How M/M via DS Non-Ironically Ruined My Life Meme: Contract's Up
"You do feel a certain obligation to shows that raise your profile like 'Downton' has."
[Downton Abbey S3 Spoilers Ahead]
Day 8 - When did you first take seriously the idea of Dan Stevens leaving the show?
Or ... not. We were all irked (well most of us, anyway) when Dan Stevens spoke of Downton in such terms in his October 2012 interview with the Wall Street Journal. He spoke as if the show which became an international phenomenon and the most critically acclaimed series in the history of television (surpassing Mad Men to take its place in Guinness in late 2011) was some ungodly, lowbrow burden he could not wait to be free of ... which, as it turned out, is exactly how he felt.
In retrospect, I only wish the words themselves had been as sincere as his obvious disdain. It would at least be refreshing to see something resembling loyalty from Stevens (even if he were too foolish still to appreciate Downton's worth). It was bad luck for Julian Fellowes, the producers and the viewers that we had in Dan Stevens an actor who neither liked Downton nor felt any sort of responsibility to the show, its cast, the fans, etc.
This particular interview came out at a point when Stevens' media blitz began to spiral out of control and set off a bevy of shots across the pond which many of us misinterpreted as negotiation tactics. In fact, they were deflections (and in some cases downright lies) intended to throw us of the trail. Coincidentally (or not) they also occurred at about the time Fellowes started bludgeoning us with not-so-subtle hints of impending doom (and though I will get into this in more detail on Day 14 of this meme, I had but little doubt that Matthew's departure would also mean his death). It was a strange time because on the one hand, it was as plain as the nose on one's face, but on the other, Stevens' leaving just made no sense from a creative or business standpoint (and it still does not).
But if I am truly honest, I felt uneasy from almost the moment the CS 2011 aired in the States (mid February 2012). I do not remember now if there was any tangible reason at that time to fear he would not be back for S4 (Stevens had given hints in interviews that he wanted to do different things when Downton was over, but nothing concrete). When I read Michael Ausiello's (TVLine) early report on contracts back in March, however, a knot formed in my stomach that never really uncoiled -- even when I listened to cooler heads who had very logical reasons to believe he would re-up. I tried to hold on to every scrap of seemingly positive news, but as the weeks and months went on it became increasingly difficult to do so. Still, the last ray of hope was not extinguished until we received wind of the press release that Stevens had joined the WikiLeaks film. From then on, I knew it was simply a matter of how and when, not if.
[Downton Abbey S3 Spoilers Ahead]
Day 8 - When did you first take seriously the idea of Dan Stevens leaving the show?
Or ... not. We were all irked (well most of us, anyway) when Dan Stevens spoke of Downton in such terms in his October 2012 interview with the Wall Street Journal. He spoke as if the show which became an international phenomenon and the most critically acclaimed series in the history of television (surpassing Mad Men to take its place in Guinness in late 2011) was some ungodly, lowbrow burden he could not wait to be free of ... which, as it turned out, is exactly how he felt.
In retrospect, I only wish the words themselves had been as sincere as his obvious disdain. It would at least be refreshing to see something resembling loyalty from Stevens (even if he were too foolish still to appreciate Downton's worth). It was bad luck for Julian Fellowes, the producers and the viewers that we had in Dan Stevens an actor who neither liked Downton nor felt any sort of responsibility to the show, its cast, the fans, etc.
This particular interview came out at a point when Stevens' media blitz began to spiral out of control and set off a bevy of shots across the pond which many of us misinterpreted as negotiation tactics. In fact, they were deflections (and in some cases downright lies) intended to throw us of the trail. Coincidentally (or not) they also occurred at about the time Fellowes started bludgeoning us with not-so-subtle hints of impending doom (and though I will get into this in more detail on Day 14 of this meme, I had but little doubt that Matthew's departure would also mean his death). It was a strange time because on the one hand, it was as plain as the nose on one's face, but on the other, Stevens' leaving just made no sense from a creative or business standpoint (and it still does not).
But if I am truly honest, I felt uneasy from almost the moment the CS 2011 aired in the States (mid February 2012). I do not remember now if there was any tangible reason at that time to fear he would not be back for S4 (Stevens had given hints in interviews that he wanted to do different things when Downton was over, but nothing concrete). When I read Michael Ausiello's (TVLine) early report on contracts back in March, however, a knot formed in my stomach that never really uncoiled -- even when I listened to cooler heads who had very logical reasons to believe he would re-up. I tried to hold on to every scrap of seemingly positive news, but as the weeks and months went on it became increasingly difficult to do so. Still, the last ray of hope was not extinguished until we received wind of the press release that Stevens had joined the WikiLeaks film. From then on, I knew it was simply a matter of how and when, not if.