"But you watch Coronation Street!" was my brother's indignant riposte, when I dared to criticise Downton Abbey (he's a DA fan, of course).
Well, for us, there's no comparison. The clunking prose, the anachronisms, the slow-moving plot (is there one?), the wooden acting...I think Downton is terrible. Lady Mary looks as though she's been impaled (vertically - I'm trying to be delicate here) by a broom handle, and apart from Maggie Smith, everyone sounds as though they're reading through their lines for the first time. And oh, those lines...
"She is bruised and broken. We must wrap her up and protect her" (his lordship, about the bereaved Lady Mary, who incidentally looks as though she's never experienced an emotion in her life, let alone grief).
"I love you with every fibre of my being" (his lordship again - he seems to be cursed with the worse lines - quite out of the blue, to one of the maids. Last series).
Whereas Coronation Street is, I think, marvellous. Okay, so some of the plots are a bit off the wall - it's hard to keep going week after week with credible plots - but some of the acting is wonderful. The present story of Hayley's terminal cancer has brought out some of the best scenes (between her and husband Roy) I've ever seen on television.
And before anyone attacks me, yes, we do watch DA. We find it vastly entertaining, for all the wrong reasons. We don't care what happens to anyone, but are constantly astonished that so much money has been thrown at the production of something so soulless. For us, the Emperor that is Downton is stark naked.
But we're in a tiny minority, so feel free to ignore us.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I love Corrie....as it seems to have been on TV for ever I remember it from so many years back its embarrassing...but however silly and annoying it sometimes is, it feels like I can slip in and out of watching it and its like catching up with an old friend..comforting in some peculiar way. I watch DA too but only because I like to look at the clothes and see the beauty of the rugs and cars etc.,!
ReplyDeleteAnother Corrie fan...aaaah!
DeleteFrancis, try East Enders, Have the prozac and a spliff handy.
ReplyDeleteIt is all nothing but candy for the brain. Chuck the television out of the door or show discrimination. I can't stand brain candy. The only thing I watch is MotoGP and Formula 1 on I-Player that costs a fortune at I-Player download speeds. I really did try to read you on Amazon Kindle but my internet failed...it failed after I paid. What is the book you are happiest with. I'll buy it next week.
Thanks, Adrian. I think my best is The Birds, the Bees and Other Secrets. I do hope you enjoy it!
DeleteI've tried East Enders - once - and didn't understand it...
I have proper internet here and am just waiting for it to download. You are brave writing...I just scribble but sometimes feel I reveal too much. Eastenders is horrific. It should be banned.
DeleteFrances, I wasn't robbed both your books arrived on my Kindle one after the other I first ordered the fallen Women one. I did consider Dead Earnest. I love puns and word play. I'm in Borrowdale sitting about waiting for colour, atmosphere and some posh shots. I'll have plenty of time for reading. I also hope to get a 3D movie Christmas Card a little further towards unreality.
DeleteThanks, Adrian. Dead Ernest is pretty special to me, too, as it won my first publishing contract.
DeleteI don't watch either of them. I can see it must be hard to keep going with any long running show without resorting to weird plot lines or outrageous events to keep things interesting.
ReplyDeleteYou're very sensible, Patsy.
DeleteThe only soap I see in my house is in the bathroom... The last time I watched a 'soap' was neighbours 25 years old while I was heavily pregnant. I use to sit down at one o'clock every day to watch it. When my son was born he would drop off to sleep as soon as he heard the theme music.
ReplyDeleteSorry that should read 25 years ago... I was think about how old my son is LOL
DeleteAn understandable mistake, Paula, and I hadn't even noticed it!
DeleteWe don't get Coronation Street here. But we get Emmerdale. I watched Emmerdale (Farm) when it was first broadcasted in the early 1970s. Then there were a number of years when I did not watch it because it was on while I was at work. When I retired from work I picked it up again. It is supposed to be the most watched daytime programme in Sweden. We're about 1½ year behind Britain but as for a good while now we've been getting 2 episodes daily, we should eventually catch up... ;)
ReplyDeleteIn my mind modern times soaps and those set in the past fall into different categories, so I don't even try to compare them. (We get Downton Abbey as well. I don't think I'd rank it among my all-time favourites but I enjoy almost anything set in that time period. I think I've seen most episodes twice.)
I've never tried Emmerdale - it'son at the wrong time. Interesting that it's loved in Sweden. I wonder why?
DeleteIn general I think we tend to love British TV in Sweden. We start learning English early as second language and our cultures do have quite a lot in common. Compared to face-lifted American Hollywood soaps, Emmerdale feels like it's about "real" down-to-earth people (even if that little village nowadays has a very high rate of crimes and divorces and other complicated relationships...) I think one of the reasons it's popular is because it's about people of all ages and various social status.
DeleteDA spends far too much attention to location, props, costumes, etc, and forgets the important bits; story line, and watchability. I've only seen one bit of one episode, and thought at once that Upstairs Downstairs did the job so much better. As for Corrie; no thanks.
ReplyDeleteI SO agree about Upstairs Downstairs (I mean the original - did you?). We watched it again on DVD only recently. Quite brilliant.
DeleteI don't watch Coronation St but am not surprised it's superior. We watch DA and I like the periods details but I absolutely agree with what you said about Mary (and left unsaid!).
ReplyDeleteRosemary, I think if you peeled away the trappings, there wouldn't be much left. But as I said, it's a minority view!
DeleteI don't watch either of them, Frances, but I must admit I am hooked on Casualty and Holby :-) x
ReplyDeleteI loved Holby when they had the wonderful Mr. Meyer - did you see him? I shall never know why they took him off. He was the epitome of appalling surgeons (adnd I've known many!).
DeleteI don't think so, Frances - I didn't watch from the start and have only been watching for a few years, but I'm well and truly hooked!
DeleteI cannot abide soap operas that are supposed to mirror real life such as Corrie or East Enders. I haven't been watching Downton but, unlike Adrian, on the unusual occasions that I watch films or TV I just want easy entertainment. I do not want to be challenged. Life had quite enough of that. Watching MotoGP and the F1GP is mandatory viewing for me when I can too.
ReplyDelete