Downton Abbey: Season 1 Downton Abbey #1

Somehow I’m always surprised when a highly rated show is actually good. 😄

From a modern, American, middle-class point of view, the idea of the early 1900s British Aristocracy is just so strange. They do next nothing (useful) and have an entire staff to support it. The entire estate could go to a cousin they’d never met and there’s nothing they can do about it … is so strange.

And yet… it’s oddly charming?

The Grantham’s are fascinating. Sybil seems good people, Edith is certainly going to figure out how to come into her own, Mary is spoiled and needlessly cruel–but may be learning. Lord and Lady Grantham are fun, if somewhat alien–and I do love watching Lord Grantham try and completely fail to wrangle three young adult daughters. 😄

The shining jewel of the family Dame Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess of Grantham. Oh she’s just wonderful.

Among the staff, you have a whole ’nother level of politics. They’re all great and terrible (as they should be) and there are every bit as many problems and politics as there are among the ‘family’. Turns out people are people no matter how much money they have or do not.

Man that’s a crazy amount to fit into seven episodes.

Onward… to war!

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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Well that’s quite the thing.

They couldn’t/didn’t get the rights to the third age, so instead we get much older stories. Stories after the fall of Morgoth but still during the end of the era of Elves and Númenor. Before the rise of the kingdoms of Men.

There’s a lot crammed into eight episodes. One might argue too much. Leaves some stories a bit thin. But really, having seen them, I don’t know what I’d cut.

Worth a watch. Looking forward to season two!

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The Little Drummer Boy

That’s cute. A fun art style that really fits these videos, it’s something I watched each year when I was younger. Great to see once again. And it’s not any more out of date than it was before then. It’s interesting to realize that the song only came about in the 40s and this was only made into a movie in the 60s. Especially since that means that for such a well know ‘Christmas’ story, it’s really got very little backend religiously.

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