The sinking of the Titanic dominates the opening of “Downton Abbey,” the hit British series airing stateside on PBS’ “Masterpiece Classic” starting this weekend. Reading the news at his breakfast table, the Earl of Grantham is mortified. For him the Titanic isn’t tragedy in the abstract. Because his intended son-in-law was lost with the ship, the future of his estate under England’s complicated inheritance laws is now in doubt. He needs a male heir. To save the manor and his slowly dwindling fortune, the Earl must cultivate a potential successora third cousin from Manchester’s middle class who wants no part of the aristocratic lush life.
So goes “Downton Abbey,” a superbly conceived production in the grand tradition of “Masterpiece Theatre,” written by Oscar-winner Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) with gorgeous cinematography and lavish attention to period detail. “Downton Abbey” is a leisurely story of marriage and mores in the mode of Jane Austen. The contrast between upstairs and downstairs, the lords and ladies of the manor and their army of servants, is as clear as the similarities. Gossip, backbiting and rivalry aren’t the privileges of any one social class. The acting is at a high level, led by Hugh Bonneville as the Earl, Maggie Smith as his mother and a cast of faces familiar to fans of British television and film.
“Downton Abbey” airs 8 p.m., Jan. 9-30 on MPTV-10.
