As ‘Downton Abbey’ season 6 films grand finale, have feelings changed?

Downton Abbey July 24, 2015

At the time we are writing this article (not necessarily literally, but on the same day), the cast and crew of “Downton Abbey” are working to put some of the finishing touches on six years of hard work. The Christmas Special that is coming on ITV later this year (and presumably in March on PBS) is going to be a huge television event, as we will be dropping the curtain on one of the most popular TV series in British history. It is for costume dramas what “Doctor Who” is for science fiction, or almost what “Fawlty Towers” was for comedy (though that series did an incredible lot in just 12 episodes).

Will it have a legacy that is equally great as some of the greatest British series ever? It is a little too early to know that, but we do at least feel for the time being that the show is making the right choice to end when they are, sad as we may be that the show is concluding now. They could have ended three years ago and the show still would’ve been considered beloved; the less-in-more approach is sometimes best when it comes to British television.

Creatively, one of the best reasons to end the show now is that despite its sometimes-sad moments with Matthew or Sybil, we feel like this is not a show that wants to leave you thoroughly depressed throughout. If it were to do that, then they would continue on into the 1930s, which is when many great estates started to lose their footing, and many great houses started to scatter.

Behind the scenes, the timing is also right given that there were at least a few cast members who intended to move on to other things after this season. The show was able to handle losing Dan Stevens or Jessica Brown Findlay, but what about a significant chunk of the cast? That we are unsure of.

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1 Comment

leeann
July 24, 2015 @ 3:21 am

The show really wasn’t able to handle losing Matthew and Sybil Crawley. It has never been the same since…..it lost a lot of its heart. Recycled, meandering plots (the Bateses in prison again?) and half-baked character reboots sustained it. Along with the costumes. If you watched for the Dowager Countesses witticisms or the misplaced period nostalgia (or Mary being a cow to her sister), you were fine. If you wanted narrative satisfaction or character development? Forget it. If this show had bowed out after S3, it would be remembered as one of the greats and not just one of the most popular.