The costume drama round-up: Garrow's Law & Upstairs, Downstairs
So last night I watched the season finale of two of my favorite TV shows (I think the ONLY current TV shows I watch, come to that!) and I have a few thoughts.
Firstly: Garrow's Law! Sadly, it's no longer current, since the third season finale was also the series finale, it having been unaccountably and prematurely axed by the BBC earlier this year. I, for one, miss it already. I just can't say enough good things about how well done this show is. I'm sure I'm going to end up buying all the DVD sets and weeping over it pretty soon!
While I do feel that this season was perhaps a tad less exciting than the previous two, I think that's maybe the result of last season's having set the bar SO high; I really did cry through most of the last episode of season 2, it was absolutely wrenching stuff, and I'm not sure how Andrew Buchan didn't get some sort of acting awards or at least nominations out of it. He's made Garrow a complete human being; all the failings alongside the heroism, completely real and honest and heartfelt. Plus I love the sort of acting where you don't see anything of the actors themselves, just the character, so that even without the props or costumes or sets, if he spoke as this character you'd know who it was because only that character speaks or acts that way. He's totally given us that here, and it's really wonderful.
The strong writing of course must be credited as part of that equation, and I can't say how much I'll miss watching an intelligent drama that tackles thorny issues without resorting to sensationalism. The cases presented are sometimes frighteningly relevent to today's world, and while the knowledge that we're still grappling with many of the same issues all these centuries later can be pretty depressing sometimes, it's also tremendously inspiring to think that even in the face of such an entrenched, tyrannical system, even one person with compassion and courage could and did make a positive difference. (For anyone unaware, William Garrow was a real person. Ever hear the phrase 'innocent until proven guilty'? Yup, that was him!)
And aside from the cheer it gives to the heart of anyone of a reforming spirit, it's also lovely for portraying a grown-up romance between two smart, principled people. Even though I knew from reading up on them that William and Sarah did eventually marry and have a few kids and lived happily ever after, I was a little worried that their storyline wouldn't have enough time to be wrapped up for a satisfying dramatic conclusion at the end of the season. But somehow the writers managed to relieve my fears by cramming everything you could hope for into that last episode, and I got a little teary at the end. It does make for a happy ending, at least, but the frustrating thing is that it really doesn't NEED to be an ending at all! There's so much more to explore! A new situation, old characters exiting, new characters coming in, plus any number of old cases waiting to be mined, it just begs to be continued! This show had several more years in it, surely! I'll never cease to mourn it, but I suppose, on balance, I'm grateful it was here at all. RIP Garrow's Law! I loved thee well!!! *sobs*
Secondly: Upstairs, Downstairs. This, as far as I know, has not been cancelled, even though it's nowhere near as original or clever as Garrow's Law. Go figure. I definitely don't love this show even half as much as I love Garrow, but it is fun, even if I don't really care about the characters in any personal way. I still don't know most of their names, for a long time I just referred to them as 'good sister', 'bad sister', 'auntie lesbian', 'sikh guy', 'glasses maid', 'pretty maid', and so forth, LOL! But the over-the-top adventures of the inhabitants of 165 Eaton Place are nonetheless entertaining. The soap-opera plot twists dressed up in 1930's glamour and English accents are lovely escapism, and there's nothing wrong with that! (Although it is kind of weird, when you consider the show is set in the lead-up to World War II!)
I think the pre-war setting is supposed to lend some sort of gravitas to it all, but I can't get past benevolent amusement. Even when previously morally upright husbands cheat on their wives with Nazi-sympathizing floozy sister-in-laws, I still have more of a 'tut-tut' scandalized giggle, as opposed to when I watched Downtown Abbey last season, and went through agony just hoping that Lord Grantham, a truly honorable gentleman character with real emotional depth, wouldn't betray himself, his family and his principles when he ALMOST had an affair. I used to be critical of Downton for being soapy, but despite the occasional soapy plot twist, that show's characters have evolved into fully fleshed out human beings we can understand and care about, and who react like real people would no matter what the situation. On the other hand, I don't particularly know why the characters in Upstairs, Downstairs do what they do (I suspect the writer's don't either!), but yet it somehow doesn't diminish the fun of watching them do it. (Heaven knows, the sight of Ed Stoppard's chiselled features is reason enough to watch, regardless of anything else! A girl could write sonnets about the perfection of his jawline alone! *swoons*)
Upstairs,Downstairs is glossy, and none-too-deep, but despite it all, I have a good time watching it. We all need a little bon-bon with our meat and potatoes, sometimes. :)
So, all told, a satisfying evening of television viewing. And now, the long wait until Downton Abbey season 3 commences! Gah! So excited! And so jealous that it's aired in the UK already, but I'm trying to avoid picking up spoilers anywhere. Maybe I'll just rewatch S2 till it gets here, I think they're re-airing it on Thanksgiving... (heehee. The madness begins again!)
Firstly: Garrow's Law! Sadly, it's no longer current, since the third season finale was also the series finale, it having been unaccountably and prematurely axed by the BBC earlier this year. I, for one, miss it already. I just can't say enough good things about how well done this show is. I'm sure I'm going to end up buying all the DVD sets and weeping over it pretty soon!
While I do feel that this season was perhaps a tad less exciting than the previous two, I think that's maybe the result of last season's having set the bar SO high; I really did cry through most of the last episode of season 2, it was absolutely wrenching stuff, and I'm not sure how Andrew Buchan didn't get some sort of acting awards or at least nominations out of it. He's made Garrow a complete human being; all the failings alongside the heroism, completely real and honest and heartfelt. Plus I love the sort of acting where you don't see anything of the actors themselves, just the character, so that even without the props or costumes or sets, if he spoke as this character you'd know who it was because only that character speaks or acts that way. He's totally given us that here, and it's really wonderful.
The strong writing of course must be credited as part of that equation, and I can't say how much I'll miss watching an intelligent drama that tackles thorny issues without resorting to sensationalism. The cases presented are sometimes frighteningly relevent to today's world, and while the knowledge that we're still grappling with many of the same issues all these centuries later can be pretty depressing sometimes, it's also tremendously inspiring to think that even in the face of such an entrenched, tyrannical system, even one person with compassion and courage could and did make a positive difference. (For anyone unaware, William Garrow was a real person. Ever hear the phrase 'innocent until proven guilty'? Yup, that was him!)
And aside from the cheer it gives to the heart of anyone of a reforming spirit, it's also lovely for portraying a grown-up romance between two smart, principled people. Even though I knew from reading up on them that William and Sarah did eventually marry and have a few kids and lived happily ever after, I was a little worried that their storyline wouldn't have enough time to be wrapped up for a satisfying dramatic conclusion at the end of the season. But somehow the writers managed to relieve my fears by cramming everything you could hope for into that last episode, and I got a little teary at the end. It does make for a happy ending, at least, but the frustrating thing is that it really doesn't NEED to be an ending at all! There's so much more to explore! A new situation, old characters exiting, new characters coming in, plus any number of old cases waiting to be mined, it just begs to be continued! This show had several more years in it, surely! I'll never cease to mourn it, but I suppose, on balance, I'm grateful it was here at all. RIP Garrow's Law! I loved thee well!!! *sobs*
Secondly: Upstairs, Downstairs. This, as far as I know, has not been cancelled, even though it's nowhere near as original or clever as Garrow's Law. Go figure. I definitely don't love this show even half as much as I love Garrow, but it is fun, even if I don't really care about the characters in any personal way. I still don't know most of their names, for a long time I just referred to them as 'good sister', 'bad sister', 'auntie lesbian', 'sikh guy', 'glasses maid', 'pretty maid', and so forth, LOL! But the over-the-top adventures of the inhabitants of 165 Eaton Place are nonetheless entertaining. The soap-opera plot twists dressed up in 1930's glamour and English accents are lovely escapism, and there's nothing wrong with that! (Although it is kind of weird, when you consider the show is set in the lead-up to World War II!)
I think the pre-war setting is supposed to lend some sort of gravitas to it all, but I can't get past benevolent amusement. Even when previously morally upright husbands cheat on their wives with Nazi-sympathizing floozy sister-in-laws, I still have more of a 'tut-tut' scandalized giggle, as opposed to when I watched Downtown Abbey last season, and went through agony just hoping that Lord Grantham, a truly honorable gentleman character with real emotional depth, wouldn't betray himself, his family and his principles when he ALMOST had an affair. I used to be critical of Downton for being soapy, but despite the occasional soapy plot twist, that show's characters have evolved into fully fleshed out human beings we can understand and care about, and who react like real people would no matter what the situation. On the other hand, I don't particularly know why the characters in Upstairs, Downstairs do what they do (I suspect the writer's don't either!), but yet it somehow doesn't diminish the fun of watching them do it. (Heaven knows, the sight of Ed Stoppard's chiselled features is reason enough to watch, regardless of anything else! A girl could write sonnets about the perfection of his jawline alone! *swoons*)
Upstairs,Downstairs is glossy, and none-too-deep, but despite it all, I have a good time watching it. We all need a little bon-bon with our meat and potatoes, sometimes. :)
So, all told, a satisfying evening of television viewing. And now, the long wait until Downton Abbey season 3 commences! Gah! So excited! And so jealous that it's aired in the UK already, but I'm trying to avoid picking up spoilers anywhere. Maybe I'll just rewatch S2 till it gets here, I think they're re-airing it on Thanksgiving... (heehee. The madness begins again!)