Brief Sniplet on Last Night's TV

[shipperx]

I may get around to having more complete thoughts, or I may not... so I'll just make quick ones.

I enjoyed "Once Upon a Time" last night. 

Yeah, there's a bit of character whiplash going on (Snow was willing to assassinate the evil Queen at one point and suddenly she was the one arguing to give Regina a second chance during the execution...?  Prince Charming was working with Regina a few weeks ago and now he's more unwilling to give her a shot than Snow...? )  But, quibbles aside, I enjoyed the episode.  I do find myself wishing that the writing on the show was better.  I like storylines better in concept than in execution, but... oh well. 

Other things of note:

Was Jiminey Cricket's dog ALWAYS Pongo from 101 Dalmations?  Awww.  Cute Pongo.  Pretty dog.

Regina to Jiminey Cricket/Dr. Hopper:  "Remember, doctor,  your PhD came from a CURSE."  

Prince Charming to Snow White upon being discovered in bed by (their adult daughter) Emma:   "It's good to know that at her age we can still provide a few traumatizing childhood memories."   

********************

Downton Abbey:

A little slow overall.

I'm somewhat perplexed by Shirley Maclain's character and the decision to make her quite so... crass.  Cora isn't crass. And if the character was part of the Newport set (which she mentioned), well the Vanderbilts and Astors were every bit as stiff as the British upper class.  That tends to happen when people try to mimic something they admire.  They go overboard. That group of robber-barons was every bit as formal and class conscious as the Brits, yet Maclain's character is constantly sniping about it and pointing out the aristocracy's failings?  Okay if she were a certain type but, isn't this supposed to be the same family that set Cora up to marry a title?  Doesn't this contradict?  Why did she marry her daughter off to a title (paying a hefty sum to do so) if she places no value on it?  Was she simply indulgent of Cora's desires when Cora was young and thus she was willing to buy her daughter an impoverished Earl even though titles mean nothing to her?  Was it Cora's father who was so impressed by a title that he laid out half his fortune in a marriage settlement to make his daughter a countess?   Was he the one who had table manners?  After all, Cora had to mimic her behavior from somewhere, and while Cora seems to have her mother's "The trappings don't matter as much to me as they do to my husband and oldest daughter.  I can adapt," attitude, overall, Cora appears quite, quite different from her mother.  

You know, if they ever wanted a spin-off (please don't), I would be curious about how the Cora/Robert romance came about. . . Which, honestly, sounds a bit like what Fellowes<sp?> is pushing for the American show he's developing.


And the post-WWI American/British social class clash was handled a bit better with the Colin Firth movie Easy Virtue (which I saw just last week and have mixed feelings about his running off with his son's American wife.  Though she did have AMAZING clothes.) Hot can take you a long way.

One other note, Mary was displaying many of the characteristics that prevent me from fully embracing her. I actually agree with her with regards to Matthew and the money, but the way  she expresses her position makes me cringe.  


Seriously, her argument to her grandmother for why Downton Abbey should be rescued was not "it's the primary source of revenue for the village" or resorting to guilt-trips regarding "But what would happen to Carson and Anna?"  Instead she boiled it down to "See what fabulous dinner parties we can throw?"

What was she thinking?  Mary is quite entitled, but she isn't stupid.  Did she not realise her entire argument to her grandmother amounted to "Wouldn't you love seeing (or rather not seeing since you'll in the U.S.  Thank God) even more of your money spent wining and dining lords and ladies who look down on you, American Grandmother?"  

Seriously? 

And what about her American Grandmother struck Mary as one likely to be impressed by a dinning room full of aristocrats? She is the one sitting there  helping Isobel  egg on the Irish in-law who, not that long ago, was cheering the Russian Revolution!   How  exactly was this particular tactic supposed to favorably influence the specific person she was trying to influence?  Blinkered much, Mary? 

Oh, and independent of that,  it's annoying that Mary sees the most important aspect of Downton Abbey being... dinner parties.  Really, it was quite telling about Mary, in an unflattering way.  Talk about living in an entitlement bubble.   And I say that despite totally agreeing with her about Matthew being oversensitive about the potential feelings of dead people who are no longer capable of being disappointed.




Oh, and Matthew, Livinia died of the flipping SPANISH FLU, you nittwit!  No one except Padme Skywalker is stupid enough to die of a broken heart.  

Comments

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

Hee! I wrote pretty much this same post about DA in the shower this morning - with a lot about Newport, where I've been many times - and I may still actually write and post it. Needless to say, ITA.

[elsaf]

I think they want Martha to be Molly Brown (the unsinkable) -- the crass nouveau riche woman who gets things done and is admired for her bluntness. Though I have to admit I don't think she's as natural and believable as the cast around her. Cora's personality may be a reaction to her mother, though, and also a matter of having remade herself to fit into her husband's culture.

I've always thought Mary was a bit greedy and self-centered. She wants all the privileges of the upper class, but none of the responsibility. She wants to be the lady of Downton Abbey, but doesn't really understand all that it means. But her flawed personality is just the reason I embrace her. She seems very real.

[txvoodoo.livejournal.com]

I read an interesting book this year about American heiresses of the era, going into the society, etc. Martha being sort of crass might be spot on, depending on how and how recently the family came into money. Did it come from her side? Did she marry it? Was she a pretty young thing but not from the upper shelf?

And while, yes, the Vanderbilts and the Astors were proper types, many many of the Newport set were nouveau-riche.

By the way, the book is "To Marry an English Lord" by Gail MacColl and Carol McD. Wallace.

[chloris.livejournal.com]

To be fair, Snow was under the influence of a potion which removed all love from her. Lack of love is VERY serious to FTL people.

Charming made me scratch my head a little since he was there to see how much Regina was trying. However, I see him as being in 'protect Snow' mode which would make him hyper-vigilant and suspicious.

Yep, the dog was always Pongo though we haven't seen him in a while.