Saturday, September 29, 2012

Uptown Downton

It's not often a television program instills a sense of wanting to be a better person. Different, yes. But better? Isn't that kind of boring?

The very nature of shows are to show us what it might be like to live a life far away from our own. From the stage to the screen, a show captures the imagination. Want to be a flower peddler? "My Fair Lady" is a show about what might happen. What if you had a ridiculous number of siblings? "The Brady Bunch" could tell you a thing or two about that. Want to get away with murder? Tune into "C.S.I.", or "Criminal Minds", or "Law and Order: SVU"...

I'm really not trying to make a statement about the quality of today's entertainment options. On the contrary, television today is more savy than it has ever been, demanding a sense of realism and authenticity that would've been unheard of even 15 years ago. Granted, there is something to be said about what realism we choose to vicariously experience each night. Actor Mandy Patinkin recently told TV Guide Magazine that his abrupt departure from "Criminal Minds" was not a firing but rather a realisation that he didn't approve of what he was putting out into the world. He no longer wanted to be a part of a program that thrived on showing the worst humanity has to offer. Many in Hollywood probably scoffed at that - why would you leave an extremely high-rated program based on principle?

A friend recently loaned me the first season of Downton Abbey, the critically acclaimed mini-series that airs on PBS. I had it in my possession for several weeks, waiting for a time when I was bored enough to find entertainment in a sweeping costume drama. Totally not my scene.

Boredom hit about two weeks ago, and I put in the first disc. I feel like my life will never be the same....

The set pieces and wardrobe is exquisite, no doubt. What really makes Downton enthralling is the stories it tells and the way they're told. It takes everything you think you know about human nature and turns it on its head. Where you might reflexively assume the worst about Mr Bates for leaving Lord Grantham's employment on such short notice, it is in fact because Mr Bates is trying to spare Lord Grantham from mortal embarrassment regarding his daughter, Mary. Mr Bates never demands his name be cleared. He just thinks about what is best for others and then does it.

So simple. How did the concept become so foreign?