I am sorry to say that some of this season's shows have been a little irritating. Matthew's inheritance saved Downton since the Earl had lost his wife's fortune through poor investments; a daughter died as result of childbirth (it is 1920's England and childbirth is dangerous), leaving an infant daughter and an Irish-born, ex-chauffeur widower, the bane of the Earl and the Dowager. That was very sad, and I was actually shocked.
AND now, I'm betting that the Irish son-in-law will become part of the on-going solutions to the Earl's poor management of the estate by the son-in-law he actually likes, but is growing wary of. There just ain't no heroes any more.
If you don't follow the show, then this stuff doesn't make sense and doesn't interest you. I like the show because it is written well, performed well and tells interesting stories. Even if I am irritated by some twists and some characters.
Another example of how well done is British TV is Doc Martin. This character is not very sympathetic since he's short-tempered, has poor people skills, and very little patience for other people, including the sick people he tends. But he's very interesting and most of the show's characters are also engaging.
If I'm going to wile away hours and hours in front of the idiot box, it's really nice that some of that time is not idiotically spent. With PBS and BBC, I get entertaining and intelligent viewing.
AND I'm catching up on movies not seen for years, or not seen yet at all. I'm quite fortunate to have the time and means for these pastimes. Some day, I'm sure, I'll go back to reading books and I'll look for things to do outside the house. No, seriously.
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