Superheroes of Downton Abbey

You know that a series has become popular when spoofs of its characters begin to arise. Last week while watching the first episode of Downton Abbey, a reference was made to the fact that Bates was Lord Crawley's batman during the Boer War. "BATMAN", did you say?!

Well, someone at Quite So, Downton Abbey decided to create an image of Bates as Batman along with his trusty sidekick Robin (Lord Crawley).

The reference to Batman immediately made me think of how the plot hinges on the entail of Downton Abbey and I couldn't help but dub Matthew Crawley as the illustrious, caped crusader "ENTAILMAN".

It's a bird, it's a plane,... it's Entailman!!

Will he be able to save the day?
Will he be able to "smash" the entail?
(as alluded to by "Scene-Stealer")

SCENE-STEALER is the superhero moniker for the Dowager Duchess. Although, it sounds like the name of a villain, it simply refers to the ongoing antics (agreed by most viewers and cast members) of Dame Maggie Smith's witty one-liners and superbly-delivered lines that quite simply steal the scenes from her fellow Downton Abbey actors.


Now while Scene-Stealer is not the villain, what saga would be complete without someone to stir up trouble? Have no fear, we have a couple of those, most notably Thomas the first footman. But he's not just any footman, he's "FOOTMAN" the antagonist who stalks the hallways of both upstairs and downstairs, looking to step on anyone who dares to get in his way as he climbs the Downton ladder of success!

And FootMan does not operate alone. He can be found lurking in stairwells and plotting with his sidekick "TRIPPER". She's not averse to using whatever means necessary to maintain her pecking order within the house. Poor Bates the BATMAN, saw firsthand how devious she could be, when she exercised her tripping powers at the Duke's arrival. Batman might have lost that battle but we know the war's not over! And Tripper's also been known to use a bar of soap to ensure that her employer, Lady Cora, will not take her for granted.

Any more suggestions for other Downton superheroes? Perhaps Anna should be BATWOMAN to Bates' BATMAN? I think Lady Mary and Lady Edith deserve their own special names but not sure what they should be?

And yes, this is just a very silly post...

Darcy DOES like to dance!!

Here's how it went down, one afternoon at the Gentlemen's Club...

The following 5 distinguished gents were present:

Both Fitzwilliam Darcys (1995 & 2005), John Thornton, Edward Rochester & Robert Crawley

As the gentlemen were enjoying their cigars and port, the conversation led to how they all had at one time or another been accused of not being amiable simply because they had not been inclined to dance on occasion. Upon further discussion, it turns out that the gentlemen in question all shared an interest in dancing but not of the ballroom style. Once they discovered that they all were secretly fond of hip-hop, they wasted no time in strutting their stuff.

Featuring: Colin Firth, Matthew Macfadyen, Richard Armitage, Toby Stephens, Hugh Bonneville

Afterward, one of the gents suggested that they should show their fancy new moves to their respective spouses in order to finally dispel their "brooding" stereotype but the idea was unanimously dismissed. After all, they do have a reputation to uphold...

Unknown to the men, their secret did get out
and their wives had their own fun...

Not to be outdone by their husbands, the wives of the men at The Gentlemen's Club had heard whisperings of the men's now infamous dance moves. The two Darcys, Rochester, Thornton and Crawley had wanted to keep their secret love for hip-hop under wraps but the ladies had tracked down the video and enjoyed a hearty laugh. Of course, the women had something to prove now - that ballroom dancing wasn't their only genre of dance either...

Elizabeth Bennett (1995 & 2005), Margaret Hale, Jane Eyre, Cora Crawley

Featuring: Jennifer Ehle, Keira Knightley, Daniela Denby-Ashe, Ruth Wilson & Elizabeth McGovern



Austen men like to boogie!

After hearing of the jolly good time had by Darcy, Thornton and pals doing their hip-hop at The Gentlemen's Club, some Austen leading men decided to try a dance of their own! Their specialty turned out to be groovy moves from the 1980's...

Mr. Knightley, Capt. Wentworth, Edmund Bertram/Knightley, Col. Brandon, Henry Tilney

(Featuring: Jeremy Northam, Rupert Penry-Jones, Jonny Lee Miller, Alan Rickman, JJ Feild)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Downton Abbey - 3 more videos!

Here's a lovely look at Highclere Castle (filming location for Downton Abbey)

courtesy of Helen James Productions for ITV Meridian

Here's Hugh Bonneville on Daybreak TV discussing Downton Abbey

BFI hosted a Q&A after screening episode 1 of Downton Abbey

Gareth Neame (producer), Hugh Bonneville, Joanne Froggatt, Julian Fellowes
[Photo: gettyimages]

More info on DOWNTON ABBEY

Top Quotes & Tidbits of Downton Abbey

♫♪ ♫ THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS

(Downton Abbey Edition)

QUOTES ABOUT MAGGIE SMITH

"I would be lying if I were not to admit that I write for Maggie."
~ Julian Fellowes

“Maggie Smith has a unique sense of comedy, based on a somewhat ironic view of real life, making it both funnier and more sad. But perhaps her greatest ability, or at least the one that most intrigues me, is how she can convey deep and powerful emotion without a trace of sentimentality.”
~ Julian Fellowes

“There's that overused tennis analogy, isn't there, about how working with the best makes you raise your game. It's entirely appropriate with Maggie: she has a devilishly witty first serve, a razor-sharp backhand but woe betide you if you're on the receiving end of her drop shot.”
~ Hugh Bonneville

“In the beginning, when we were on set, we were quiet around Maggie but when she started making us laugh off camera, (she is very funny), we allowed ourselves to be a bit naughty with her. In front of an actress of her calibre you do your best to be professional but the moment we realised we could be naughty and misbehave with her it was just delightful and I think we all really bonded with her."
~ Michelle Dockery

“One of the reasons I did this was to work with Maggie Smith. As a younger actress, only slightly younger than Maggie, the person I admired more than anyone else on stage and in film, was Maggie Smith and I saw her in everything she did at The National Theatre."
~ Penelope Wilton

“Maggie’s sense of humour is so dry and quick - she’ll just pass by you and out pops a quip that makes you cry with laughter – she is so much fun. If I’ve learnt one thing on this job it is to laugh and not take myself too seriously.”
~ Jessica Brown Findlay

QUOTES ABOUT JULIAN FELLOWES

“I am just surprised to be doing anything at my age actually. When you think of where I am now and where I’ve come from, I am very pleased and very grateful to be standing up and delivering Julian’s great lines.”
~ Maggie Smith

“He's the most humane of writers, I think. Lesser authors judge their characters, Julian doesn't. Sure there are some nasty pieces of work in the world of Downton, but they are all three dimensional – they aren’t goodies, or baddies; they are like all of us – flawed. So I think it’s the humanity of the writing that appeals. I don't mean it's soft or soppy,“he explains.” Julian's characters are recognisably human, with all their faults."
~ Hugh Bonneville

"He's taken more interest in my waistcoats and the number of costume fittings I've had, simply because he didn't like the cut of something I'm wearing... Basically I'm playing him," Bonneville concedes with a hearty laugh. "So he's a benevolent dictator character, a bit like Julian in real life."
~ Hugh Bonneville

“Like all the actors, I jumped at that chance to be in a programme written by Julian Fellowes. ...Perhaps it’s the time he put in as an actor, but he’s written so many characters, so economically, so emotionally and with so many dimensions. If you’re an actor who wants to play characters it doesn’t take too much brain power at all because the writing is just gold dust.”
~ Elizabeth McGovern

CHATTING ABOUT DOWNTON ABBEY

"There is something intriguing about a group of people living in such close proximity and yet with such different expectations.” ~ Julian Fellowes

"He's a man, like anyone born into this position, who has the responsibility of being a custodian of the estate he's inherited. It's his job to pass it on to the next generation – he's merely here for his three score and ten years and woe betide him if the Chesterfield goes missing on his watch." ~ Hugh Bonneville

“It's the third time Elizabeth and I have played husband and wife. I love being married to her. And her husband doesn't seem to mind either. Anyway, it makes for a thoroughly enjoyable short-hand; we even know which side of the bed each other insists on sleeping, so that saves a lot of faffing about in rehearsals.”
~ Hugh Bonneville

"The house is a significant character in the story. What I love about Highclere is, while it's big, grand and imposing, it’s not so huge and cavernous that you get lost in its vastness. It's a family home, a working one at that, so it has a familial warmth... as well as frightening running costs, which of course is a recurring theme of the show!"
~ Hugh Bonneville

“It’s wonderful to see so many first-time and young actors getting a chance to perform in a show like this; Laura, Thomas, Rose, Sophie and Jessica. It is a rare thing in television to get a script and a broadcaster that can afford to give so many chances to so many new actors. I think it’s great because they are all brilliant...it’s really wonderful.”
~ Phyllis Logan

"What I loved about this was that [the producers] were prepared to take a chance on an original idea and not hedge themselves with the insurance of doing the 88th version of Pride and Prejudice..."
~ Julian Fellowes

Julian hints at possibility of sequel
“Downton is Gosford-y; it’s clearly home territory for me and I’m not pretending it isn’t, but TV gives you a longer time scale to develop these characters. It’s a slightly different period to Gosford, which I find interesting, and there’s no murder – yet.”

And last but definitely not least...
3 MORE FAVE THINGS ABOUT DOWNTON

Hugh Bonneville makes my heart go pitter-patter. There I said it.
He's been wonderful to watch in whichever drama he's taken on
and it's lovely to see him featured in a great, leading role!

Maggie Smith - the incomparable, mega-talented Maggie Smith!
One of the finest actresses we've ever known!

Julian Fellowes - He won an Oscar for Gosford Park, and he gained my undying gratitude
for his dedication and passion in writing The Young Victoria. I'm looking forward
to the newly released From Time to Time and love hearing his views on film-making!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
More details about Downton...

John Lunn is responsible for the music score. This is the same man who composed the music for other period dramas such as Bleak House, Going Postal, The Turn of the Screw, Little Dorrit, The Shadow in the North, Under the Greenwood Tree, Lorna Doone, Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky, Cambridge Spies and Madame Bovary! Can't wait to hear it!

The inventive choice of the song for Downton Abbey's ad/trailer! Many of the people who have landed on this site have been wanting to know more about the song used, a cover of Sting's Every Breath You Take performed brilliantly by Scala & Kolacny Brothers.

Brian Percival is the lead director! He's also directed Gracie!, The Old Curiosity Shop, The Ruby in the Smoke and North & South, -- our beloved North & South!! That's all I need to know!

The period costumes! Loving the Edwardian style on the ladies! I know I'm not alone in wanting to know more about the costume designs and Una Maguire (Milk Publicity) has told me that there will be some mention of the costumes in the DVD extras!

The choice of beautiful Highclere Castle as the location for 'Downton Abbey'. The shooting schedule alternated between Highclere and Ealing Studios where they had to recreate the servants quarters, kitchen and bedrooms. (Julian chats about choosing Highclere)

Fiona, 8th Countess of Carnarvon, with her husband the Earl of Carnarvon, is the current owner of Highclere Castle. When asked in an interview for The Telegraph about how many rooms Highclere boasts, she replied, 'I’m not sure.’ ...
'I suppose if you know how many rooms you’ve got, you haven’t got a very big house.’

All 3 above are in my Hall of Fame so suffice it to say ---
I'm definitely intrigued for this series!

Julian Fellowes was asked about the upcoming remake of Upstairs, Downstairs:
"We weren't aware of it when we started because it hadn't been announced, and I think we were shooting when it was announced but of course I'm aware of it now. All it says to me is that television people are recognising there is a market for this kind of aspirational drama...and you know, good! So I'm sure it will be a great show, it's got a wonderful cast and I wish it nothing but good things. I just hope that it...continues to feed and nurture the taste!"

Are you expecting this to go to a second series?
"I feel like Mary [Lady Mary Crawley] , if I were to answer truthfully, you would think me very vain...We have to hope. I don't think you could say more than that. You never know how these things will land - I mean you just don't."And how often as actors you do something to pay the VAT [tax] and it becomes the thing that everyone adores and something else, you think, oh, there's a real award in this and nobody even bothers to watch past the interval."

More on DOWNTON ABBEY

BBC Interview with Julian Fellowes & Hugh Bonneville

Julian and Hugh chat about Downton Abbey on BBC Breakfast
Watch VIDEO INTERVIEW

Julian and Hugh also did a RADIO INTERVIEW interview for BBC Radio 4
When Julian Fellowes was asked about the pressure of succeeding with ITV's return to high-quality period drama, with their previous hits of Brideshead Revisited or The Jewel in the Crown, Julian replied:

"Well, you know life's a pressure, it's a pressure but it's also exciting. What I loved about this was that Peter Finch, and Gareth Naeme at Carnival were prepared to take a chance on an original idea and not hedge themselves with the insurance of doing the 88th version of Pride and Prejudice or whatever it was, that they were prepared to go out on a limb and that seems to me to be tremendous and you know, I always quote Speilberg on this, he said once "You should only make films you want to see" and you know, this is a show I want to see and I feel very lucky to have been allowed to make it."

I say HURRAH!!!!! I'm all for original ideas instead of the same period dramas being redone. Are you listening BBC and other guilty parties????? (You know who you are) There IS such a thing as too much Austen, or Dickens, or whatever... I've ranted about this before and detest how producers of period drama think we're only capable of digesting regurgitated tales.

Well done ITV and Carnival and of course Julian!

Read much more on DOWNTON ABBEY

Downton Abbey - Hugh Bonneville

As the Master of the house in the soon to be televised period drama, Hugh Bonneville (who has mastered his own share of period dramas), chats about his role as the Earl of Grantham in Downton Abbey!

(I couldn't help but think that his situation is similar to Mr. Bennett, who he portrayed in Lost in Austen, in that he has daughters in need of a suitable match and a distant relative coming to visit, to whom their home is entailed. I doubt though that Dan Stevens will resemble Mr. Collins!)

It was during the shooting of From Time To Time, which Julian Fellowes also directed, that Hugh first became aware of Downton Abbey – then in its early stages. “While we were filming - this is a couple of years ago now - Julian was talking about a number of projects he had on the go, of which Downton Abbey was one. Its setting, a world on the brink of change, captured my imagination and then in the Summer or Autumn last year I read the first episode and loved it,” explains Hugh.

As the months went by and I heard the calibre of people who were coming on board I realised, as ever, it's the quality of the script to which people respond; the depth of Julian’s writing is just fantastic.” Despite having previously worked with Maggie Smith in From Time To Time, the two actors did not share any scenes together so to find himself playing her son in another Julian Fellowes drama was a welcome surprise.

“There's that overused tennis analogy, isn't there, about how working with the best makes you raise your game. It's entirely appropriate with Maggie: she has a devilishly witty first serve, a razor-sharp backhand but woe betide you if you're on the receiving end of her drop shot.”

As well as having worked with Maggie Smith before, Hugh has also shared screen time with Penelope Wilton who plays Isobel Crawley, mother of the new heir to Downton and American born actress Elizabeth McGovern. “It's the third time Elizabeth and I have played husband and wife. I love being married to her. And her husband doesn't seem to mind either. Anyway, it makes for a thoroughly enjoyable short-hand; we even know which side of the bed each other insists on sleeping, so that saves a lot of faffing about in rehearsals.”


For Hugh, what makes Julian Fellowes’ scripts so compelling is that he writes from a default of people inherently trying to do good in the world. “He's the most humane of writers, I think. Lesser authors judge their characters, Julian doesn't. Sure there are some nasty pieces of work in the world of Downton, but they are all three dimensional – they aren’t goodies, or baddies; they are like all of us – flawed. So I think it’s the humanity of the writing that appeals. I don't mean it's soft or soppy,“he explains.” Julian's characters are recognisably human, with all their faults. “And the structure is so good – you may leave one storyline for ten minutes of screen time but when you return to it, you know exactly where you left it, so vivid is the narrative. And I think it is cast incredibly well; everyone is very distinct and feels part of this world.”

Bonneville plays Lord Grantham whose key role throughout the series, is to maintain the family estate and hand it on to the next generation. There is just one crucial detail preventing him from completing his custodial duties - he doesn’t have a son and heir. “We have aligned our eldest daughter, Lady Mary, to marry her cousin and my heir Patrick, so the house and the title will stay within the immediate family. So the shock of Patrick's death as the story opens, plus the discovery that the next in line is a third cousin whom none of us knows adds complication to tragedy." The Crawleys are about to enter a time of great change and Lady Mary is faced with the prospect of seeing her inheritance pass to a stranger.

“Robert has an overwhelming sense of duty and responsibility to Downton Abbey but on the other hand, because his wife brought loads of money into the estate, millions of pounds in fact - she was an American heiress and our marriage was first and foremost a business deal - it seems unfair that her money is now going to go to someone we have never met. So it’s a big dilemma for Robert,” explains Hugh.

Matthew Crawley, played by Dan Stevens, represents the next generation: a bit before his time and as such has very different views to his cousins. “He is a man who has a 'job', imagine! While no-one of my background has ever worked. My responsibility is to maintain the legacy of Downton, so a whole new dynamic comes into play with Matthew's arrival as the Earl-in-waiting. I have got to try and embrace his new ideas while preserving the way of life I have inherited,” he explains.

“Once Robert gets over his initial surprise at Matthew having a job, which of course my mother (Maggie Smith) finds an absolutely bizarre concept, he comes to realise that Matthew does in fact have good ideas about how to revitalise the estate. Robert realises Matthew is a man he can trust and he becomes a surrogate son to Robert – which of course rankles with my daughter, Lady Mary.”

Regular visitors to Newbury might stop off at Highclere Castle which has a wonderful history and sits proudly on the top of an impressive estate designed by Capability Brown. Filming took place there for ten days every month from March to June. “We had a wonderful time filming at Highclere and the staff and family were very accommodating. It must have been a nightmare having 100 strangers tramping round your house on and off for four months,’ says Hugh. “The house is a significant character in the story. What I love about Highclere is, while it's big, grand and imposing, it’s not so huge and cavernous that you get lost in its vastness. It's a family home, a working one at that, so it has a familial warmth... as well as frightening running costs, which of course is a recurring theme of the show!”

Video interview with Hugh Bonneville on Daybreak morning show

More information on Downton Abbey

Pack produced by Una Maguire and Victoria Brooks, Milk Publicity!
Photo credits: Nick Briggs, Victoria Brooks

Downton Abbey - pictures of cast on set

"The Dowager Countess of Grantham"

"I would be lying if I were not to admit that I write for Maggie."
~ Julian Fellowes
(creator and writer for Downton Abbey)

Dame Maggie Smith has also acted in Gosford Park & From Time to Time, both written by Fellowes. He praises Maggie in this video interview for From Time to Time. He's not Maggie's sole admirer!

Downton Abbey explores the relationships between the family and servants under the same roof. It also follows their different lives and expectations in the face of the upheavals of the Edwardian age. Mr Fellowes said: “Downton Abbey is not seen from the family’s point of view or from the servants’ point of view.“It is an even perspective from all of their points of view. They are all principal characters.”

Here are some images of the cast for the upcoming Downton Abbey

To be aired: UK : ITV Sept 26 / US : PBS January

Hugh Bonneville

Elizabeth McGovern

Dame Maggie Smith

L-R: Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Maggie Smith, Jessica Brown-Findlay

Dan Stevens

Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith

-> More information on Downton Abbey

Thanks to Ldwark for the pics!!

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