By any metric, WGBH’s “Downton Abbey’’ has hit a home run. Nationally, it has more than doubled PBS’s prime time audience. Locally, “Downton’’ is enjoying a 5.8 rating, twice as high as “Masterpiece Classic’’ ratings last year. So public television has momentarily expanded its audience beyond its core fan base of superannuated, upper class twits - thanks to a superannuated, upper class twit. “Downton’s’’ creator, Sir Julian Fellowes is a life peer in Britain’s House of Lords, lives in a grand manor house in Dorset and is married to a royal lady-in-waiting. Their only child is the Hon. Peregrine Charles Morant Kitchener-Fellowes, to which one can only say: Pip! Pip!
BostonGlobe.comSubscriber Log-in
Contact us for help
-
Phone
617-929-2233
Daily 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
-
Chat
Daily 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
Comments
A bit harsh, this: "its core fan base of superannuated, upper-class twits." But I agree with you on season 2 - one momentous event after another, ushered in with bad dialogue, but not dealt with in any depth. Like they're working from a checklist. Hope you've seen Jennifer Saunders' parody.
In spite of that anti-semitism, or perhaps to spite it - Countess Grantham (Lady Cora Crawley) is Jewish. It's in her back story, which PBS recently released.
Oh, do be quiet!
Downton Abbey-5,000,00 Beam-12
This comment has been removed.
Word on the 'Net is that, after the first two new episodes, "Downton" goes downhill fast. True dat.
I'll take Bertie Wooster's upper class imbeciles over Downtown, but I'll keep watching. Then again I watched the whole of Melrose Place just to see what would happen next, so you can't judge by me.