The pomp! The etiquette! The accents! The Brits are back in the Abbey! Downton Abbey, that is. The movie is reuniting some fan faves while introducing some new faces. Lord Alex Miranda, 17th Earl of Kendallshire, joins us with a look.
How do you do? Lady Shireen and Mr. Van Vliet, fans have been in love with the “Downton Abbey” characters for nearly a decade at this point.
Now with the movie coming out, they’re gathering their quids and giving us some insight into the insane fandom.
Maggie Smith (as Violet Crawley): “How’s it all going?”
Hugh Bonneville (as Robert Crawley): “Mary’s got it under control.”
Michelle Dockery (as Lady Mary Talbot): “Hardly.”
The bougie British bunch is back in the Abbey — this time on the big screen.
Hugh Bonneville (as Robert Crawley): “No maid, no valet, no nanny, even!”
Harry Hadden-Paton (as Bertie Hexham): “It’s 1927. We’re modern folk.”
Robert James-Collier, “Mr. Barrow”: “I think there’s a fascination with everyone around the world with the British royal family, so I think a lot of people are tuning in because we’re an extension of that, I guess.”
Hugh Bonneville (as Robert Crawley): “The king and queen are coming to Downton.”
Michelle Dockery (as Lady Mary Talbot): “What?”
In drawing rooms from Manchester to Miami, Downton’s aristocratic agenda appeals to both women and men.
Phyllis Logan, “Mrs. Hughes”: “Some DJ started a ‘Downton Abbey’ man club or something, and everybody, all men, would phone in from their trucks on the edge of a motorway service station saying, ‘Oh, yeah, I love watching it, it’s great, and I cried when such and such happened.'”
Michelle Dockery (as Lady Mary Talbot): “I need your help, Carson.”
Jim Carter (as Mr. Carson): “I’ll be there in the morning, my lady.”
Characters like Mr. Carson have inspired the kind of devotion usually reserved for superheroes. He’s like the Iron Man of the Abbey.
Jim Carter, “Mr. Carson”: “I’ve had several puppies and a baby named Carson.”
Phyllis Logan: “Carson’s a good name.”
Jim Carter, “Mr. Carson”: “And a picture of a baby dressed as a butler with silver all around it, rather dangerously.”
Maggie Smith (as Violet Crawley): “Will you have enough clichés to get you though the visit?”
Penelope Wilton (as Isobel Merton): “If not, I’ll come to you.”
Maggie Smith (as Violet Crawley): “Oh, here we go.”
Quips from countesses and tiffs between toffs compete for attention with the scandalous affairs of footmen and butlers below stairs. Fans are already talking sequel.
Lesley Nicol (as Mrs. Patmore): “A royal luncheon, a parade and a dinner?! I’m going to have to sit down.”
So, are they down for more Downton?
Hugh Bonneville, “Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham”: “As long as our audience, our loyal TV audience, gets out of its armchairs and goes to the cinema and enjoys this first one, then yeah, why not?”
Jim Carter: “If they leave a clean plate. If they finish all their first helping of Mrs. Patmore’s pudding, then of course we shall have second helpings. Why not?”
Elizabeth McGovern (as Cora Crawley): “Your Majesties, welcome to Downton Abbey.”
“Downton Abbey” is in theaters now. Well, probably not right now, since it’s so late, but you can catch the movie, which will be smashing good fun, anytime this weekend.
Cheerio!
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