Honestly, the person who finally convinced me to start watching Downton Abbey may have been Patton Oswalt. I’m only slightly familiar with his comedy, a fan of his film work, and a follower on Twitter, which is where he livetweets episodes of Downton when they play on PBS. There are apparently a few other comedians who do this, but he’s the only one I follow. His response to the show sum up how a lot of people relate to it: with a sense of preliminary detached irony that morphs into sincere emotional attachment expressed with tinges of remaining irony. If that makes sense.
For the third and most recent season, these hilarious Facebook recaps have been passed around, chronicling each individual episode as if the characters were reacting to the events of their story on Facebook. Lord Robert checked into Foolish Railroad Investment. Carson is cleaning cutlery. Mrs. Hughes likes this.
Something about this show grabs people, and inspires them to really invest themselves in these characters. The premise seems simple and cliche, but the execution is beautifully handled. Skepticism is justifiable. I understand it completely. I’m just saying, despite the surely undeserved hype and presumed lameness of the show, it delivers. Give it a chance, get thee to the flower show, and your own intrigue with Downton Abbey will surely begin to bloom. And then you can have fun with the rest of us.