How M/M via DS Non-Ironically Ruined My Life Meme: No Exit

[shanghaiedinla]

"If it's to be our last, let's make it a wonderful last."

[Downton Abbey S4 Spoilers Ahead]



Day 26 - How long do you think Downton will run?

The short of it is: Who knows? If I had had to answer this question a couple of weeks ago, prior to Dave Itzkoff's (New York Times) interview with Julian Fellowes, I would have said that Downton would conclude after five seasons. After

Comments

[shanghaiedinla]

Hey, we've missed you. (And where is Ch. 5??)

LOL, I feel ya. But I think JF has given up the fight on a lot of this. I think he's more inclined going forward to succumb to pressures/ideas for the show which stem from business/consumption demands (which is all ITV and Carnival really care about IMO). And if that means turning over the reins altogether one day ... c'est la vie.

[shanghaiedinla]

Oh no, not you, too! I've been trying to get over a nasty bug for the last several days (that's what I get for taking a red-eye transcontinental flight in the middle of February I guess!) ... I'll be sure to stop by your LJ later.

[modernities]

There are two ways this will go in my opinion-- I think that either ITV will allow Fellowes to properly end the show at s5 or they'll move on without him (and some cast members) into s6+. Like you, I think a majority of the (larger) names in the cast see value in keeping it going a bit longer, but not to the point of exhaustion. Hugh has expressed concern that JF know when to hit the stop button

[shanghaiedinla]

Hi, thanks for your comments.

I think that Michelle has more power to end the show than Hugh. In some respect Robert has been phrased out already so to kill Robert wouldn't be like a huge blow to the show in my opinion.Oh, I agree she SHOULD have more power to dictate the direction of the show than HB, but I'm not convinced she actually does. OOH, she's created the most buzz for the show, particularly in terms of critical accolades. Her acting carried the show in some of the weaker portions of S2 and everyone knows it. Plus Mary (along with Matthew LOL) has been central to the narrative in a way Robert isn't. (And I absolutely agree that JF would never kill her off.) In fact, Robert isn't only irrelevant NOW, he's been irrelevant since the end of S2, IMO. (And if Matthew had lived, Robert would have been not just irrelevant but redundant. Yet I still question whether JF would have had, or will ever have, the courage to kill him off. Perhaps at the very last -- depending on how serious they are about a subsequent DA movie

[modernities]

Lovely thoughts :)

I am curious now though with the new details emerging about Anthony Gillingham. For awhile it seemed like an exit strategy for MD (to have her marry and leave), but it seems like they're going to TRY to integrate him into the fabric of DA (TRY being the operative word). So that would make it more difficult I would think to have either or both of them leave (but I guess not impossible).If I'm going to go along with a tabloid like the Sun and assume that this is true (could be, it actually seems like a deft way to bring him into the show and an actual basis for the relationship beyond 'suitor seeks single woman'), I'm not sure how much it would make them difficult to leave or not. I actually think it's mostly because I've always assumed the obvious exit strategy for MD would be something like going to America for a couple of years to travel and visit her grandmother or something. Even if Gillingham became an advisor or sorts or came to become integral to the estate, I suppose marriage and 'moving away' could still be

[shanghaiedinla]

If I'm going to go along with a tabloid like the Sun and assume that this is true

Normally I would agree, but I guess I figured if other outlets and news agencies have picked it up, there's probably something in it. BBC Wire, Yahoo, etc. have reported/reprinted the Sun article. (The Sun piece was supposedly based on casting notes that were released/disclosed.)

But thanks for keeping me honest!

[eolivet]

Heh, we essentially said the same thing. ;p

Fellowes clearly envisages a day when he may surrender control over Downton and let others run with it, which I never thought would happen.

Neither did I, but it occurs to me he's being more of a businessman than an artiste. i mean...DA is his baby. Why WOULDN'T he continue to profit from it, if ITV wants to keep it running forever? I know he doesn't need the money, but if he's addicted to the ratings

[shanghaiedinla]

Still playing catchup here. ...

DA is his baby. Why WOULDN'T he continue to profit from it, if ITV wants to keep it running forever? I know he doesn't need the money, but if he's addicted to the ratings...

Do you think it's that, though, or is it that ... the fight has gone out of him? I mean it really isn't just his decision any longer and instead of getting embroiled in a long battle ala Matt Weiner and AMC he just ... capitulated? The wind has been taken out of his sails to some extent and yet he has these other exciting projects on the horizon (though I really will be so curious to learn how well he captures the American experience of the Gilded Age, since he's not an American himself). And, of course, as you say, he can continue to make a lot of money at it so why dig in his heels?

He made it clear he would be supervising DA scripts -- if he walked away from even THAT, I think it might make ITV nervous.

See, and I'm afraid it wouldn't make ITV nervous. DA is a proven commodity now; I really don't think they give two cents