Ben Bolt (3) (1952–)

The first season of Downton Abbey was...bingeable? Pretty good through the first watch. The dialogue, and the purposeful inclusion of great events in history is very charming. The characters are developed, and the two different storylines--the people upstairs and the people downstairs, keep it interesting. Second time watching, it is still good, but the romance can be hokey, and some of the events seemed dropped in just to keep the plot going, rather than well-thought out additions to the story. Very good to do crochet projects.… (meer)

The goings-on in a large English household in the 1910s.

It's well done for what it is. I just don't see the appeal of this sort of thing. Spiteful people backstabbing each other is not my idea of entertaining drama. And occasionally finding out secrets about characters is not my idea of development. It probably doesn't help that it portrays an oppressive world as something good and noble. At one point the family patriarch makes a little speech about being merely a custodian of his estate, implying that he's burdened with responsibility and not, contrary to all evidence, obscenely privileged. And of course he's fair and protective of his underlings, and they're all much happier in servitude than they would be otherwise. It's pretty disgusting. But then, I'm a straight male, so no one expects me to enjoy this kind of show. My wife liked it.

Concept: D
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: C

Enjoyment: C plus

GPA: 2.5/4… (meer)

A collection of modern-day fairy tales.

I had extremely high expectations for this show - reinforced by the exceptional first episode - so maybe I'm not judging it fairly. But The Twilight Zone is not everything I'd hoped it would be. The few great episodes make up for a lot, though. And even when it doesn't work, they're at least constantly trying to do something different.

Concept: A
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: B

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 2.9/4… (meer)