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thisbluespiritMaureen O'Brien in S1 of The Duchess of Duke Street. Plus, have some Gemma Jones caps I did for Tumblr. (She is awesome, and so are her dresses.)
I finished it today. I would say, what do I do now? But the truth is I got a bit down last week and used up the last of my birthday money on more David Collings things. So I have that. But I hope my Mum and possibly my sister don't borrow the DVDs for too long. I feel they're going to be something I'll want to rewatch bits of frequently. (Also, the ending: ahaha. My secret head!canon ships all became real.)
Plus, and more on this later (and below). I noticed a distinct couple of plot similarities to Downton Abbey. And guess who was in S2? Julian Fellowes. LOL. (Not that I'm saying anything - as it's sort of based on a real story, and also an old and well-known series, it's fair game for reworking. And maybe it's a little in-jokey nod, too?)
Sometimes Louisa Trotter verges on being a bit of caricature, but Gemma Jones is always brilliant. (She is apparently based on a real person called Rosa Lewis, who ran the Cavendish Hotel, and was nicknamed The Duchess of Jermyn Street. The hotel had another entrance - onto Duke Street. I was looking at her Wikipedia entry - it sounds as if her life was even more eventful than the series managed to make it! They telesoped the timespan into 25 years - understandably - whereas she worked for more people all over the place before getting the hotel.
In mid S1, Maureen O'Brien turned up, which was a nice surprise for a 1960s DW fan. And this is the bit where it stars to sound a little familiar...
Joseph Starr, the porter at the Bentinck, is an ex-serviceman with a mysterious history that he won't talk about. It turns out to be largely the fault of his estranged wife, who turns up, is a thief, and is later found dead in suspicious circumstances (they think it might be suicide, but it's most likely murder). (This is not at all similar to anything in any other series set in the same period, in the early 1900s... Oh, wait. It is. Remarkably similar. And a chauffeur and a society lady fell in love in S2...)
Maureen O'Brien as Lizzy Starr.
And then there is implied sex. (I was instantly shocked at the idea. It's Vicki! 0_o)
There will be more at some point. Probably quite a few more. Lalla Ward was in the last few episodes and got to sing, dance, do a bad Yorkshire accent and wear lots of nice 1920s dresses. Also, more Gemma Jones. Yes.
(I am slightly worried about my new-old David Collings thing, though. It occurs to me to fear the worst: maybe they made him wear a wig?)
I'm sorry. I'm tired. I'm not entirely making sense. Just look at the pretty pictures, okay?
I finished it today. I would say, what do I do now? But the truth is I got a bit down last week and used up the last of my birthday money on more David Collings things. So I have that. But I hope my Mum and possibly my sister don't borrow the DVDs for too long. I feel they're going to be something I'll want to rewatch bits of frequently. (Also, the ending: ahaha. My secret head!canon ships all became real.)
Plus, and more on this later (and below). I noticed a distinct couple of plot similarities to Downton Abbey. And guess who was in S2? Julian Fellowes. LOL. (Not that I'm saying anything - as it's sort of based on a real story, and also an old and well-known series, it's fair game for reworking. And maybe it's a little in-jokey nod, too?)
Sometimes Louisa Trotter verges on being a bit of caricature, but Gemma Jones is always brilliant. (She is apparently based on a real person called Rosa Lewis, who ran the Cavendish Hotel, and was nicknamed The Duchess of Jermyn Street. The hotel had another entrance - onto Duke Street. I was looking at her Wikipedia entry - it sounds as if her life was even more eventful than the series managed to make it! They telesoped the timespan into 25 years - understandably - whereas she worked for more people all over the place before getting the hotel.
In mid S1, Maureen O'Brien turned up, which was a nice surprise for a 1960s DW fan. And this is the bit where it stars to sound a little familiar...
Joseph Starr, the porter at the Bentinck, is an ex-serviceman with a mysterious history that he won't talk about. It turns out to be largely the fault of his estranged wife, who turns up, is a thief, and is later found dead in suspicious circumstances (they think it might be suicide, but it's most likely murder). (This is not at all similar to anything in any other series set in the same period, in the early 1900s... Oh, wait. It is. Remarkably similar. And a chauffeur and a society lady fell in love in S2...)
Maureen O'Brien as Lizzy Starr.
And then there is implied sex. (I was instantly shocked at the idea. It's Vicki! 0_o)
There will be more at some point. Probably quite a few more. Lalla Ward was in the last few episodes and got to sing, dance, do a bad Yorkshire accent and wear lots of nice 1920s dresses. Also, more Gemma Jones. Yes.
(I am slightly worried about my new-old David Collings thing, though. It occurs to me to fear the worst: maybe they made him wear a wig?)
I'm sorry. I'm tired. I'm not entirely making sense. Just look at the pretty pictures, okay?
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Date: 23 Jul 2012 08:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 24 Jul 2012 12:14 pm (UTC)And in the meantime, I'll just jog your memory with gratuitous screencaps.
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Date: 24 Jul 2012 06:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 24 Jul 2012 12:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 24 Jul 2012 02:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 24 Jul 2012 07:46 pm (UTC)Lalla Ward was in the last few episodes and got to sing, dance, do a bad Yorkshire accent and wear lots of nice 1920s dresses.
You're probably making that sound better than it really is, alas. ;D
My...that is a remarkable coincidence, isn't it, Mr Fellowes? ;D As you say, though, fair game I would say at this sort of remove. Which reminds me of the idea I had re Downton while I was on holiday - the only way the series can truly end is with the final episode fast-forwarding as close to the present day as is chronologically credible and showing a very, very old Mary and/or Matthew (assuming nothing bad happens to them in the meantime) opening the house up to the coach parties, guided tours etc. Just a thought, anyway.
And I don't understand why anybody would cast an actor with remarkable hair like Mr Collings has just to make them wear a wig. The mind boggles. ;)
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Date: 25 Jul 2012 07:30 am (UTC)There will, as you can imagine, be further picspams from me, anyway - I was highly amused to find General von Klinkhoffen turning up in the WWI section as an officious British captain. (So - General von Klinkerhoffen spent WWI as an undercover agent? Heh.) It looks as though Hillary Minster spent his whole career playing bullying officers of one sort or another. And I'll post Lalla, too! (She's prettier than Hillary Minster).
The plot similarity really is too striking to be a coincidence, but I think it's probably in part a little nod/tribute to it, especially as Julian Fellowes was actually in it.
:lol: I am for some reason amused at the idea of you wondering around a pencil museum/the Lake District in the rain planning how to end Downton Abbey. And, actually, I kind of think that, too. :-)
And I don't understand why anybody would cast an actor with remarkable hair like Mr Collings has just to make them wear a wig. The mind boggles.
Revenge of the Cybermen and Mawdryn Undead? :lol: Anyway, he wasn't; it was okay. A hat, but not a wig. (Although it wasn't the same thing I posted yesterday evening. I got two things with David Collings in - The Shadow of the Tower [1972], and The Strange Report [1968]. Although given that he was killed in five minutes in The Strange Report, I think me describing it as a thing with David Collings in is slightly misleading. But it has lots of Anneke Wills, anyway.)
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Date: 25 Jul 2012 12:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 25 Jul 2012 06:52 pm (UTC)