MUHDUH Most Foul

While we're bonding with our new royal bundle of joy, there's plenty of time to curl up with a cuppa and enjoy a couple of PBS's most recent Masterpiece Mystery offerings: Endeavour, Silk, and the series finale of Inspector Lewis. There's something comforting about shows that follow a predictable pattern of posh British people in fancy dress offing each other. 

If your Angophilia doesn't extend far enough to your wanting to hear the phrase "the Queen's gynecologist" and "ZOMGZ THE ROYAL BABY" repeated several times in succession (HA! SUCCESSION! HA!) on the network newz, strap on your Wellies head over to PBS. Oh, you don't watch PBS? Oh, okay then.

I'm Alan Cumming and this is Masterpiece Mystery. I am also a bit of a wankah.

So, I was really sad about the ending of ITV's Inspector Lewis series. I started watching it on Netflix, then I watched the final season air on PBS. Who knew that Oxford had such a high murder rate? Is there anyone still living in Oxford now? Or is everyone dead? I visited there a few years ago and no one tried to off me. Perhaps I should have posed as a shady Oxbridge don? 

For those of you who don't know, Inspector Lewis is a sequel to the highly popular British MUHDUH mystery show, Inspector Morse. It follows the exploits of widowed Detective Inspector Lewis (Kevin Whately), who was Inspector Morse's partner. After Morse's death, Lewis was partnered with uppity college boy, Detective Sergeant Hathaway (Laurence Fox), and Inspector Lewis has to come to terms with all of his new partner's book learnin'. Hathaway and Lewis, of course, learn to set aside their differences to solve MUHDUHS, and the banter twixt the two gents is actually quite hilarious at times. Also, Lewis TOTES gets to get his flirt on with the lady medical examiner. So, there's that. 

I'm moody, haunted by my past and unconventionally handsome. What else can I do for you?

I have a great deal of affection for Inspector Lewis, and I'm sorry that there won't be any more episodes. However, after seven years, I can totally understand the actors wanting to move on to other projects. Inspector Lewis is available on Netflix streaming and DVD. Netflix doesn't have all of the episodes streaming yet, so you might be in a bit of a pinch if you want to watch later episodes.

Now, with Inspector Lewis off the air, ITV has come up with an interesting PREQUEL to the Inspector Morse series, which follows Morse's adventures as a young constable in the 1960s. 

ITV Exec 1: I know! Let's do Mad Men. But let's kill people!

ITV Exec 2: Oh, simply ripping idea!

ITV Exec 3: Smashing!

The Queen: How droll!

I'm keepin' Her Majesty's Peace, bijez.

Yes, there are only a few episodes for this first series, but it's worth getting into, especially since ITV has renewed the show for a Series 2. I feel like British dramas put a lot more time into making an episode of a show than American productions do, and that's why there tend to be fewer episodes in a season/series. Sometimes, American shows kind of just say, "Good enough" and crank out 20 episodes. The Brits take their time to write, film and edit each show, so the average quality level tends to be higher. And, you know, who else is going to create a crime drama and put everyone in period dress? WHO ELSE, I ASK YOU? No one. No one but the Brits.

No quip here.  I just fucking love the queen.

Endeavour is set in the 1960s, and while Mad Men comparisons are somewhat valid, it actually reminds me more of the now-defunct late-1950s news drama, The Hour. It even features the same wormy character actor as the leads' boss. What else could you ask for? An unconventionally handsome leading man? Yes, I'll take one of those. Check, please! 

The show begins with Endeavour Morse as young Constable Morse (Shaun Evans), forced to work his way up through the ranks of his local precinct, where he is not taken seriously, even after he solves, like, three murders in a row. There's a jealous detective in the precinct who is always throwing all kinds of shade at Morse. The police chief may or may not have been bought off. Really, his only ally is his ostensible partner, DI Fred Thursday (Roger Allam). 

Am I as fond of Endeavour as I am of Inspector Lewis? No, not as yet. However, it does have the same buddy cop drama vibe that Inspector Lewis has, with crotchety, hardened detective, Thursday somewhat suspicious of his college-educated young partner. Since everything in England is class-based, Thursday and Morse have the same dynamic as the working-class Lewis and the Cambridge-educated Hathaway. They do manage to put that aside and do things like solve murders and stuff. Excuse me. MUHDUHS. Seriously, when will the British learn to say "r"? The episodes are not available to watch online, but they are available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

We're lucky enough here stateside to be able to watch both BBC and ITV dramas on PBS, and I guess everyone in the U.S. assumes everything British is from the BBC, anyway, but it's pretty convenient to be able to watch all of this stuff on one channel. Rock on, Kermit.

Elmo hug Kermit. Elmo contract salmonella from frog.

But I digress. The next delightful offering, which is actually courtesy of the BBC, is Silk. Well, butter my crumpet. It's about a LADY BARRISTAH. 

If you've seen any of Law & Order UK or know enough about British people to find them adorable, charming and quaint, you will already be aware that the attorneys wear wigs during their more important court appearances. Seriously, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. How could you not be down with these peeps?

Wigz.

Silk, like many legal dramas, focuses on a law firm (or, as it's known in the UK, chambers). Martha Costello is a sassy blond lady attorney who kicks all kinds of ass. Her ultimate goal -- aside from straightening up pupil barrister and adorable screw-up, Nick Slade; convincing novice barrister, Naimh* Cranitch, that she DEFO SHOULD NOT FUCK office manslut/sleazebag Clive Reader; skirting around scheming fellow attorney, Kate Brockman; and managing an unexpected pregnancy -- is to "take silk." "Taking silk," as Alan Cumming condescendingly explains to the ignorant Americans, is the process whereby British attorneys earn the rank of Queen's Counsel. You can watch Silk online until October 8. 

"In the criminal justice system..." Wait...

Oh, yeah, and also Martha was being stalked by a creepy former client.

It's good to see a legal drama on the idiot box that actually has a female lead. Because, after all, it is 2013 and rah rah votes for women.

 ANYHOOSLE.

Martha is portrayed with aplomb by Maxine Peake. She's a relatable character because, all lawyer jokes aside, you get the sense that she really is a good person, and it does bother her conscience that, for the sake of her career, she has to defend some scumbags who are likely guilty of the crimes they are accused of committing. One particular tough moment for Martha was when she was put in the position of defending a man accused of rape, because according to her own personal convictions, rape victims are the ones who end up being put on trial. Martha's superiors convinced her that she need to have a rape case on her dossier for her silk application, and she assented. Although the prosecuting attorney told the victim that Martha would go easy on her because "her heart wasn't in it," Martha crucified this woman on the stand and brought her to tears. As horrible as it made her feel, Martha knew that this was the kind of game she would have to play to get ahead in the male-dominated world of the British legal system. 

More British intrigue headed your way in a chaise-and-four. There's a new series of Foyle's War and PBS is also airing a new murder mystery drama called The Bletchley Circle. 

*It's pronounced "Nave." Jeez, Britain. Learn English, will you?

Thinning the Herd

Lady Gillian recaps the final episode of Downton Abbey's third season for us. What twists await? Read on to see!

Let me preface this recap by saying I didn't really want to watch this episode because I accidentally read a spoiler a few weeks ago, so I've been aware that a highly foreshadowed death of a major character would be taking place during the season finale. What's that you say? You didn't see that coming? Well, I bet someone I won't mention wishes he'd seen a certain truck coming as well, so there you are. Finally, I just sat down and watched the damn thing, owing to my ability to live-text Clovis whilst I watched it. There's also the one-cent-per-word contribution I am making in [REDACTED]’s memory to the Isobel Crawley Home for Whores, Tarts and PROSTITUTES.

A year has passed since last week's episode. It is now 1921 and everyone’s going on a trip. Unfortunately for CNN, no one's booked a Carnival cruise; they're just heading up to visit the Flintshires at Duneagle in Scotland. Lil Sybbie is growing and is now big enough to point at things. Yes, Sibbie. Those are poor people. Yes, they are. Things remain (sexually?) tense between Jimmy and Thomas, although Thomas is acquitting himself admirably in his new role as under-butler.

Guess who's coming to dinner, Scottish cousins?

Mary is expecting a baby at last! Finally, the royal succession will no longer be in doubt. No one wants her to go to Duneagle so close to her time, considering the complete fucking mess that resulted from Sybil's pregnancy and all of her gallivanting about. Gregson telephones roving reporter Edith to let her know that he will be going to Scotland at the same time they will be at Duneagle. What a kowinkidink. Mary and Robert obviously suspect shenanigans. Cora wants to meet him, but Robert really does not, because really. I think we have quite enough low-born people in this family already. That's not even the best part about Gregson, Robert. Just. You. Wait.

The Flintshires are based in Scotland and we will hereafter refer to Lord Flintshire as "Shrimpie" not due in any part to his failings as a husband and father, but because of a childhood game in which Shrimpie and his siblings pretended to be various sea creatures. Seriously. Branson isn't coming with since he wasn't included in the invite since he's a Muggle so he's charged with dogsitting Isis. The Crawleys are taking basic bare-bones staff: Bates, Anna, O'Brien and Moseley.  

Much more after the jump.

Sodomy Laws and Modernization, Tonight on Masterpiece Classic!

This week's episode is two hours. Because CURSE YOU, JULIAN FELLOWES!!!

Bates is being released from prison! No one shanks him on the way out the door, and he and Anna reunite in a long-awaited embrace. Once they arrive at Downton, Bates interrupts breakfast! Mrs. Hughes, Carson, Daisy and Mrs. Patmore are happy to see him, but Thomas is not, obvs. At breakfast with the swells, Edith has a letter from her editor and her hair looks stellar! He's asked to meet her in London. Matthew encourages her to visit Lady Rosamund and buy some new clothes, but Robert does not want Edith being a lady reporter or updating her frumptastic wardrobe. He is Bitter McBitterpants, and gets up to leave, mentioning that Matthew has summoned Jarvis to a meeting. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Robert runs into Bates in the hallway and is super happy to see him. He offers Bates a cottage, and promises to sort out the valet situation with Thomas.

At Crawley House, Lady Violet is laying down the law to Isobel about having a PROSTITUTE work as her maid/cook. Violet says Ethel is notorious in the village, and she knows so. How does she know this? Because she's EVERYWHERE! 

Maybe because she's secretly an Animagus?

Violet informs Isobel that she's surrounded the family with a MIASMA of scandal and she should rid herself of Ethel straightaway. Ethel enters and Isobel praises her improvement in cooking. Ethel is grateful to have a skill. Violet says, "But you seem to have so many."

Cora and Robert are on speaking terms again. They discuss what Robert will do with two valets (the post-war era really is trying) and Cora spies the nursemaid taking Lil Sibbie out in her pram. Robert wants to know when Branson is moving out and Cora reminds him that Tom and the baby are their responsibility now.

Downstairs, Moseley asks what Thomas is going to do now that Bates is back. *Facepalm* Ivy enters, and Alfred announces  he's planning to see a moving picture! With Lillian Gish! Jimmy thinks the plot sounds a bit soppy (it does), and Ivy won't be seen in public alone with Alfred. Mrs. Hughes gives permission if other maids accompany them so as not to invite scandal.

Much more after the jump!

Anyone Who Has Use of Their Limbs Can Make a Salmon Mousse

Proudly serving up another piece of Downton Abbey recap (and fancy Russian-Franco dessert) is Lady Gillian! Enjoy!

Hello, Anglophiliacs! Observant folks will notice Jessica Brown-Findlay's name is now gone from the opening credits. Maybe she'll make a joint appearance with Lavinia's ghost in some future Ouija board session, but for now, we mourn.

We open with Robert bidding farewell to the funeral guests. Tom Branson, unsurprisingly, is completely lost. Matthew offers his and Mary's help, but Tom responds that he's beyond help. True dat.  He's going to have to contend with a disapproving father-in-law who doesn't want his granddaughter baptized Catholic or named after her mother. Godspeed. Things are still pretty poisonous between Cora and Robert, and agreeing (for once) that they'd like to get away from the awkwardness, Isobel and Violet leave Downton together.

The new maids downstairs are very silly pieces of work, and Anna nicely explains to them that they're all very sad about Lady Sybil's death, so stop giggling and find something to do. Carson wears his usual disapproving glare and walks out. What do they care, harumphs Carson to himself. I'm sure they'd all rather be out smoking and listening to that new jazz music! He complains to Mrs. Hughes who tells him that perhaps their mothers don't want them going into service anymore.

Inconceivable!

Thomas has been quite affected by Sybil's death, but he's still hot for Jimmy and gives his leg an affectionate squeeze. Jimmy squirms. Does Thomas's attention make Jimmy more uncomfortable than educating the working classes or votes for women? Or is it that he doesn't want to be found out?  Hmmm.

More intrigue, after the jump!

Does Murray Handle Malpractice Cases?

This recap contains SPOILERS. If you did not watch the most recent episode, and have also been living under a rock, PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER. STOP. GO BACK. THE BRIDGE IS OUT.

Hi, I'm Laura Linney and…this is why you should never get pregnant.

We open with Dr. Clarkson paying a prenatal nighttime visit to Downton to check on Lady Sybil. She apparently had labor pains, but it was a false alarm. Dr. Clarkson says she's fine. Robert arrogantly tells folksy country practitioner Clarkson that Sir Philip Tapsell, a fancy London doctor, will arrive tomorrow.

Downstairs, new kitchen maid Ivy is discussing her eventual baby-making plans. She's unmarried, so let's hope we have another Ethel in the making. There's a little bit of ho-yay served up at the tea table between Jimmy and Thomas. O'Brien looks as though she has had An Idea. Daisy is still pissed that Ivy…well, exists, really.

Upstairs, it's time for breakfast in bed with a side of "I'm taking over managing the estate" talk. Matthew's got ideas about how to turn things around and save Downton for future generations, and he doesn't want to upset Robert by letting him know he's been a giant fail in that department for the last several years. 

But I can't possibly be incompetent. I'm rich!

Over in Cora and Robert's room, Robert explains his decision to contact Tapsell. Clarkson misdiagnosed Matthew AND missed warning signs with Lavinia. Not his fault, really. Matthew's sudden cure was more than a tad unrealistic, and Lavinia was killed off for having an incurable case of being in the way.

Much more after the jump.

Stop Whining and Find Something to Do

Get out your shoulder pads and sparkly dresses! It's time for Dynasty Downton Abbey! Julian Fellowes has got his mojo on in this episode, so get out your newfangled electric toasting ovens and let's make some brioche! Carson is passing out envelopes to each member of the staff. Party invitations? Don't be silly. Those poor SOBs downstairs only get to have a party when someone hands them a sock. It's mail call. Once again, Anna hasn't gotten any letters from Bates.  We learn that Bates also isn't being allowed visitors, so we get to play the game of, "Who is unfairly picking on Bates now?"

Isobel has a letter from Ethel for Mrs. Hughes.  Mrs. Hughes asks after Ethel and learns that she's become a prostitute, which is not something we say at Downton Abbey. Isobel says "prostitute" with such relish that she really makes up for the lack of its utterance in other quarters.

Poor people sometimes have to make humiliating choices? Shocking!

Carson wants to know if he can now hire more staff since the influx of Matthew's capital. JobCreatory McInheritancepants wants to know if that's really necessary, and there's subtext that maybe what Matthew wants to do with his take in the estate is eliminate some positions. 

More after the jump.

Downton Abbey Part II - The Revenge of Auntie Mame

Hello again! Part II of Lady Gillian Ravescroft-Anderson's Downton Abbey recap, presented for your reading pleasure. 

Picking up from Part I, Branson shows up at Isobel’s after receiving a summons from m'lady to appear before her. Lady Violet is in the drawing room talking trash about Cora's mother. Lady Isobel says she likes it that Mrs. Levinson isn't overawed by the set-up at Downton. Lady Violet references Hyperion not being overawed by the Bourbons and I think that's our cue from Julian Fellowes to look this shit up on Google since we didn't all go to Eton. Branson apologizes for last night. It's all copacetic. Lady Violet and Lady Isobel are going to tailor one of Matthew's old morning coats to fit him. Branson refuses since a morning coat is the uniform of oppression. Yes.. Morning coat = chains. Branson's political views are really interesting, so sayeth the Dowager Lady V, but seriously. You look like shit. Now shut up and strip.

Outside Downton. Snazztastic red car pulls up in the drive and the music lets us know that it's an important guest. Cora's mother Shirley MacLaine has Auntie Mame’d her way across the Atlantic and arrived at Downton.

This is actually just how Shirley MacLaine spents her usual weekends remembering her most recent past life.

Mrs. Levinson (MacLaine) greets the girls. She reminds us that Sybil is pregnant, not chubby and that Edith’s life is a continuing narrative of He's Just Not that Into You. Then she tells Mary she's sure her wedding plans suck. Down in the servants' hall, we meet Mrs. Levinson's maid, Reed. Since Daisy's still on strike, it's up to the ladies' maids to get Mrs. Levinson her goat's milk and boiled water every day.

More after the jump!

Is It Just My New Plasma TV, or Was Everyone on This Show Always So Pasty?

Hello, Gentle Readers! Following up on Maggie Cats' review of the first episode of Downton Abbey Season 3, new guest blogger Lady Gillian Ravenscroft-Anderson has agreed to provide a full recap! Of course, a regular episode of Downton Abbey is hard enough to recap given the sheer number of scenes (seriously, can Julian Fellowes write more than five lines of dialogue at a time?), so we've broken the two-hour dramafest into two posts for your convenience. Take it away, Lady Gillian...

Downton Abbey is back and with it so many questions. Will Downton continue to survive as a grand estate? Will Matthew and Mary finally get married? Will Lady Edith continue to throw herself at an old one-armed coot find a husband? Which parlor maid will turn out to be a whore this season? Don't touch that dial! I've got a pot of coffee, a pile of blankets, and two hours of Anglophilia on my DVR. It's dark and I'm wearing sunglasses. I've got a lot of ground to cover here, so let's get started, shall we?

The cast of Upstairs, Downstairs takes the stage...

It's spring of 1920. There are fewer young men around to marry your pushing-30 daughters off to. We have less money, fewer maids and fewer footmen. The times they are a-changin'.The Crawleys of the Grantham estate have survived WWI more or less unscathed. Sir Julian Fellowes has run out of plot devices to keep Matthew (Dan Stevens) and Mary (Michelle Dockery) apart, so after well-nigh ten years of ostensible courtship, they are on track to get hitched.

Much more after the jump!

Abbey Roads

This post discusses the Season 3 premiere of Downton Abbey. Spoilers below!

As I sit here trying to formulate my thoughts for this blog post, two things have occurred to me. First, why the hell am I sitting here watching The Green Lantern on HBO? I mean this movie is terrible. And second, why is this picture of the Dowager Countess from Downton Abbey as a cat so hilarious?

I mean, come on. How amazing is this? Link with more pictures here, courtesy of Etsy. 

But enough procrastinating! The tv event of the winter occurred just a few days ago and things need to be said. And no, I am not talking about the playoff game where the Redskins got their ass handed to them (they started losing as soon as I started watching, natch)...but I am referring to the return of Downton Abbey Sunday night on PBS!

It's been almost a year since those wacky Brits were last on our television and the wait has been pure torture. Would Mary and Matthew actually get married? Would the show-down between Maggie Smith and Shirley Maclaine be epic? Would I give two shits about poor Mr. Bates sitting in jail? The answer to these questions are, in order, yes, eh, and nope.

But don't think I'm disappointed--this first episode was a return to form for the series which I think we can all admit stumbled a bit in its sophomore season. Old characters returned (Sybil and Branson!), new characters are introduced (Alfred the giant footman), the estate is in financial trouble again, Matthew and Mary FINALLY get married, Mrs. Hughes might have cancer (OMG), and of course, Cora's Mom played by Shirley Maclaine joined the cast. There were way too many plot points introduced in the two hour premiere to get into here, but for the most part, everything chugged right along with that kind of soapy, speedy, yet classy way that Downton is famous for. Except for the Bates stuff--I'm sorry I just don't care anymore. Everytime they cut to him in prison I eye-rolled.

Because bullet points are the way I roll, here are some other thoughts:

--I'm sorry, but I don't buy Matthew not taking that money and immediately sinking it into Downton. In the show's timeline it's been 8 years of him coming to the love the place as his own, and I cannot BELIEVE that he would for one minute let it be sold. Maybe in Season 1--no way in Season 3.

--Who ever thought Branson would be the voice of reason? Loved his character stuff, and Sir Anthony calling out the dude who drugged him.

--Mary's wedding dress = underwhelming. It was a beautiful white sack, but still a sack.

--Who thought letting Robert make financial decisions was a good idea? We all know Cora should be running that place. Glad to see he is over his stupid mid-life crisis thing though. When he told Cora, "thank god for you," I was glad he had moved on. But seriously. I wouldn't let him balance my checkbook much less run an estate.

--For a second there I was worried that they had dropped the whole Sybil is pregnant thing. But American Grandma made a reference to it.

--OMG BATES I DON'T CARE. Sorry--but it's the truth. Wouldn't it be awesome if he actually was a murderer?

--Thomas vs. O'Brien and I LOVE IT. I want more and I want them to go all Thunderdome on each other. This is seriously my favorite plot development.

--You go, Edith. Get what you want, girl. I loved her line about how all the young men she grew up with are dead. Don't forget, this is a post WWI world. Edith is going to be this season's truth-teller. Girl does not give a flying shit anymore and it's awesome. She is a Dowager Countess in training for reals.

--Is it just me or does Alfred the new footman look like he could be Eddie Redmayne's younger brother?

--The Maggie vs. Shirley showdown was ho-hum. I thought they should have let Maggie go all vicious on her, but instead Shirley got all the digs. I was also expecting more than just being constantly hit over the head with the "British people are slaves to tradition and Americans have no respect for it" cliche.

--and I almost forgot, MOSLEY! He might actually be my favorite. All he wants to do is help. LET HIM HELP YOU, MATTHEW.

There's still tons more to say, but my fingers are getting tired. So I'll just leave you with this: Downton Abbey's ratings DOUBLED from last year. I know Brits have a tendency to cancel things after a couple years, but come on guys. You should milk this cow for all it's worth.

My Heart Will Go On (For At Least Four Episodes)

There’s a story, one you may have heard, set in the first part of the 20^th century about mankind’s hubris. The story is about two young people, unknown to each other, who set out on a ship across an ocean and who meet along the way. Our two young heroes, hale and attractive as they are, are of course brought together despite the obstacles of class and society around them on board this ship, only to have it all threatened when the bloody thing encounters disaster in the form of an iceberg and sinks to the bottom of the sea, taking many other members of the world’s largest floating class metaphor with it.

But here’s the thing: this story is not Titanic. It’s Titanic. Confused? So were all the characters in the new miniseries that aired this year. That many of them also followed a narrative story similar to Jack and Rose, despite slight variations on their class, position on the ship, employment and background, only adds to the inevitable comparisons between the two.

 Yes, yes, yes. Get to the good stuff. Which characters have sex in a 1912 Renault in the ship's cargo hold?

This Titanic, not to be confused with the 1997 mega-blockbuster starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio as the K-Stew and R-Patz of the grunge era, comes to us from the mind of Julian Fellowes, better known as the creator of Downton Abbey. Just like that show, the miniseries uses the world of the British class system in 1912 as more of a backdrop to showcase the different lives of the people onboard the ship, rather than tell the story of the ship itself. And while the characters from the two shows aren’t exactly cookie-cutter versions of each other, viewers of Titanic will have no problem identifying the same tropes, from the ridiculously overly-wealthy countesses who are appalled at the indignity of having to board lifeboats that also hold second class passengers to the ever-present servants who, shockingly, have thoughts and opinions of their own, almost as if they were actual people.

It’s impossible not to compare this miniseries with James Cameron’s film. Many of the same types of characters populate both and, sadly, the quick-and-easy dualism that was so strong in the film hasn’t really gone anywhere for the miniseries. The upper classes are uniformly stuck-up, entitled (literally, in many cases) and turning up their noses at all the immigrants and other mundanes who didn’t have the decency to be born with an estate. The Steerage and the working class are all honest, hard-working, pure of heart folk who just want a life of opportunity in (say it with me, preferably with an Irish accent) “The New World.” Each class of course has an exception; Amongst the First Class it’s Lady Georgiana who at 17 years old is blue-blood, but has a proclivity for attending Suffragist rallies and being attracted to “revolutionaries and freedom fighters.” In the bowels of the ship, it’s Peter Lubov, an immigrant who murdered London police officers and convinces a young Irish mother to have an affair, despite her husband and children being only decks away.

 With so many different kinds of us on board, you'd almost think there was a metaphor at play here. Oh who cares - Waiter, more freshly ground immigrant pate, please!

The focus on the wide variety of characters is really the only thing about this version of the story that makes it worthwhile watching over Cameron’s film or even other earlier films like A Night To Remember. The story is told slightly out of sequence; each of the first three episodes roughly follows a different class from their boarding of the ship right up until the critical moments of the sinking as the prow slides under the water and the true panic sets in. The fourth and final episode ties all three classes together and resolves the plotlines, including who lives and who dies. This multi-perspective approach gives the miniseries it’s only real toe-hold on the Titanic cinematic legacy, oftentimes showing the same scene two or three times only from the perspective of the different classes each time. The end result is a central character in episode one is barely a tertiary character in episode three and though we see some of the same action, each time around we see it with all the antecedents of a different class, and cast, of characters.

All this attention on the people, of course, means that we get very little attention on the actual ship. Unlike Cameron’s film, in which Titanic was as much of a character as the romantic leads were, we really barely see her at all. Almost no attention whatsoever is paid to the ship herself, save for the one moment in each of the first three episodes when the iceberg is either spotted or when it collides with the ship and her final plunge into depths, and even that is only seen in the background as a bunch of cold, wealthy people shiver in their furs and wonder when another boat will come to rescue them. As such, the entire series feels like it could have been set in a typical English drawing room, right up until those surreal moments when the world’s axis starts to shift, literally and metaphorically, and water and immigrants begin to rush into the luxurious sets.   

 Or as modern day Republicans call it, "Class Warfare."

Your mileage may vary as to how important Titanic herself is to the story of her sinking. As it is, there are plenty of real-life luminaries to focus on, including all the usual suspects in the form of Molly Brown, J. Bruce Ismay, the Astors and Captain Smith. The “downstairs” contingent is made largely of fictitious names, seeing as how many of the real-life staff of the Titanic didn’t exactly survive to make names of themselves. The exception, again, being Peter Lubov, who was a real gang leader in London’s East End in 1911, escaping from the city never to be heard from again. You know, until he boarded the Titanic and got sexy with an Irish lady. Or so we’re told.

Because 2012 is the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, the obsession with the event is understandable and, to the extent that it can, the miniseries attempts to wrap itself around what has long been the central perception of that tragedy; that the ship was a microcosm of the nascent 20^th century not only in how unfortunately proud mankind was for building an “unsinkable” ship, but also for the various class divides that were only starting to be questioned and found wanting.  Unfortunately, it lacks for the time to really explore the issues, since when your ship is slowly sinking into the Atlantic Ocean, not many characters are inclined to wax philosophical about the Bigger Meaning Of It All. As viewers, we’re left both expecting it to hit the same action-y notes as the film and hoping that it will give us something more. Truly, a titanic task. (Sorry. I had to go there.) As such, it comes off a little like a smaller version of both the more famous film and its spiritual predecessor, Downton Abbey. Still worth the watch, especially for Titanic buffs, but like several of the characters in the end, you’ll be left feeling a bit at sea.