Downton, Everything's Waiting for You

©2012 WGBH Educational Foundation

Roughly fifty years separates "Downtown," a 1960’s song that became a surprise hit for singer Petula Clark and the circa World War I setting of Downton Abbey, a costume drama that’s been a surprise hit in Great Britain and in around the world.

We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares and go
Downtown . . . .

Nowadays, we've watched our savings dwindle and cope with pay freezes. We've seen friends lose homes to foreclosure and worry about soldiers in Afghanistan and school kids in crowded classrooms.

We do not, however, curtsy or bow our heads. We choose when and whom we'll marry, our daughters may inherit whatever we choose to leave them, and class is not destiny.

When we switch on the television to the second season of Masterpiece Theater's Downton Abbey, we can forget our troubles and immerse ourselves in the lives of characters strait-jacketed by their birthrights--or lack thereof. We watch as war and small, private rebellions loosen the “rules” that once governed behavior upstairs and downstairs. The old order is changing before our eyes.

Here, in the U.S., Wall Street may still hand out bonuses, but, at Downton, the aristocracy is in eclipse. Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, is powerless to stop the family seat from being converted into a hospital for wounded soldiers and can’t prevent her granddaughter from inviting a man in trade—a newspaper publisher—to visit the family home,.

While military service now is voluntary in most parts of the world, in Downton Abbey's era, class didn’t insulate the titled from war. Matthew Crawley, the heir, goes off to fight, and Robert, Lord Grantham, a veteran of the Boer War, is disappointed when he's deemed ineligible for active military service. He, his wife, and daughters do their part. Indeed, the Crawleys show what's meant by noblesse oblige. Lady Edith betrayed her own sister in season one, but the Crawleys look out for those who rely on them for a livelihood.

The character of Lady Mary has softened as she’s acknowledged her mistakes and realized, too late, she cares for Matthew. Love, meanwhile, has emboldened head housemaid Anna Smith who is willing to risk her job and reputation for Bates, Lord Grantham’s former valet. Who knows how Lady Sybil's affair with Irish chauffeur Tom Branson will end? The fact it started and still simmers signals the social changes to come.

Part of Downtown Abbey's appeal is the glimpse it offers of a long-gone lifestyle. We admire aspects of it while thanking our lucky stars we weren't born into that era. The Edwardian period makes our own look better.

Downton Abbey has inspired a line of gift items, ranging from books to tea sets and replicas of jewelry worn on the show. Fans of the show tweet using the hashtag #DowntonPBS, and viewers can vote on characters' “likeability” here.

So, maybe I'll see you there
We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares and go
Downtown . . . .