DOWNTON ABBEY

Years ago, I recall the concern expressed by the public that TV was eliminating the cinemas. The cost of a movie was getting high and people were staying home and watching TV because it was cheaper, and the stuff being produced in Hollywood was not like it used to be.

Fast-forward to today and the landscape has changed for both TV and the cinema in terms of quality. The cinema is getting help from the unlikeliest of places, TV!

An extremely successful TV series from England (where else) came along called: Downton Abbey. One of the best acted, directed and art directed shows Downton Abby was so popular that after its successful run it is now a Movie! My wife and I both looked forward to the series and enjoyed every one of them. We were both saddened when it left the air and miss it to this day.

Yesterday morning, when I came downstairs for my coffee I was greeted by:

Ellen: “WE have a date!”

Me: “What do you mean. We had one long ago and look what happened.”

Ellen: “No buzz head, I got us tickets on-line for the movie Downton Abbey!

Me: “You DID! WOW!

Yes, I was enthusiastic. The best TV ever had come to the cinema and now becomes the greatest product overall ever made.

When I was in college, I took several courses in TV production and cinema, learning so much about movie-making it distracted me from ever watching movies again. The lighting, camera angle and positioning of actors and scenes were so interesting in the production that I look for these things now and it takes a little away from the storyline. Black and white movies are particularly interesting and were such a great art form that not even a canvas could produce this momentary picture that advances onto another then another.

So, this afternoon I go with my (date) and see the movie version. I hope it is as good as the TV show.