TV You're Watching

[LouisIX]

Anybody else like the  really good BBC stuff?  Like Are You Being Served?

I'm a big fan of Keeping Up Appearances.

[Othmar]

I just started with Downton Abbey.

[Heinrich]

I just started with Downton Abbey.

Why are so many here enthralled by English aristocrats? It is repulsive to me that most here, who are of Irish descent, are lamming away in front of the tube, tickled by a bunch of oppressors.

[Habitual_Ritual]

I'm a big fan of Keeping Up Appearances.

Most excellent.

[Heinrich]

Anyone here watch Top Shot on History Channel? Or Mountain Men?

[Habitual_Ritual]

Anyone here watch Top Shot on History Channel? Or Mountain Men?

I was watching TopShot on Netflix but it's no longer available.Good show

[Othmar]

Why are so many here enthralled by English aristocrats? It is repulsive to me that most here, who are of Irish descent, are lamming away in front of the tube, tickled by a bunch of oppressors.

I haven't got a single drop of Irish blood, nor any quarrel with the Englishmen. Furthermore, I don't see what the Irish question has to do with some fictional English aristocrats.

[Heinrich]

Why are so many here enthralled by English aristocrats? It is repulsive to me that most here, who are of Irish descent, are lamming away in front of the tube, tickled by a bunch of oppressors.

I haven't got a single drop of Irish blood, nor any quarrel with the Englishmen. Furthermore, I don't see what the Irish question has to do with some fictional English aristocrats.

Not pinpointing you specifically. I notice here that this show is popular and most traditional American Catholics have Irish lineage, which has been and currently is, viciously and unscrupulously oppressed by English overlords. If the doings of Cromwell, the Crown, and the famine don't upset you, then by all means, enjoy the vicarious tea and biscuts.

[Othmar]

Not pinpointing you specifically. I notice here that this show is popular and most traditional American Catholics have Irish lineage, which has been and currently is, viciously and unscrupulously oppressed by English overlords. If the doings of Cromwell, the Crown, and the famine don't upset you, then by all means, enjoy the vicarious tea and biscuts.

Cromwell was a regicide, if it were to me each and every statue and bust of him would be beheaded. The Irish Federation was allied to the King. The famine was a tragedy that could have been prevented, but it was no holocaust. The governmental inaction was influenced by laissez-faire capitalism. Speaking of Americans, what the government could have done would be decried as socialist nowadays. Ought I canonize the violence of the Irish Republican Army? Should I ignore all the Unionists? The Irish question is much more nuanced than you make it to be, with all due respect to all victims. This isn't a story about bad guys and good guys. All of these pseudohistorical ravings have nothing to do with a fictional show either.

Say, what about the Indian wars? The Indian Removal Act? Enjoy your vicarious beer and burgers. And must I associate your fondness for German with the Shoah? My grandparents were oppressed by them during the War too. Prosit!

[Archer]

Anybody else like the  really good BBC stuff?  Like Are You Being Served?

I'm a big fan of Keeping Up Appearances.

What a great show.

[Othmar]

Anybody else like the  really good BBC stuff?  Like Are You Being Served?

I'm a big fan of Keeping Up Appearances.

What a great show.

The Bouquet residence, the lady of the house speaking!

[LouisIX]

I just started with Downton Abbey.

Why are so many here enthralled by English aristocrats? It is repulsive to me that most here, who are of Irish descent, are lamming away in front of the tube, tickled by a bunch of oppressors.

You should watch the show.  It actually deals with this very theme.

I'll take the time to answer your question since I am both Irish and very much like Downton Abbey.  As a monarchist who believes very much in aristocracy, you can imagine that immediate appeal.  The dynamic of the house itself, with the interaction of the aristocrats, the townsfolk, and the servants is great to see.  One of the great things about Downton is that it does not preach against aristocracy in favor of some "utopia" of equality (as we have today).  In that way, the show is very Catholic.  The characters are told that everyone has their own role in life and in society.

Apart from the fact that some on the show are outright monarchists, and the fact that the show portrays them very favorably, you also have an appreciation for the place of the aristocrats in that society.  One of the main characters shows up (I think sometime during season 1) and immediately parallels can be drawn between him and Pope Francis.  He's put into an aristocratic position that he does not like, and wishes he could leave, but tradition makes it necessary that he adapts to his new role.  He begins by wanting to throw off all of the trappings of tradition, to fight against them in the name of humility. Fortunately, he learns quite quickly.

What Downton portrays is a favorable view of a world which was much more Catholic than our own, and surprisingly so.  When one of the homosexual manservants is found in a compromising position with another man, he's chastised and nearly fired for his perversity.  Keep in mind that this show is not about the monarchy itself.  I do not place the blame for the rape of Ireland on the British citizens themselves, even the aristocrats (especially aristocrats from the 1920s, who have nothing to do with Ireland).  These are simply the societal traditionalists of their time fighting against the pull of modern values, and I think most trads find a lot that they can identify with in that.

Ireland was itself aristocratic and monarchical. The clans were headed by kings, and at one point the O'Neills had control of a High Kingship over the entire island.  For that reason, the themes dealt with in the show are universal, and apply even to those of us with Irish descent.

[LouisIX]

Anybody else like the  really good BBC stuff?  Like Are You Being Served?

I'm a big fan of Keeping Up Appearances.

What a great show.

The Bouquet residence, the lady of the house speaking!

I know I shouldn't be, but I am surprised that I found two other people who like this show on SD, and even more surprised that they're both (also) males in their 20s.

[Othmar]

I know I shouldn't be, but I am surprised that I found two other people who like this show on SD, and even more surprised that they're both (also) males in their 20s.

Doesn't everyone enjoy British comedy? 

From classics such as Monty Python, Fawlty Towers and Blackadder to the newer sitcoms, there's something for all to enjoy.

[Adeodatus]

Anybody else like the  really good BBC stuff?  Like Are You Being Served?

I'm a big fan of Keeping Up Appearances.

What a great show.

The Bouquet residence, the lady of the house speaking!

'Allo missus Bucket!