The Next Dark Age
We're in it Now
Downton Abbey, Season One
Or..When I Started Watching the Same Television Show as my Grandfather
Of course, I had heard of it. But I didn’t buy it until I heard, “It’s like a turn of the century British soap opera. With Maggie Smith!” Seriously. That description made me drop thirty bucks on seven episodes of a TV show.
It is a lame description. It is really Pride and Prejudice crossed with Gone with the Wind and Gosford Park. If that made any sense.
So, yeah. Some of the plot points have been done. Twice, I said out loud, “Heh. Scarlett did it.” (As in “Simpsons did it” (referring to Scarlett O’Hara) not “in the library with the candlestick” although that would have been cool, too.) (Geez with the quotation marks and the parens. This is poor writing.) But with as many of the pieces that were easy to see coming, I was impressed with the ones that weren’t.
Of course, Dame Maggie gets the bests one liners as the Dowager Countess. But seriously, her character seems to grow as a person at least as much as the next character which is awesome because it would have been easy to write her the laughs and move on. But that would have played itself out and as it happens I am really looking forward to watching Season 2.
So I finished the last episode and immediately walked it to my mother and presented it like it was the crown jewels. She made a face. And do you know what she said?
Do you know what she said?!
“Your grandfather watches that show.”
The Next Dark Age 
So does Marsha! (Who may not have found your new home.)