Downton Abbey S1

So it turned out Barnes & Noble was having a buy-2-get-1-free sale when I was trying to hunt down S1 of Sherlock. It's absurdly easy to get me to spend more money under the pretense of spending less money, so I picked up The Hour and Downton Abbey while I was at it, thereby creating a shopping bag overflowing with even more white people than National Public Radio. Anyway, I'd been meaning to watch DA so I could feel like an internet cool kid again, so we did.

Okay, so I didn't really know what Downton was about before I picked it up and couldn't get a straight answer out of anyone. I think this was because no one wanted to say "it's an expensive, high-quality Edwardian soap opera." Because it is an expensive, high-quality Edwardian soap opera. The best expensive, high-quality Edwardian soap opera. I mean, seriously, if they put this much effort into actual soap operas I would never get anything done during the day again. I would watch Passions more often were it overflowing with scenery porn, period costume, and good actors.

( Anyway, I have thoughts on Downton, but more importantly I have feelings on Downton so I am going to talk about those instead. )

While we're at it, can we talk about my creepy and animal attraction to Thomas Barrow? I even waited to post until I could find an icon of him gossiping with O'Brien like Regina George. Never mind he's the token Depraved Homosexual that's in every single period drama these days. I realize I am attracted to practically everything, but though I cannot deny the charms of Matthew Crawley's inexplicably beautiful face or John Bates's egregiously stoic high-melodrama manliness, I can't stop staring at Thomas's evil red-lipped vampiric-Rudolph-Valentino-looking face. I can't help it. It helps that I also love O'Brien and I was thrilled every time the Gossip Girls met to scheme and bitch about things. Thomas, I would maintain the delusion that I could somehow provide you enough emotional support to mend your wicked ways until it ruined both our lives. Just for you. Just for you and your red lips. You're right, they don't appreciate you at Downton.

Cripes, this show makes me sound like a goddamn Avengers fan or something. That's probably a high compliment, though -- it says something for the je ne sais quoi entertainment value of a show if it causes me to turn off my Dave Strider personality, that doesn't happen a lot. I'm glad Hugh Bonneville was in this and caused me to watch it despite no particular understanding of why anyone liked it.