Downton Abbey

[JHyde]

I have no patience with anyone who watches period pieces and longs for better, simpler days. It is a pet hate of mine in a big way. How can anyone watch Mary being swindled out of her inheritance because of an entail, or Bates' conviction on almost no evidence at all, and think that it would have been better back then.

And anyone who watches Downton Abbey and thinks it was a better place to live is seriously missing the point. I've noticed a lot of it with people watching Mad Men too.

I'm not surprised at its success in the States. There's a huge niche market for this sort of thing there, I think a lot of Americans secretly love the monarchy and the House of Lords and what they stand for. And it has only been encouraged with Will and Kate and that whole 'fairytale'.

I resent the comparison of Coriolanus to Downton. I'm not being a snob I just think it makes no sense whatsoever. I could not possibly be a bigger believer in escapism, but the passionate response to this show has been disproportionate to how good it actually is.