By Linda Wood Rondeau
I suppose there’d been a lot of chatter about the British series
storming the country, but I was clueless until someone gifted me with a DVD of
Season 1 and 2. By the second episode my husband and I were hooked. We couldn’t
wait to watch season three. The more I watched, the more I wondered. What makes
this show so successful?
I’ve seen a lot of shows tank even with great actors.
In most cases of successful television, as in Downton Abbey, the appeal
is multi-faceted.
Jim Carter (Carson) stated
that while in Los Angeles he was approached by a woman fan who said, “Downton
Abbey and your performance make me want to live a better life.” He hadn’t
thought of the show in terms of religious significance. Yet, there is no
arguing, it has profound resonance with its viewers. We writers can learn from
that resonance.
Universal Theme
“The sun is rising
behind Downton Abbey, a great and splendid house in a great and splendid park.
So secure does it appear that it seems as if the way of life it represents will
last for another thousand years. It won’t.” This is the main thrust of the series,
says its creator Julian Fellowes.
Like Tevye from Fiddler
on the Roof, Lord Grantham, a man of good moral character committed to his way
of life, must cope with three daughters and a wife who do not see the world
through the same set of glasses. The generational conflict intensifies through
the eyes of Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham, who is through and through an
Englishwoman. Convention vs. forced change is a common theme in literature and
is a great tool for the development of conflict in a story. Whether the
convention is a political system or a family tradition, we identify with both
the character who wants to be free from expectation and the loving institution
that seeks to preserve a way of life. The theme is as old as the parable of the
prodigal son.
A good work of fiction
will use the elements of story to support its theme, and Downton Abbey does not
disappoint in this regard. “I
adore Downton Abbey,” says Yvonne Lehman, author of Hearts that Survive—A Novel of the Titanic. “Love the British accent, the
times, the clothing, the difference in the aristocracy and working class, and
yet the sameness in emotions, hopes, and dreams.”
Kristy Wedge Cambron
states that she loves the “intoxicating mixture of expertly written characters
both upstairs and down, the ever-present storyline of history in every episode,
and the sweeping set/costume design.”
In Downton Abbey, all story elements work together to support the idea of class struggle and changing mores.
Part Two of my post on Monday, April 14th, will
cover Setting, Characters, Plot and Dialogue. This weekend can you write an
outline for Season Four’s opening episode in keeping with Downton charm and
spirit?
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Linda Wood Rondeau is a native of Central New York, she graduated from North Syracuse High School and later Houghton College. She moved to Northern New York where she met and married Steve Rondeau, her best friend in life, and managed a career in human services before tackling professional writing. After thirty-four years she and her husband have relocated to Jacksonville, Florida to start a new adventure...leaving rural America to live in a city of one million. Of course, the more favorable temperatures allow her to follow another great passion--golf. Rondeau's romantic suspense, The Other Side of Darkness, is the winner of the 2012 Selah Award for best first novel. Her romance, It Really IS a Wonderful Life is already a best seller. Joining her contemporary works is her first non-fiction, I Prayed for Patience/God Gave Me Children. Her paranormal suspense, Days of Vines and Roses is now available in both book and ebook format. Find her at http://www.lindarondeau.com/ and http://fullflavoredliving.blogspot.com/ and http://lindarondeau.blogspot.com/
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