Review: 'Downton Abbey' returns to PBS for season 3
Shirley MacLaine vs. Maggie Smith! More class conflicts! Tuxedos?
Maggie Smith
Credit: PBS
Late in the third season of “Downton Abbey,” loyal butler Mr. Carson is horrified to learn of a breach of etiquette committed by the ladies of Downton when they choose decency over decorum.
“Perhaps the world is becoming a kinder place,” suggests Downton’s housekeeper, Mrs. Hughes.
“You say ‘kinder,’” Mr. Carson huffs. “I say ‘weaker and less disciplined.’”
It’s this conflict between what was and what will be that fills nearly every frame of “Downton Abbey,” which begins its new season in America on Sunday night at 9 on PBS (British audiences have already seen all the episodes). Some of the people of Downton — both the aristocrats and their servants — can’t wait for the world to start moving away from the rules and traditions that drive their every waking moment. Others will recite those rules, chapter and verse, to their last breath.
There are times when the series’ Emmy-winning creator Julian Fellowes is able to mine riveting drama from the push and pull between these ideas — to show both the danger of following the rules no matter the circumstance, but also the unexpected kindnesses that can come as a result of them. But there are far too many other times where it feels like Fellowes — who was made a baron in 2011 — fetishizing these grand old estates, their lords and ladies, and all the men and women who worked to make their beautiful lifestyle possible.
I’ve talked about this in previous seasons of “Downton.” The show is handsomely made, features a sterling collection of British actors delivering crackling dialogue. Yet it’s also a reminder that the Ebert axiom that "what a story is about isn’t as important as how it’s about it" has its limits. I can admire the craft on display, and the performances by Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery and others and yet ultimately not care in the slightest whether Lord Grantham gets to hold onto Downton, which is again a major plot point at the start of the new season. Your mileage will vary on how much you can invest in the problems of the landed gentry — and millions of “Downton” viewers, Emmy voters, etc., certainly disagree — but for me, the series remains something I can respect far more than I can like it.
That said, this third season is a notable improvement over the previous one, in which Fellowes gave in too much to melodramatic plot twists (Matthew Crawley’s miraculous recovery from paralysis, the burned soldier claiming to be a long-lost relative suffering from amnesia) and misery only for the sake of delaying happiness (Mr. Bates’ entanglement with his evil wife, the many near-misses between Matthew and Lady Mary). “Downton” in season 3 is still a soap opera (as it was in season 1, as well), but it’s a smarter one; it’s harder to see the puppet strings Fellowes is pulling this year to get to his desired outcomes.
And it’s fun to watch Shirley MacLaine, who appears in the season’s early hours as Martha Levinson, the American mother of Elizabeth McGovern’s Lady Cora. I wish MacLaine was playing an actual character, rather than an embodiment of all the differences between America and England at this time in history — it feels like every line of dialogue she delivers is greeted with a remark about how free-spirited and opinionated Americans are — but when you get a chance to watch MacLaine and Maggie Smith together, the performances compensate for some of the writing.
There are new servants downstairs at Downton, and new settings for others. (We spend quite a bit of time, for instance, following Mr. Bates in prison after he was wrongfully convicted for the murder of his wife last season.) And upstairs, the family is struggling not only with more money issues, but with youngest daughter Lady Sybil’s marriage to their former chauffeur Tom Branson, an Irish revolutionary firebrand whose objections to the Crawleys’ way of life goes well beyond his refusal to dress for various occasions.
And it’s when “Downton Abbey” goes deeper into these class conflicts, rather than focusing on proper formal attire (it’s considered a fiasco, for instance, when Lord Grantham and Matthew have to wear tuxedos to a formal dinner) that I feel the same passion for it that many of my friends and colleagues do. There’s a story midway through the season that’s as powerful as anything the show has done to date, because the stakes of following the old orders or breaking them seem to be life and death, rather than a loss of social standing.
I would wish there was more of that, but three seasons in is a time to stop writing about the show I wish “Downton Abbey” was and simply accept that the show it is isn’t really for me.
Alan Sepinwall may be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
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NOTE: Let me remind you, as always, that the spoiler policy on this blog means no talking about episodes that have yet to air in America. So even though the entire season has been on in the UK, I want no discussion, or even allusion to, any of the plot developments of the new season. Twitter has already spoiled plenty for the non-torrenting American audience; let's leave it at that. Any comment I find questionable will be deleted.
Also, the tentative plan is for Liane to cover each episode for us on her Starr Raving blog.
Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupKen Scott
January 3, 2013 at 1:07PM EST Reply to CommentIs Martha Levinson, and then by default Lady Cora and then by Default all the children at Downton Jewish?
nic919 That is her married name, so probably not. I also suspect Cora would have had to convert before marrying Grantham if she was not Christian (even Catholics were not viewed highly in the British aristocracy).
January 3, 2013 at 1:22PM ESTSazzyMCH
January 3, 2013 at 1:10PM EST Reply to CommentNo spoilers from me, but I hope the US audience enjoy it as much as I did when it aired here.
Seth Davis
January 3, 2013 at 1:21PM EST Reply to CommentAlan, did you see the Christmas special as well?
sepinwall Nope. PBS just sent us the other 8 hours, and I don't torrent. So I'll see it whenever PBS sends it.
January 3, 2013 at 1:22PM ESTJim They just replayed it Sunday night on PBS. Oh well.
January 3, 2013 at 5:36PM ESTLJ PBS replayed last season's Christmas special on Sunday...
January 4, 2013 at 10:09AM ESTthenightstalker
January 3, 2013 at 1:23PM EST Reply to CommentHas PBS ever explained why they air Downton Abbey so late after it airs on ITV in the UK? It originally aired almost four months ago. I don't watch the show, but if I was a fan I would probably torrent the show just to avoid spoilers. If I didn't want to go the torrent route, the UK DVD's have been available since early November. It just boggles my mind that in this day and age, a show airs this much later. One of the smartest things that BBC America has ever done was show Doctor Who on the same day it airs in the UK. Even then, it's hard to avoid spoilers and it airs only a few hours after it is originally on.
nic919 PBS made some excuse that they have to remove the commercials and edit the episodes for the time slots when this topic came up last season. I think they assume that people who watch PBS are too old to torrent. Doctor Who is sci-fi and apparently geeks are familiar with the internet but costume drama nerds are not. They are totally wrong in that assumption and I think they have missed a chunk of audience who would have waited perhaps a week or two later, but months later does make it too easy to find other ways to watch it. It did not help that North American newspapers (well the Toronto Star anyway) was reporting on the show even though you could not watch it legally over here.
January 3, 2013 at 1:39PM ESTTelevision audiences are getting more computer savvy, and it is not just science fiction fans. I don't know what PBS aired in the Fall that was so important, but they could have aired Downton Abbey concurrently, or at least within a week or so.
Sally Westbrook Will someone please define torrenting?
January 4, 2013 at 1:24PM ESTFred "Torrenting" is a term for a way of obtaining and watching a program that, in a few instances, is above board, but more often than not, is not legitimate. Torrent gets pieces of the program that are stored in various places, gathers them, and sends them to your computer so that you may then view them. It is mostly used for pirating videos and other things.
January 5, 2013 at 10:56PM ESTUsing Torrent, the name of the program (there are others, has been called Torrenting, much as using Google to search for something, has been called Googling.
Sally Westbrook Thank you Fred........appreciate it.
January 6, 2013 at 1:30AM ESTJayne I used BitComet program on the eztv.it website to torrent the whole 3rd season and the Christmas Special. Great, fast downloads, and after the second week, members were uploading the episodes a half hour after airing; since they are six hours ahead of us, I could watch them on Sunday afternoons by 5 o'clock. Over there they are watching Homeland and other shows the same night they air here. Don't understand why they can't do the same with Downton here.
January 7, 2013 at 1:37AM ESTWho me download?
January 3, 2013 at 1:24PM EST Reply to Comment"begins its new season in America on Sunday night at 9 on PBS (British audiences have already seen all the episodes)."
You mean British audiences and everyone else in the world with an internet connection and a slight amount of interest.
Seriously, this is a Battlestar Galactica-style epic screw up. Someone seriously thought it was a good idea that the entire season air in one country first? They are just begging for it - Short-sighted policies like that only encourage pirating. Same thing happened to BSG when it first aired, only now it's 2013, there's even less of an excuse.
I'll bet more people have seen season 3 now via downloading then actually watched it on the air in the UK. I don't envy you Allen (or Liane) - spoiler duty is going to be tough for this one.
sepinwall With BSG, the first season aired first in the UK as part of an exclusivity deal with Sky that more or less made producing that season possible. (As I write in my book, the show was dead after the miniseries until Sky ponied up such a huge percentage of the budget for the exclusive window.) I believe there are some financial considerations for PBS in its deal with ITV that causes the delay, but nothing nearly as significant.
January 3, 2013 at 1:29PM ESTWho me download? I bought your book (loved it) but I missed that part - I think I knew it anyway, I remember hearing about it around the time the season kicked off.
January 3, 2013 at 1:47PM ESTBSG was a miscalculation in hindsight, which is what makes the Downton situation so surprising to me - I mean, I get why it happened, I'm sure money in exchange for "exclusivity" was part of it, I just can't believe they are that naive to believe that downloading isn't having an enormous impact on US ratings. This kind of situation drives people who wouldn't normally torrent/etc in to doing so, no question.
rugman11 I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that PBS doesn't NEED those extra viewers. Downton Abbey is by far its most watched show and, absent a need for ad revenue, there isn't much need for increasing ratings.
January 3, 2013 at 9:58PM ESTAnd the number of torrenters is often exaggerated. According to Torrent Freak, Downton Abbey was not one of the Top 10 most pirated shows of 2011-12, meaning that fewer than 1.5 million people downloaded each episode. When compared to the 9 million people or so who are watching it on PBS or PBS's streaming app each week, piracy just doesn't have that big of an effect, especially for a network that doesn't rely on ad revenue.
Who me download? TorrentFreak is hardly the be-all-end all of pirated download activity, especially these days. It only accounts for public trackers - which are fast being ignored - and completely ignores Usenet.
January 4, 2013 at 2:24AM ESTEven if we took it at face value and said there were 1.5 million pirated views vs. 9 million broadcast that is still a huge number. A number they could cut significantly by doing day and date releases.
nic919 PBS needs to think of its future audience. They can only rely on seniors who can't turn on a computer for so long. Even senior viewers are improving their computer literacy by virtue of using smartphones and tablets with constant internet access. And I would think PBS would not want to lose 1.5 million viewers for any reason.
January 4, 2013 at 2:50AM ESTskeezix Not only are those TorrentFreak numbers incomplete, but they completely miss the number of people watching the series on USB sticks, DVDs, etc. So many people I know who never torrent have seen the show - and in my brother's office, the burned disks were being swapped around among just about everyone who enjoys the show.
January 5, 2013 at 7:06PM ESTPBS is doing a compete disservice to its viewers, it's contributors, and ultimately, to itself. They are delusional if they think they are retaining the vast majority of their audience.
ralphgoings Last year their were so many spoilers in this column. I don't know how they slipped through because Alan said the same thing.
January 7, 2013 at 9:48PM ESTThis year I vowed I wasn't going to read comments, but looks like I am here. So far Downton hasn't disappointed,.
But the first real spoiler that comes. I'm done. Maggie Smith is a royal treasure.
chris
January 3, 2013 at 1:33PM EST Reply to CommentDoes anyone know how much (if any) PBS has changed the show from what was shown in the UK?
sanalayla From what I've heard, I think PBS edits out about 1-2 scenes per episode. The British versions are longer than the US versions. Each British episode is usually about 52 minutes. Each US version is about 42-45 minutes. I watched them all online (Netflix for S1, Hulu for S2, and found S3 online somewhere), so I saw the UK versions only.
January 5, 2013 at 11:06PM ESTFred The 7 episodes of the first season were edited by PBS into 4 longer episodes. A couple of minor subplots were removed or cut down significantly, and some scenes were rearranged.
January 5, 2013 at 11:12PM ESTSince Season 3 is bring broadcast over 7 weeks, as it was on ITV, there will probably be no difference at all.
a couple of minor subplots missing or cut down significantly. Some scenes have also been re-arranged
Robin
January 3, 2013 at 1:44PM EST Reply to CommentThis will be the first season I watch week to week, as opposed to marathoning via Netflix. I'll be curious to see if that makes a difference in how I feel about it (I adored the first two seasons, magical paralysis and all).
gail
January 3, 2013 at 2:01PM EST Reply to CommentI know -- some of the developments are already out there and "spoiled."
Main question -- when will PBS learn the lesson that BBC-America already has, and air these episodes (ditto for Sherlock) when they air in the UK? One could have already bought the dvd's from Amazon UK in late October, I believe. (though I know Downton aired on ITV and not the Beeb).
The waiting is not fun, and in this day and age, we know they have aired already. If PBS and Masterpiece trying to cultivate a younger demographic, they are not trying appropriately.
Jonnybon
January 3, 2013 at 2:24PM EST Reply to CommentSeason 1 was the best, but season 2 was much better than season 3. I don't consider myself a fan anymore.
B I'm still a fan (although I found the Christmas special actually dull), but I also liked season 2 better than season 3. My biggest problem is that there wasn't enough time for me to get to know the new characters. I don't really care for any of them nearly as much as I cared for William, because their stories aren't as strong. Even still, there are some truly great moments, and the upstairs/downstairs dynamic remains strong.
January 4, 2013 at 12:19AM ESTThe lag really doesn't bother me. I watched most episodes as they aired in Britain by streaming ITV, and found the British commercials delightful - or maybe I just have a thing for the accents.
gregel
January 3, 2013 at 4:28PM EST Reply to CommentAlan, don't you think the scenes about the tuxedos are to purposely show how ludicrous the old "rules" were? And how the participants (especially Matthew) realize how silly its become? I thought it more a running gag than driving home a point.
Dreamed I agree with that.
January 4, 2013 at 1:11PM ESTOaktown Girl
January 3, 2013 at 5:18PM EST Reply to CommentIf the Season 3 Bates storyline is less tedious than the Season 2 one was, that alone will be a huge improvement.
adama1843 In Season 3 he opens a motel. Sorry, that's all I think of when I see him.
January 3, 2013 at 10:04PM ESTerika_herzog
January 4, 2013 at 5:14AM EST Reply to CommentI have seen season 3 and the attendant 2012 Christmas special but I plan on rewatching along with the rest of American audiences. I am curious about the US edit and there's so little tv on right now an excuse to lollygag at the sumptuous costumes and sets is no problem.
But I too agree that there needs to be less lag time between Rest of World and US viewing. I just had the same discussion with someone about the fabulous Bron/Broen series. I think if the broadcasters made a subscription / pay option available more folks would not torrent or stream or whatever.
The world is too global to accept these shenanigans as more than being rude to passionate audiences.
Glad Mr Bates will be back and also glad for new blood. I too wish the show was as compelling and interesting as the magical first season (what was in that special sauce?!?) but I am just along for the ride at this point.
As long as Fellowes et al don't muck it up too much it will do just fine.
Sean D
January 4, 2013 at 7:44PM EST Reply to Commentawww Alan it's not for you cause it's a bad show. I mean with fetishizing the past, 'Mad Men' could go on as a show without SCDP, 'Downton' couldn't go on without its house. There's the difference right there in the names, Mad Men is about people, Downton is about a neoliberal reimagining of the past, comforting the rich about class divisions, worshipping the elite.
opiner56
January 5, 2013 at 4:22PM EST Reply to CommentThe Crawley girls may be 1/3 or 1/2 Jewish depending on wether 1 or both of Cora's parents were Jewish.
I'm glad Ethel is returning in series 3.If Mary can be forgiven for moving a corpse to conceal a death in her bed,than surely we can have mercy on Edith.
Baby Charlie could have been a grandfather to 1 of us.Write a comment...
ralphgoings It is possible that Martha Levinson is the name from her second husband and Cora is her daughter from a first marriage.
January 8, 2013 at 1:51AM ESTI am just thinking about it. Not really know.
MagicPKatz
January 7, 2013 at 2:53AM EST Reply to CommentWell, Downton Abbey may not be for you, Mr. Sepinwall, but it is for me. No, it isn't breaking boundaries type of TV; it is classic storytelling, classy soap opera. I found the tuxedo situation hilarious. I don't even care if I read spoilers because I enjoy how the episodes play out no matter what.
MagicPKatz
January 7, 2013 at 2:55AM EST Reply to CommentDownton Abbey may not be for you, Mr. Sepinwall, but it is for me and, as you say, loads of other viewers. On the strength of my recommendation, several more of my friends were watching tonight. I found the tuxedo incident hilarious. I also don't even care if I read spoilers because I don't mind watching them play out in such a great setting.
TJ
January 7, 2013 at 8:12AM EST Reply to CommentI really did not like season 2. I thought it was a bad television show in that season. But last night was really good. Much more like how I remember season 1, and very promising.
I find myself really wanting Edith to be happy and normal for some reason. Which probably means something terrible is about to happen.
Also, the biggest eye-roll of the night was Matthew's "I want us to get to know each other." Um, you met EIGHT YEARS AGO. The worst thing about season 2 (and even season 1) was how poorly the show conveyed the passing of time.
Linda T.
January 7, 2013 at 1:27PM EST Reply to CommentCouldn't agree more with Alan's critique of Shirley MacLaine's role. It was more of a caricature than a character. Disappointed in her role...not to mention the horrific makeup and hair they used on her! Actually, we were a bit disappointed in the first 2-hour episode - dragged a bit. Looking forward to next week, however. It is addictive!
ralphgoings Shirley MacLaine is 78 years old. I agree the make up was harsh, but unless an actress of that age has kept up with cosmetic fillers, it would be difficult for her to look like we remember. I like the contrast of her and the Dowager. She calls her Mrs. Levinson. Those Brits. Call her MADAM MARTHA. Just a thought
January 7, 2013 at 10:04PM ESTPrintin' Mike
January 7, 2013 at 4:04PM EST Reply to CommentInterestingly (perhaps, only to me), in direct contract to Alan, I like the series far more than I respect it. It’s a soap opera, but one whose subject is removed enough from an American’s 2013 reality to make it quite interesting. I’ll admit that the acting is superb (excepting Shirley McClain – sorry, but it wasn’t just the script that failed this character, it was everything). And, the fetishistic treatment by Fellowes was enjoyable and necessary. But, there’s not a lot of substantive or historical drama to be of much interest here (it isn’t Brideshead). Instead, I simply and enthusiastically like the (somewhat classy) soapiness of the whole thing.
ralphgoings
January 7, 2013 at 9:55PM EST Reply to CommentI have a query about how the entire family goes to the front door awaiting a guest to arrive? There are no cell phones to call the main house to hurry the family together ? Surely some can be late or early even if a time was given.
Maybe someone can tell me.
Ted Mason
January 13, 2013 at 10:11PM EST Reply to CommentThank you Thank you Thank you for this article! who cares about the 1%
Skiburg
February 18, 2013 at 2:50PM EST Reply to CommentAlan:
Not a comment, but a query! Seeing the demise of another character on Downton's final Episode 7 prompts me to inquire how long an Anglophile fan must wait to learn when there will be a Season 4. How long will we have to hold our breath to learn how things transpire after that cliffhanger?