On Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 11:12 AM, Bob in Jersey <[email protected]> wrote: > > Dave Sikula, to Adam Bowie: >> I haven't watched a lot of "Masterpiece Theatre" lately (although >> enough that calling it by the truncated name seems wrong), but is it >> unusual to include the "A second season is planned" message? > > A graphic of that ilk would never be seen in an American series; at > best you'd see "To Be Continued." Can't help you as to how > Masterpiece would handle it.
Considering that so many plot points have not been resolved, it makes sense to let viewers know that more episodes are coming. I came to enjoy the way the series played with and overturned cliches of pre-Great War dramas. The aristo family and servants seem much closer to each other than in other dramas, but given the facts that they are all mature adults and isolated from the rest of society it does make some sense that the aristos wouldn't be heartless tyrants and the staff would be more than lickspittles. I read in one review that series creator Julian Fellowes is rather conservative and the question arises whether the relationships across class lines as represented in Downton Abbey are a rose-colored look at the aristocratic past or whether other writers who used the time period and classes as subjects for their dramas felt they had to call attention to the stark inequality by exaggerating the characters of those involved. Everybody seems so damn decent - not just the family and staff, but also the villagers and suitors who come to call on Mary. When I think of young men of that day it brings Wodehouses' characters to mind and these suitors are so gentle and considerate that it threw me off. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
