Excellent starter programme..introduced the characters well and set the scene for future shenanigans..
my prediction.......the unknown third cousin one removed will undoubtedly fall for Lady Mary and together they will produce an heir to Downtown who can inherit her mothers fortune...thereby keeping everyone happy.
Recorded this, whizzed through the ads etc and brought a 90 minute show down to about an hour so I appreciate it must have been frustrating for those watching with all the ad breaks.
Enjoyed it. Loved Gosford Park. Unlike other posters I didnt see the Duke/Footman thing coming and liked the twist. And yes had a good school kid like snigger at the "2 swallows dont make a summer" line - as if Julian Fellows didnt know what he was doing when he slipped that dialogue in!
I'm not really into this sort of progamme though Mrs BB loves them. Have to say quite enjoyed it when all said & done. Was happy that the bloke with the gammy leg was sent packing in the end, he got quite a rough deal.
About time we saw Rob James Collier going gay. Phwoar!
Excellent telly. Intelligent, complex, lavish, surprising. Well acted, written and designed.
I can't believe I have just typed that sentence about something on ITV.
The only grumble was the adverts. Far too many of 'em. Will watch the next one on a half hour time day on the Skyplus, so I can fastforward throuigh all that bloody Aviva sponsorship.
according to the DS ratings thread Downton Abbey got 7.4m viewers..to George Gentley's 5.2m.
With the proviso that episode 2 or 3 ratings are more indicative of a show's success, that's an encouraging figure.
We need show's like this to succeed to demonstrate to ITV that quality = success and that commercial drama doesn't need to be defined as something with an eviscerated prostitute or a Coldplay soundtrack.
A healthy ITV drama department that can challenge the bbc is good for the viewer. I just hope it can maintain the ratings that make it attractive to advertisers and so commercially viable, though with the fragmentation of the audience due to alternate viewing methods I don't know if that is even possible these days. Does the ITV Player have adverts?
And yes had a good school kid like snigger at the "2 swallows dont make a summer" line - as if Julian Fellows didnt know what he was doing when he slipped that dialogue in!
He should have whipped it out again, though. It stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the rest of the dialogue. There was one other moment when one of the downstairs lot gave a very soapy line a suitably over-the-top delivery, otherwise it was a nicely-constructed script that got the production it deserved.
If I was to make a criticism, could have done without the casting of the Corrie and Benidorm actors (the footman and the maid) cheapened it a bit for me and reminded me why I dislike ITV (they were good enough in their roles, I'm not criticising the actors, just the decision to cast them).
Originally Posted by suesuesue View Post
And yes had a good school kid like snigger at the "2 swallows dont make a summer" line - as if Julian Fellows didnt know what he was doing when he slipped that dialogue in!
I had a laugh at that too.
I guessed there was something between the Duke and the footman but hadn't guessed it quite right. I thought maybe the Duke had made a pass at the footman in the past, which he didn't like, not that they had had an affair.
I have a feeling that one of the cousins who presumed dead after the Titanic went down, will turn up, alive.
With the proviso that episode 2 or 3 ratings are more indicative of a show's success, that's an encouraging figure.
We need show's like this to succeed to demonstrate to ITV that quality = success and that commercial drama doesn't need to be defined as something with an eviscerated prostitute or a Coldplay soundtrack.
A healthy ITV drama department that can challenge the bbc is good for the viewer. I just hope it can maintain the ratings that make it attractive to advertisers and so commercially viable, though with the fragmentation of the audience due to alternate viewing methods I don't know if that is even possible these days. Does the ITV Player have adverts?
If I was to make a criticism, could have done without the casting of the Corrie and Benidorm actors (the footman and the maid) cheapened it a bit for me and reminded me why I dislike ITV (they were good enough in their roles, I'm not criticising the actors, just the decision to cast them).
That only really applies if you watch those shows. This is the first thing I’ve watched on shITV in months and as someone who’s, thankfully, never seen a full ep of Corrie (just bits of the ones with Ian Mckellan in) or Benidorm, the casting of those actors has no relevance to me or people like me who avoid ITV like the plague.
With the proviso that episode 2 or 3 ratings are more indicative of a show's success, that's an encouraging figure.
We need show's like this to succeed to demonstrate to ITV that quality = success and that commercial drama doesn't need to be defined as something with an eviscerated prostitute or a Coldplay soundtrack.
A healthy ITV drama department that can challenge the bbc is good for the viewer. I just hope it can maintain the ratings that make it attractive to advertisers and so commercially viable, though with the fragmentation of the audience due to alternate viewing methods I don't know if that is even possible these days. Does the ITV Player have adverts?
I don't think it's a bad rating at all - especially when the HD figures will push it over 8m - but given all the publicity it had plus a ride off the back of TXF, I anticipated much better. I don't have access to the quarter-hour breakdown figures, but I would wager it lost a lot of viewers with all the overcomplicated exposition about 'the entail' at the start. I never thought it would have been as little as a couple of million ahead of George Gently, which I would have guessed would have been stuck with about three million.
I'm sure ITV will go out of its way to proclaim DA a huge success off the back of its first ratings - but let us not forget they did exactly the same with the appalling Identity, which began well, then nose-dived. Ditto The Fixer and Married, Single, Other. I totally agree with you that ITV needs a healthy drama output but, on the basis of recent history, I am not convinced the people running its drama department know how to deliver this. DA, Unforgiven and Whitechapel do not compensate for the catalogue of disasters surrounding them: Whistleblowers, The Palace, Harley Street and the aforementioned series, to name but a few. Contrast this with ITV's glory days, when its drama output routinely demolished BBC One (Soldier Soldier, Peak Practice, London's Burning, Bramwell, Bad Girls - all returning series that ran for at least ten episodes) and you see what it's thrown away.
Bear in mind also that DA is very atypical of ITV drama not only because of its content but also its budget - the series was only made possible because Carnival Films was bought by NBC and so had access to the necessary funds. ITV can't stump up that kind of money on its own - and that, regrettably, is precisely why you are more likely to see eviscerated prositutes and Coldplay soundtracks ...
And yes, ITV Player does indeed have ad breaks - just as frustrating as the ones that cluttered DA last night!
That only really applies if you watch those shows. This is the first thing I’ve watched on shITV in months and as someone who’s, thankfully, never seen a full ep of Corrie (just bits of the ones with Ian Mckellan in) or Benidorm, the casting of those actors has no relevance to me or people like me who avoid ITV like the plague.
That's a very blinkered attitude, if I may say so. Most TV channels have their quota of rubbish, perhaps ITV more than others - I don't know.
I choose my TV watching by possible interest in what is listed and NOT by what channel it may happen to be on.
I gave up on Corrie over 18 months ago and have also stopped watching the likes of BGT and X-Factor and may well decide not to watch Strictly Come Dancing anymore. Most of this type of show go on for far too long and many long running shows should be axed IMHO.
That's a very blinkered attitude, if I may say so.
You may. However it is indisputable that ITV, across 4 channels has without a shadow of a doubt, the worst roster of programmes of any broadcaster of a comparable size. They are lowest common denominator broadcasters, always have been but at least in the past they could legitimately claim to be on the right side of the populist line. Not so now.
Like many people with a working brain, all ITchaV means to me for most of the year is TVBurp and sod all else. I mean, FGS they can’t even get their +1 choices right! Why do 2-4 have +1 channels but their premiere (hah!) channel ITV1 does not?
She was chosen by RTD who lavished undeserved praise on her and it’s clear she was given her head when it came to performance. A portrayal so cack-handed and unsubtle ("It’s just kids telly isn’t it darling?") that it would have looked vulgar and amateurish even on Rentaghost. Managed the rare trick of making the actors in the Slitheen costumes look like the Royal Shakespeare company.
Just wanted to say PW is imo a very good actress, and I thought she was excellent in DW.
Re Downton Abbey. Am I the only one who didn't like it? The phrase watching paint dry springs to mind.
What are we going to do about the entail, valet gets fired, gets reinstated, obligatory gay scene, all utterly boring. Imo what it needs is a good murder, preferably of all the toffs by the servants.
Upstairs,Downstairs did it much better.
Btw, was the poster who said they'd like to be a servant in a big house in Edwardian times serious?
That only really applies if you watch those shows. This is the first thing I’ve watched on shITV in months and as someone who’s, thankfully, never seen a full ep of Corrie (just bits of the ones with Ian Mckellan in) or Benidorm, the casting of those actors has no relevance to me or people like me who avoid ITV like the plague.
I've only ever seen a single episode of Benidorm and I only watch Corrie if I've got the TV on and there's nothing else on (and then whilst doing something else).
Comments
my prediction.......the unknown third cousin one removed will undoubtedly fall for Lady Mary and together they will produce an heir to Downtown who can inherit her mothers fortune...thereby keeping everyone happy.
Enjoyed it. Loved Gosford Park. Unlike other posters I didnt see the Duke/Footman thing coming and liked the twist. And yes had a good school kid like snigger at the "2 swallows dont make a summer" line - as if Julian Fellows didnt know what he was doing when he slipped that dialogue in!
Can't believe there was 30 mins of ads in it tho!
Excellent telly. Intelligent, complex, lavish, surprising. Well acted, written and designed.
I can't believe I have just typed that sentence about something on ITV.
The only grumble was the adverts. Far too many of 'em. Will watch the next one on a half hour time day on the Skyplus, so I can fastforward throuigh all that bloody Aviva sponsorship.
Dam I will be recording this from now on..just to see Rob get his kit off in 1912 style...;)..:D
Corrie always used to find a reason to have him walking around in a towel. Downton Abbey doesn't do that. What a missed opportunity.
With the proviso that episode 2 or 3 ratings are more indicative of a show's success, that's an encouraging figure.
We need show's like this to succeed to demonstrate to ITV that quality = success and that commercial drama doesn't need to be defined as something with an eviscerated prostitute or a Coldplay soundtrack.
A healthy ITV drama department that can challenge the bbc is good for the viewer. I just hope it can maintain the ratings that make it attractive to advertisers and so commercially viable, though with the fragmentation of the audience due to alternate viewing methods I don't know if that is even possible these days. Does the ITV Player have adverts?
And yes had a good school kid like snigger at the "2 swallows dont make a summer" line - as if Julian Fellows didnt know what he was doing when he slipped that dialogue in!
I had a laugh at that too.
I guessed there was something between the Duke and the footman but hadn't guessed it quite right. I thought maybe the Duke had made a pass at the footman in the past, which he didn't like, not that they had had an affair.
I have a feeling that one of the cousins who presumed dead after the Titanic went down, will turn up, alive.
Ads! what are they? Never watch them as i have made clear above.
Or teenage girl:
http://www.radiotimes.com/ListingsServlet?event=10&channelId=26&programmeId=133715562&jspLocation=/jsp/prog_details_fullpage.jsp
ITV do love their crime dramas don't they?
That only really applies if you watch those shows. This is the first thing I’ve watched on shITV in months and as someone who’s, thankfully, never seen a full ep of Corrie (just bits of the ones with Ian Mckellan in) or Benidorm, the casting of those actors has no relevance to me or people like me who avoid ITV like the plague.
I don't think it's a bad rating at all - especially when the HD figures will push it over 8m - but given all the publicity it had plus a ride off the back of TXF, I anticipated much better. I don't have access to the quarter-hour breakdown figures, but I would wager it lost a lot of viewers with all the overcomplicated exposition about 'the entail' at the start. I never thought it would have been as little as a couple of million ahead of George Gently, which I would have guessed would have been stuck with about three million.
I'm sure ITV will go out of its way to proclaim DA a huge success off the back of its first ratings - but let us not forget they did exactly the same with the appalling Identity, which began well, then nose-dived. Ditto The Fixer and Married, Single, Other. I totally agree with you that ITV needs a healthy drama output but, on the basis of recent history, I am not convinced the people running its drama department know how to deliver this. DA, Unforgiven and Whitechapel do not compensate for the catalogue of disasters surrounding them: Whistleblowers, The Palace, Harley Street and the aforementioned series, to name but a few. Contrast this with ITV's glory days, when its drama output routinely demolished BBC One (Soldier Soldier, Peak Practice, London's Burning, Bramwell, Bad Girls - all returning series that ran for at least ten episodes) and you see what it's thrown away.
Bear in mind also that DA is very atypical of ITV drama not only because of its content but also its budget - the series was only made possible because Carnival Films was bought by NBC and so had access to the necessary funds. ITV can't stump up that kind of money on its own - and that, regrettably, is precisely why you are more likely to see eviscerated prositutes and Coldplay soundtracks ...
And yes, ITV Player does indeed have ad breaks - just as frustrating as the ones that cluttered DA last night!
That's a very blinkered attitude, if I may say so. Most TV channels have their quota of rubbish, perhaps ITV more than others - I don't know.
I choose my TV watching by possible interest in what is listed and NOT by what channel it may happen to be on.
I gave up on Corrie over 18 months ago and have also stopped watching the likes of BGT and X-Factor and may well decide not to watch Strictly Come Dancing anymore. Most of this type of show go on for far too long and many long running shows should be axed IMHO.
Healthy enough - but could have been so much better when you considered it inherited a whopping 14.24m viewers from The X Factor ...
You may. However it is indisputable that ITV, across 4 channels has without a shadow of a doubt, the worst roster of programmes of any broadcaster of a comparable size. They are lowest common denominator broadcasters, always have been but at least in the past they could legitimately claim to be on the right side of the populist line. Not so now.
Like many people with a working brain, all ITchaV means to me for most of the year is TVBurp and sod all else. I mean, FGS they can’t even get their +1 choices right! Why do 2-4 have +1 channels but their premiere (hah!) channel ITV1 does not?
Just wanted to say PW is imo a very good actress, and I thought she was excellent in DW.
Re Downton Abbey. Am I the only one who didn't like it? The phrase watching paint dry springs to mind.
What are we going to do about the entail, valet gets fired, gets reinstated, obligatory gay scene, all utterly boring. Imo what it needs is a good murder, preferably of all the toffs by the servants.
Upstairs,Downstairs did it much better.
Btw, was the poster who said they'd like to be a servant in a big house in Edwardian times serious?
I've only ever seen a single episode of Benidorm and I only watch Corrie if I've got the TV on and there's nothing else on (and then whilst doing something else).
Different sort of audience.