Downton Abbey is a delightful throwback to a different age
Hi again, welcome to Plain English, Thursday edition. I’m Jeff. JR is the producer. And you are part of the best audience in the world! I really mean that. Today’s episode is number 193 and that means you can see all the episode resources at PlainEnglish.com/193.
Coming up today: One of my favorite television shows is now a movie, and it was amazing! I’ll talk about the series and the movie called Downton Abbey on today’s episode. Later on in the program, we’ll have a phrasal verb, “shy away from” and JR will have his song of the week. The video lesson is about how to use “as such” and the flashcards are all about the aristocratic way of life.
If you’re wondering about flash cards and the video lessons, then you can read all about our membership program at PlainEnglish.com/Plus.
‘Downton Abbey’ moves to the big screen
The series takes place in a country estate in rural England called Downton Abbey between 1912 and 1926. An English country estate is a large house, a mansion, and sprawling grounds. The holder of the estate in the show was an Earl. An Earl is a member of the British nobility and would often rule in the countryside in place of the King, who would have been farther off in the city. A country estate like this was not only a huge house, but it was also a symbol of the king’s rule. As such, it was a center of activity and employment. The house typically had a full staff of servants, would host important visitors from other parts of the country, and carried out important duties in the community.
Related: Episode 25: Learn phrasal verb ‘carry out’
The system of country estates owned and managed by nobility was beginning to fall apart—actually was falling apart during the period in which the show takes place. The beginning of the twentieth century was also a period of great societal change. Women were starting to take a more independent role in society. A few went to work; many in the upper classes sought to marry for love instead of for their families’ economic interests. In England, the importance of the nobility was starting to diminish, as more people moved to the city for paid work. Society was becoming more meritocratic there.
So the show is about both the family that lives there, the Crawley family, and about the servants who work in the house. The servants live there, preparing food, hosting events, helping the family dress, taking care of the children, lighting the fireplaces and candles, et cetera. Through the show, you can see how society was changing for both the upstairs and the downstairs—for the Crawley family and their servants. It was fun to trace some of the big societal events of the time through the show. The series begins with the announcement that the Titanic had sunk. World War I intervenes; you see people go to war. The terrible 1918 influenza epidemic strikes. You see tempers flare when one of the Crawley girls marries an Irish man. The Crawley family gets a telephone, and then a Gramaphone—a radio—for the first time.
Like any good drama, you really grow to like some characters; you hate others; and there are some surprises along the way. The plot features crime, disease, miracles, love, heartbreak, success, liberation, disappointment—a full range of emotions in both sets of characters.
The show does not shy away from showing the prejudices and attitudes of the aristocratic Crawley family, or the difficulties and trials of the age, but it does present them in a friendly and approachable way. Many movies and dramas tend to make the upper-class aristocrats seem frivolous and cold—almost a joke. The aristocratic way of life is quite foreign to us in the twenty-first century, but they were people, and they had their ups and downs, their human issues, which I think the show presented quite well.
As for the film, the plot revolves around a visit by the King and Queen to Downton Abbey in 1927. Both the Crawley family and the servants are anxious about the Royals’ visit. The preparations for meals and a parade are what keep the story moving, but the real treat of watching the film, as well as the series, is the richness of the characters, and how their rivalries, anxieties, aspirations, and frustrations come to life. All my favorite characters are back and if you’ve watched the show, you’ll easily slip back into the characters and all the old dramas.
The final scene may leave the door open to a sequel or to another spinoff series entirely. One of the main characters, Mary has doubts about the future of the system that gives rise to Downton Abbey—the system of nobility and large country estates and so on. She questions the usefulness of it all. In that scene, Mary’s grandmother, the family matriarch, talks about the changing world and gives Mary the pep talk she needs to lead the family into the future.
One of the nice things about Downton Abbey is that it isn’t cynical. It doesn’t make you despair for the future, or think the world is totally messed up. The world was far, far from perfect in that time; and I don’t think many of us would choose to return to that age, but you learn to love the characters; you can sympathize with their age and their attitudes; both the upstairs and downstairs crew seem to have a happy ending and decent future.
Throughout its run, Downton Abbey won accolades and prizes. It won a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. It was the most-watched show on the American network PBS and on the British network ITV. In fact, it was PBS’s biggest series since the 1970s. The six seasons of Downton Abbey ended in 2015. The film was released on September 13 in the UK and on September 20 in the US.
I saw the movie at an AMC Theaters, the one in downtown Chicago at Block 37, for those of you who know the city, and they were pushing their subscription business hard, with ads before and after the movie.
Related: Episode 192: Coming to a theater near you: movies as a subscription
I want to say hi to a few listeners today. First, Fernanda and Wallison from Brazil tied the knot, they got married last Saturday, so I wanted to say Parabéns, congratulations! And thanks to you both for being part of Plain English. Secondly, Leonardo from the town of Tambaú is getting ready for the visit from a Cardinal to mark a special occasion. Two individuals from Brazil will be canonized, made saints. They are the Brazilian priest Donizetti Tavares and Sister Dulce, known in Brazil as the “Mother of the Poor.” And to celebrate the occasion, a Cardinal from Rome will visit Brazil and Tambaú in the state of São Paulo. So, I want to say hi to Leonardo and everyone who’s preparing for the upcoming Cardinal’s visit.
I have a correction from a previous episode. Vitoria from Brazil pointed out that fentanyl is actually not itself an illegal drug. I think I said fentanyl was a variety of illegal drug like heroin. Oops. It’s not. It can be made illegally, and is often used that way, but it is used for the treatment of severe pain, especially, as Vitoria mentions, with cancer patients. Vitoria was nice enough to send me a note about that and I wanted to pass along that correction to all of you.
Related: Episode 191: America is finally coming to grips with its opioid crisis
Learn English the way it’s really spoken
