human beings. It certainly isn't true, however, that the show focuses on wealthy people any more than unwealthy people, if that is even relevant purely for the sake of it.

So far all you've been able to hint at as criticisms is that DA involves a lot of very wealthy people and that it shares some as yet unspecified 'rhetoric' and script-writing with EastEnders. Both of these positions I find hard to take seriously.

You could ostensibly have no non-immediate environmental events (decline of a social caste) and still have the exact same ploys and rhetoric in Downton; the same can't be said in the opposite sense.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Your writing here is bombastic and your meaning unclear.

Reply 18

OP