The Good Wife 3.13 and Downton Abbey, season 1

[selenak]

See, I'm used to having the CIA presented as interfering baddies in shows centered around FBI agents, and the FBI presented as annoying interferers in shows centered around CIA agents, but I think The Good Wife has to be given pioneer credit for being the first show to make a recurring villain out of the U.S. Treasury.

Comments

[daybreak777]

Zak is being rather clever and it's true from what we have seen he and Nisa are doing nothing wrong. Maybe Alicia is super-sensistive after Will? I don't know.

I liked the Bitcoin reveal!

[selenak]

Alicia being super sensitive because of her own love life is my current explanation to myself as well.

[kathyh]

a very enjoyable Edwardian soap it was, too.

Ah, Downton! It's like crack. It has flaws all over the place but is massively enjoyable to watch. One of the good things about it is that the women are, in general, stronger and more interesting characters than the men, which continues into the second series.

Even if it had nothing else going for it it's worth watching for Maggie Smith's delivery of some absolutely stunning put downs *g*.

[selenak]

With you and wee_warrior backing it up I'll watch the second season 2, then, though not for a while due to time issues.:)

[abromeds]

Oh, Downton. Not living in England anymore, I'm having to wait for the second series. I'm sad to hear it's not as good! It won't be as much fun to watch, anyway, without my roommate-friends. It was our Sunday ritual.

We got a HUGE kick out of imitating Cora's bizarro American accent -- we invented reasons to bring the word 'determined' into conversations for months -- but were then shocked to discover the actress is actually a Yank. She's been living in the UK for a long time, so apparently it's some strange hybrid effect. Anyway...

Here's a spoof on the show done for Red Nose Day. Kinda hit or miss, but worth seeing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5dMlXentLw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3YYo_5rxFE

[selenak]

Two other commenters to this post say the second season is worth watching, so there is hope!

I remembered the actress being in Rain Man where she played Tom Cruise's girl friend as far as I recall, so I knew she was an actual American. :)

Thanks for linking the spoof!

[shezan]

Cora speaks in a brilliant lockjaw, which is a very good upper-class US accent. I know people who speak just like that.

[abromeds]

Really? I'm a West Coast girl, so my only references for lockjaw are, like, Hepburn, Linda McCartney, and Bill Buckley -- who sound nothing like Cora, to my ears. But... hey, now that you mention it, I remember thinking that she maybe sounded like a clip I heard once of Jackie O. talking, so that fits. Thanks for clearing that up for me! I love dialects... are there multiple lockjaw dialects, do you know?

[shezan]

Is Thomas gay? It never was clear to me!

[wee_warrior]

I'm not sure the character is entirely clear on it himself, but there is that situation in Season 2 queenofthorns hints at above, which made me think that there is meant to be an emotional component to it. Given that he is usually contrasted with the oh so virile Mr. Bates, he often has shades of a stereotypical sissy villain, which is rather unfortunate all in itself.

[zahrawithaz]

I think Thomas's scenes with the Duke clearly imply that he had feelings for him, in addition to seeing an opportunity for his ambition. He stumbles away and grabs for a drink after the rejection, for one thing, and the actor plays the blackmail threat like someone in emotional distress grasping for straws

[wee_warrior]

DA: I did like Series Two. I mean, it is incredibly soapy, some of the plot twists are more than inane, and the tendency to be not so critical about the class differences do continue, but it does have some welcome development for Edith and even tiny, tiny glimpses of it for O'Brien and Thomas. So, if you have a few Sunday afternoons to waste, I'd at least give it a shot... also, since both are current shows primarily shot with British actors, there is a lot of cross casting between DA and Game Of Thrones, which is rather amusing (Gwen actress Rose Leslie will show up on GoT, and Iain Glen shows up in Series Two of DA).

[selenak]

Okay then, I'll trust your judgment. Though not immediately - my next Sundays are full.:)