New Delhi:Great stories don't usually need an introduction as one hears them referred to from time to time. The 11 Emmy awards winning television series 'Downton Abbey' tells one such story. Since it is the first time it is being aired in India the uninitiated would need some introductions. The series created by Academy Award winning writer Julian Fellows is the tale of a fictional English noble family, the 'Crawleys of Grantham'. It was registered in Guinness World Record for "Highest critical review ratings for a TV show" making it the most critically well received TV show in the world.
Julian Fellows, who's 'Gosford Park' won the Oscar for best original screen play, starts the first episode in 1912 with the sinking of Titanic and how the Grantham family is struck with a tragedy because of it and now faces a conundrum. Thing are shaken again with the start of the First World War.
Writer/director Julian Fellows' works are mostly based in the Edwardian to the WW2 period and his authority is undisputed. One of the reasons 'Downton Abbey' is appreciated by critics all over the world is because of the details from the lifestyle of the people of the period. The Characters are the second reason.
Starting from the eldest, The Dowager Countess of Grantham, Lady Violet Crawly is played by Dame Maggi Smith and she has received a Golden Globe and two Emmy Awards for it. She also played professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films. Smith is a two time Academy Award winning actress and though playing professor McGonagall introduced her to a younger generation of movie goers her role in Downton abbey can clearly be called her most popular role till date. Hugo Bonneville, plays her son Robert Crawly, the Earl of Grantham and the man of the family. His character throughout the series is tested by the changing times. His wife, the Countess of Grantham played by Elizabeth McGovern, was an American heiress whom Robert married because of her money. Though their marriage was arranged by their parents, and the main reason was the money Cora would bring with her, the two fell much in love over the years and have three daughters.
The first daughter Lady Mary Crawly played by Michelle Dockery, in many ways the heroine of the series, is the beautiful 'enfant terrible' of the series. She is the conforming yet rebellious daughter of the Earl on whom the fate of the family depends. The second daughter Lady Edith played by Laura Carmichael, another strong character who leads her own path and tries to outshine her elder sibling. Lady Sybil played by Jessica Brown Findlay is the third daughter who shocks every one with her liberal ideas and free spirits in a time when unmarried women were supposed to do what they are told.
Last but not the least the British wit plays as important a character in the series as any of the characters. It acts as comic relief one place and increases the strength of the dialogues at another place. Downton Abbey in many way is much more that just another period drama series. It has by now received 150 award nominations including the Golden Globe and the BAFTAS. The series have had a great response all over Europe and the United States. It has books and uncountable numbers of fan trivia and merchandise around. The popularity of the series has grown to the extant that Hollywood stars like George Clooney have starts in the promotional videos for the show.
The face book page of Downton Abbey has 2,161,447 likes, it has 176 thousand followers on Instagram and all you need to do to join their numbers is watch the first episode when it airs tonight on Star World at 10.
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