DianeClehane.com

DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON TWO EPISODE SIX RECAP

2012-02-13T10:20:00.024-05:00

If this was the pre-finale episode, God knows what we can expect in Downton's final episode of the season. I know I sound like a broken record, but Julian Fellowes packs so much into every episode it's head spinning. Last night, there were four engagements and a funeral. Positively epic! I hadn't known that last night's broadcast, billed as episode seven, which actually aired as two separate shows when it was shown in the UK, was going to be two hours long. Although I could have easily paused it on my television, I dared not move from my sofa for fear of missing one withering look from Lady Mary, a brief but telling exchange between O'Brien and Thomas, a disapproving harrumph from Carson or a clever line of dialogue uttered by Violet. And it's a good thing, because there wasn't a wasted minute of this supersized edition of Downton.

It's 1919 and the last vestiges of war have been removed from Downton. Most of its inhabitants find themselves at loose ends unsure of what they're to do now that the wounded (at least the ones with the visible scars) have left the great house.

The marriage of Lord and Lady Grantham seems to have been severely battered by the war as we see the couple at opposite ends of virtually every argument. When Cora raises the issue about Matthew leaving Downton now that all the other patients have gone so that he -- and Mary -- can get on with their lives, Robert is aghast and heads out on a walk to the village. It's become clearer with every episode that Lord Grantham feels overwhelmed by the estrogen level at Downton and craves the camaraderie of a son. He meets Jane on the grounds and inquires about her son, the 12 year-old Freddie, and tells her he's written to the headmaster of Rippan Grammar to help the boy gain acceptance to the school. Looking for someone to share his despondency, he asks her if she misses her husband to which he replies, "I have Freddie." The Earl tells her he is haunted by his thoughts of "Poor William" and paralyzed Matthew. "Do you ever wonder what it was all for?" he asks the stunned housemaid before she scurries off into the house.

When Sir Richard arrives he seems to sense Lord Grantham's mood perfectly when he says, "When the war is over the first emotion is relief; the second is disappointment." How true, says his lordship, let's get some tea.

Thomas, no longer able to hide behind his uniform and determined to leave his former life of service behind, has decided to try his hand in the black market and boasts to O'Brien that despite investing all his money buying a stash to resell to customers like Mrs. Patmore he'll be "well fixed as soon as the word gets out." In the meantime, Thomas tells her he'll wrangle a few weeks stay at Downton until the money starts rolling in. "I shouldn't count on it," says O'Brien who knows Thomas isn't exactly loved by anyone upstairs or downstairs at the house.

Bates, (Who for some reason, I'm feeling a bit annoyed with -- perhaps because he's put our good hearted Anna through so much), is dressing Lord Grantham for dinner when his lordship absentmindedly wonders aloud why Vera didn't leave a note if she committed suicide and raises the question of where she got the poison then apologizes for raising the issue with Bates. Anna, in the meantime, is stopped in the hallway by Sir Richard who asks her into his bedroom (which is not so coincidentally just the right shade of red for the devil's lair) and basically bribes her to spy on Lady Mary and report back on who she sees, where she goes and what she says. What a guy.

Later, the entire family gathers for dinner when the topic of the 'new fashions' come up. It's an amusing scene which cleverly informs the viewer about just how much the world has changed since the war and who is and isn't a fan of the dawning of the new post-war age. Having exchanged his formal cutaway for a tuxedo as is the latest style now, Lord Grantham jokes that he almost came down in a "dinner jacket" to which Violet replies, "Why not a dressing gown or pajamas?" Ever the modern woman, Isobel says she likes the "new fashions -- shorter skirts, looser cuts" because they're better for "getting things done." The old, restrictive clothes were better suited for swanning around on a chaise lounge. "I'll stick to the chaise lounge," says Violet.

Sybil, disbelieving that Granny isn't a fan of the new way of doing things says, "Surely you can't want things to go back to the way they used to be?" to which Violet replies: "Of course I do and as quickly as possible." What about you, Papa? Sybil asks. Lord Grantham, looking glum, tells his family: "Before the war I believe my life had meaning, I'd like to feel that once again." Someone is having one hell of a mid-life crisis.

When Mary mentions the boyish women's haircuts that are all the rage in Paris, Matthew says he hopes she won't try one. Lavina and Richard try to reinsert themselves back into their respective fiance's bandwidths to no avail. Lavina pipes up with: "I don't know how feminine they are." Mary's retort: "I don't know how feminine I am" and Sir Richard's lame attempt at reminding her he's in the room: "Very, I'm glad to say."

Listening to her father and "Granny" pine for the way things used to be send Sybil (almost) into the arms of Branson and she leaves the house and goes to the garage. She tells him, "I feel so flat after the hustle and bustle of the last two years" and that she knows now she can't go back to the old way of life. Hearing all this, Branson expectantly asks her if she's made up her mind about running away with him. "Not quite," she tells him.

At the end of the evening Carson and Mrs. Hughes are sitting in the servants quarters having tea as he regales her with tales of all the new kitchen and bathroom gadgets to be used at Haxby Park describing then as "something out of a film with Theda Bara." Mrs. Hughes, who, I'm convinced, would have gladly been Anna to Carson's Bates, asks him, "Will you be happy there?"

"I will regret leaving Downton every minute of every day," he says. I have to say, Carson is the role Jim Carter was born to play. (Carson has so many great scenes in this episode thanks to Carter's pitch perfect depiction of the butler's snobbery and confusion over the emerging new world order.) "I thought I'd die here and haunt it ever after, but I think I can help (Mary) in those early years when it's important to get it right." Mrs. Hughes, who has never been a big fan of Mary, tells Carson she thinks her ladyship is an "uppity minx" (How great is that!) "who's the author of her own misfortunes." Just then, Anna comes in and tells both of them of Sir Richard's attempt to bribe her.

Upstairs, Bates is helping Matthew into bed when the long suffering Captain Crawley reveals to the valet that he's been feeling a tingling in his legs but that Dr. Clarkson is dismissing it as an illusion. Bates, who seems to have lost all patience for everyone at this point, tells him if it's real, he'll know soon enough. Matthew swears him to secrecy for fear of getting 'anyone's' (read: Mary) hopes up.

With word that Major Mustache's parents are going to be paying a visit to Downton, Mrs. Hughes goes to see Ethel and tells her she can come hide out in the house and if the opportunity presents itself, the housekeeper will arrange for her to speak to the major's mother and introduce her to her grandson, Charlie, who is now about a year old. Mrs. Hughes seems to have garnered the powers of ESP when she tells the young woman that her only hope of getting help to raise Charlie is by appealing to her lover's mother.

Carson tells Mary about Sir Richard's attempt to spy on her and given the circumstances, he won't leave Downton to work for the couple. Furious at being "abandoned," Mary chastises Carson reminding him that they both knew what kind of man she was marrying ("We were to educate him together -- that was the plan!") and then tells her favorite servant how disappointed she is in him. Her hard protective shell forms almost immediately when she dismisses his decision as unimportant when Richard interrupts them and she tells him of Carson's decision saying, "Butlers will be two-a-penny now that they're back from the war."

Lord Grantham and Jane meet just outside the dining room when his lordship, looking for Carson, stops to inspect the wine for the evening's dinner. Jane tells Lord G their earlier conversation "made me sad." Looking completely forlorn, this lordship tells her: "I'm a foolish man who's lost his way and doesn't know how to find it again." That's for sure. He lunges at her for a kiss. This is completely out of character for Lord Grantham and is distressing to me. He's Downton's rock! How can you do this to us, Julian Fellowes? As if he's heard my gasp through the television set, he pulls away from Jane and apologizes to her for his 'ungentlemanly' behavior. Jane skitters back to the kitchen when she finds Carson and, although completely flustered, manages to tell him his lordship is looking for him.

Carson tells Lord Grantham about Sir Richard's bribery of Anna and says because of it, he won't be leaving Downton after all. "I couldn't work for a man I don't respect," he says. Let's hope he never finds out about Jane since we know how tolerant Carson is when it comes to giving people a pass for giving into sexual impulses. If only he knew the people two he loved most were idols with feet of clay.

Matthew and Lavinia are in the drawing room when Lavina decides to bring a heavy tray left behind by the servants into the kitchen. What happens next is like a scene is straight out of the pages of an All My Children script, but I don't care, it worked. Lavina trips heading straight into the fireplace when Matthew rises just in the nick of time from his wheelchair to catch her. He can walk!

Lord Grantham gathers everyone downstairs to bear witness to the miracle including Dr. Clarkson, who is forced to admit his misdiagnosis. It turns out that the other doctor that examined Matthew when he first came back from the war diagnosed him as having spinal shock and predicted Matthew would eventually recover. (Nice save, Julian Fellowes) I'd say Clarkson got a pretty bad track record between this and his horrible mistake of misjudging that poor blinded solider who, after being told he had to leave Downton by the good doctor earlier than he was ready to do, committed suicide. Hope your malpractice insurance is paid up, doc! There seems to be no hard feelings, because Lord Grantham invites Clarkson to stay for dinner to celebrate even if he isn't wearing evening clothes.

While the rest of the house is celebrating upstairs, Bates drops another bomb on Anna in yet another hallway encounter telling her that it was he who bought the rat poison Vera must have taken several months back when she asked him to get it for some unknown reason. Anna begs him to tell the police immediately so as not to look like he's hiding anything. This can't be good.

At dinner Matthew announces he and Lavina will be married "As soon as I'm well enough to walk down the aisle" and then asks if the couple can have their nuptials at Downton so as to "bury the memory of what I hope was the darkest period of my life." Lord Grantham agrees, Cora seethes and Mary looks as if someone has just slapped her across the face.

Tired of watching other people get on with their lives while hers remains in limbo, Sybil goes to Branson and tells him: "My answer is I'm ready to travel and you're my ticket to get away from this house and this life." Not exactly 'I love you and want to be with you' but Branson is too excited to notice. You don't mind burning your bridges? he asks her. "Fetch me the matches! And yes, you can kiss me," she tells him. At last.

All is not well in the Grantham's room at bedtime. While his lordship is thrilled about Matthew's plans to marry at Downton, Cora is none too pleased about not being consulted on the decision to host the wedding and reminds her husband that by allowing Matthew and Lavina to get married at Downton, he has delayed Mary's wedding all because Matthew was "lame." Robert explodes at his wife calling her remarks "stupid and selfish."

Mrs. Patmore decides to take Thomas up on his offer and asks him to secure the hard to get ingredients she'll need for the wedding cake for Matthew and Lavina. When will he get paid? asks O'Brien. "When I'm satisfied," the crafty cooks tells them. Seems like the dastardly duo have met their match.

When Major Mustache's parents arrive it's easy to see where the cad got his charming manners. His father is an absolute tyrant ordering his chauffeur to stay in the car and telling Lord and Lady Grantham they have to "eat and run" despite all the effort that has been made to bring together all of those at Downton who knew the major so his family could ask questions of them. When Mrs. Hughes tries and fails to get a few minutes alone with the major's mother, she goes to Ethel and tells her the meeting she had hoped for isn't going to happen. Ethel is undeterred, and with Charlie in her arms, bursts into the dining room and confronts the major's parents.

"What proof have you?" blusters Major Mustache's father. When Ethel tries to tell the man his son knew about the child but would not acknowledge him, the man cuts her down calling her an opportunist preying on the grief of a rich couple who lost their own son (only he says it in a much nastier way). Ethel leaves the room in tears and Major Mustache's father announces lunch is over. "He's terrified of his own grief, that's why he acts this way," offers his beaten down wife as they exit. When the couple depart, Sir Richard offers his usual kind hearted take on the situation telling the others that Ethel has no legal grounds and the baby is "her bastard" (I don't know why this sounds so incredibly harsh given the expletives we hear today, but it does. I cringed every time the word is uttered in this episode). Ever the gentleman, Matthew asks his mother if one of the refugee organizations she is now working with could help the unwed mother and child. Isobel explains Ethel is not a refugee and the budgets of these organizations are already stretched to the limit. Mary, who has seemingly morphed back into the wicked witch since Matthew's miraculous recovery, says coldly: "She's made her choice and she's stuck with it. Aren't all of us stuck with the choices we make?" Some more than others, my dear.

That night Violet goes to Matthew and bluntly tells him Mary is still in love with him. Shocked (although I don't know why) Matthew sputters a response about not being able to leave Lavina since she is the one who vowed to take care him when there was no hope of a 'normal life.' It would be bad form to throw her over now. And anyway, he says, Mary is marrying Sir Richard. "Let's not muddy the pool by discussing Sir Richard" says Violet. Finally, she leaves Matthew with this: "Marriage is a long business. There's no getting out of it for our kind of people. You may have 40 or 50 years with one of these women -- make sure you have selected the right one."

Sir Richard "impatient" to set a date for his wedding to Mary, gets her to agree to marrying at the end of July. You don't sound very excited, he says. "To quote you," she replies. "That's not who we are." Mary tells him she knows of his attempt to spy on her. If you want to know something about me, just ask, she says. Okay, then. Sir Richard asks her if she's still in love with Matthew (what was your first clue?) and she tells him she'd never love someone who prefers someone else.

More from the doomed-from-the-start love department: Bates tells Anna that Vera wrote to a friend before her death telling her she feared for her life because of Bates' anger.

Somehow Anna finds the strength to brush her own troubled love life aside and help Mary and Edith find Sybil when they discover she's run off with Branson. They find the couple at The Swan Inn. When they burst in, everything is as chaste as can be. Sybil is sleeping fully clothed on the bed and Branson is dozing in a nearby chair. Sweet. Mary and Edith convince their sister to return to Downton so Sybil can talk to her parents about her plans and not 'sneak off like a thief in the night.' Branson knows Mary will try her best to talk Sybil out of marrying the chauffeur, but Sybil reassures him her mind is made up.

Unaware of all that's happened with his daughters, Lord Grantham and Cora have another snippy exchange at breakfast the next morning when Cora tells him she's too busy to spend time with him because she's helping Isobel with her work with the refugees and not to hold lunch for her if she's late. He doesn't understand the change in his wife. "The war changed everybody," Cora tells her sullen husband. "Not me," he says. "Don't be so sure," she admonishes. When he's left alone in the dining room, Jane appears out of nowhere (in a bit of a creepy way) to tell him she's resigning her post. The needy Lord Grantham talks her out of it. You won't lose your livelihood because of my ungentlemanly behavior, he tells her.

When Mrs. Patmore discovers Thomas' baking supplies consist mostly of plaster dust after she and Daisy try a bite of the sample cake, Thomas realizes he's been taken by a man he met in a pub. When he completely loses it in front of O'Brien in the shed where he's been keeping his stash I feel momentarily sorry for him. All things considered, he's something of a tragic figure. Desperate and broke, he goes hat in hand to ask Carson if he can stay on at Downton while he looks for work. "I cannot say I sympathize when you dabble in the black market," Carson tells him whose dislike for Thomas goes back to season one when he knew the former footman was stealing wine. He tells him he must go.

Fast forward three months. The house is being readied for Matthew and Lavinia's wedding. One night with the family gathered before dinner, Lord Grantham finally learns of Sybil and Branson's plans and explodes at the sight of the former chauffeur in the drawing room. "I will not allow my daughter to throw away her life!" Violet tries to calm things and asks her granddaughter about her plans. Sybil tells the family that Branson (his first name is Tom!) has gotten a job as a journalist (Now there's a bright future) and that she will move to Dublin to be with him and work as a nurse. Cora, whose eyes look as if they're going to fall out of her head any moment, is horrified at the prospect that her unmarried daughter will live with a man. No, says Sybil, they will be married. Lord Grantham refuses to give his blessing. Branson gets the same warm reception downstairs when he tries to tell the servants of his plans. "Have you no shame!?" bellows Carson. (He's the only character who could utter this line convincingly and he does with great flourish). Poor Carson, he is the biggest snob at Downton and continues to be flummoxed by all the changes around him.

Violet finds Edith sorting through Matthew and Lavina's wedding presents (I really hope this poor girl finds love in season three, she's more than earned it) while looking for Lord Grantham. Edith tells her he's upstairs talking with Sybil. "I'm afraid it will end in tears," says Violet. "They won't be Sybil's," says Edith having wisely assessed her sister's determination to live her own life. Edith tells Violet she worries that she'll wind up "the maiden aunt" to which Violet tells her to buck up. "Don't be defeatist. It's very middle class."

Sybil and Lord Grantham are indeed battling it out upstairs when Violet joins the fray telling her that all this drama is better suited for novels than for real life. The youngest Grantham daughter is resolute: "I will not give him up!" Lord Grantham issues a threat: "There will be no more money. Your life will be very different." Sybil is unmoved. "Bully for that!"

Cora and Lord Grantham argue over Sybil's behavior. Cora says that perhaps they have chosen not to see their daughter for who she really is. Here comes my favorite line of the night: "If you're turning American on me, I'll go downstairs." (By this time I've lost count of the exact number of all the great lines uttered in tonight's episode)

Anna seems to have grown a backbone finally when she tells Bates she doesn't care what it takes, but they are to be married as soon as possible so if there is trouble with the police, she is her love's next of kin and can be kept informed of what's happening. "You can't deny me that," she tells him. Oh, so I want this to end well, but we all know it can't, don't we?

That night, Carson, Mosley, Cora and Lavina suddenly become ill. Everyone but Mosley (who, it turns out is drunk from sampling too much of the wines he was serving for dinner) has fallen victim to the Spanish Flu. At first, Cora seems like she won't survive. Racked with guilt over causing Cora's miscarriage all those months ago, O'Brien refuses to leave her ladyship's bedside. At one point, she tries to confess all to Cora but stops when it's clear she's too ill to understand what's being said.

Later that night, Mary sees Matthew trying out the new gramophone and before you know it, the ill-fated exes are waltzing around the floor to "Look for the Silver Lining" from the flop "Zip Goes a Million." "We were a flop," says Mary. Matthew lets his guard down and sounds completely devastated when he replies, "Oh God, Mary, I'm so so sorry." Mary tells him it was her fault and he reveals that Violet came to him a while back to tell him Mary still loved him. Undaunted, Mary calls the move "classic Granny." Matthew then tells her, "I couldn't ... however much I want to." Then they kiss only to be interrupted by Lavinia who later tells Matthew she never wants to be "a nuisance" imploring him, "don't ever let me get in the way."

Acting out in a major way, Lord Grantham shares a somewhat steamier exchange with Jane who upon hearing he's feeling "wretched" follows him into his dressing room for some snogging before a knock at the door from Bates breaks the spell. The would be lovers have a heartfelt 'Oh I wish things were different' conversation before wretching themselves apart from each other. Shame on you Lord G!

The lord of the manor has a pretty short memory because the next morning he goes to the Grantham Arms in the village to pay a visit to Branson. Surely, his daughter can't have real feelings for a servant and he's just as sure Branson's exit can be secured for the right price."How much would it take for you to leave us in peace," he asks his daughter's would be husband. Branson, who I love more every episode, tells his lordship he won't be bought.

Major Mustache's parents return to Downton for a visit with Ethel and Charlie. With Mrs. Hughes at her side, Ethel finds out her son's grandparents (or rather his grandfather) has an offer: give us the child and he'll have everything; raise him yourself and your on your own. Ethel pleads with the man to allow her to work as the child's nursemaid with a promise she won't reveal she's his mother, a proposition grandma endorses, but the dreadful man won't hear of it and uses the word 'bastard' as many times as he possibly can in one sentence. In the end, Ethel goes to Mrs. Hughes and tells her she's keeping Charlie. Kleenex alert: "Life is short," she says. "They say they can do better, but what's better than a mother's love?" End of this story. I hope.

Isobel tells Matthew and Lavinia they must postpone their wedding until Lavinia is fully recovered. Matthew reluctantly agrees. When his mother leaves the couple alone Lavina says maybe it's for the best. The selfless woman (sorry I misjudged you!) reveals she saw what happened between Matthew and Mary the night she fell ill and she although she loves Matthew, she realizes that she is just "an ordinary" person not 'Queen of the Castle' like Mary and that the two of them belong together. Matthew protests.

Sir Richard arrives back at Downton to help with the sick although nobody wants his kind of 'help.' When he inquires about the health of the patients, it dawns on Mary why he's come. Should Lavinia take a turn for the worst, she accurately guesses, "you wanted to stop Matthew from falling into my arms." Bingo.

The ice queen Mary suddenly defrosts when she learns Anna has arranged to marry Bates in the village on Friday and agrees to cover for her while the two quietly go off to wed. She also pays Carson a visit who is sick, but getting on better than the others. They vow their undying 'mutual support' of each other before a smiling, newly efficient Thomas pops in to offer a tray to his former nemesis. "Watch out for Thomas," warns Mary when he offers them both a courtly goodbye. "He doesn't want to be a footman forever." Mary's suspicions are confirmed later that night when she sees Thomas in the dining room dressed and ready for service. "Don't you look smart," she says to him. "I still had the shirt and I found my livery in the cupboard so I thought, why not?" And just like that he's back in the fold.

Sybil bursts into the room (there was quite a bit of that this episode, come to think of it)looking for Matthew. Lavinia has taken a turn for the worst. Sir Richard tries to stop Mary from going to her bedside grabbing her arm and hissing, "Let him go to her. You owe her that." But she breaks free and joins the rest of the horrified family members in Lavinia's room as she labors through her last words to Matthew: "Isn't this better, really? You don't have to make a hard decision. Be happy," she tells him. "For my sake. Promise me and remember that's all I want for you."

Lavinia's death is a wake-up call for many of Downton's residents. Lord Grantham goes to Cora, who is now recovering having almost succumbed to the Spanish flu. "We're all right, aren't we?" she asks her husband. "Of course we are," he tells her. Cora apologizes for neglecting him. "Don't apologize to me," he says. You got that right.

Jane resigns and this time Lord Grantham doesn't try to stop her. He does, however, give her the address of his 'man of business' telling her he wants to give Freddie 'a start in life" and perhaps buy his mother's silence in the process? "Can I kiss you before I go?" They share a last lingering kiss. Before she finally goes, she asks him, "Will you be happy?" His reply: "I have no right to be unhappy. It's almost the same." Not quite.

Anna and Bates marry in the village and when they return, Mary surprises Anna with a night in a bridal suite that she and Jane ("her good-bye gift") have decorated for the couple. Bates and Anna finally share a night of passion. (Not the love scene we were hoping for by any measure -- clearly British actors don't feel the need to go to the gym before the big reveal. Yikes!) "Now that you've had your way with me," Bates tells Anna, "I just hope you don't live to regret it." Says Anna: "I couldn't no matter what comes." We'll see about that.

Lavinia's funeral is gothically beautiful with a ghostly looking Matthew (a little heavy on the white pancake, no?) surrounded by everyone from Downton. Afterwards, he tells Mary that he believes Lavinia died of a broken heart. We killed her, he says. "We're cursed you and I. Let's be strong and accept this is the end." It was all very Wuthering Heights, if you ask me. A horrified Mary agrees and allows Sir Richard to lead her back to Downton resigned to her fate to live out the rest of her life as a wife in a loveless marriage. I know what the naysayers say about Downton just being a dressed up soap opera, but isn't that what so many of the best films are? This could have easily been a clip in this year's Best Picture rotation at the Oscars if you think about it. The graveyard scene -- beautifully shot, brilliantly written and wonderfully acted reminded me why Downton is better than anything I've seen in a long, long time.

While the rest of the crowd disperses, Lord Grantham eyes Branson with Sybil and goes up to the couple braced for battle. Something has changed, though. When Sybil tells her father she had hoped they could all be friends he softens. Maybe it was his brief encounter with Jane, maybe it's watching Matthew, the son he'll never have, get his heart broken again, but his lordship tells his daughter, "If I can't stop you, if you're sure, then you may take my blessing with you." For some reason, despite everything else that has happened in this episode, I completely lose it here. Perhaps it's because it was so touching to have the honorable Lord G return. This stiff-upper lip but soft-hearted man is the rock of the series without him and that lovable white labrador, the whole thing wouldn't be nearly as good. He warns Branson that he'll be torn apart by wild dogs if he doesn't treat his beloved youngest daughter well. "I would expect nothing less," replies his son-in-law to be.

As Lord G and Granny make their way back to the house, Violet is already spinning a tale of Branson's Irish ancestors having a connection to some moneyed family in Cork. Look on the bright side, she tells her son, he's political and a journalist we can concoct some version of a story that will be more interesting than scandalous. Granny is nothing if she's not pragmatic.

There's no spinning what happens to Bates in the show's final minutes. Upon returning from the cemetary, a frightened Mrs. Patmore tells him there are two men waiting for him in the servants' hall. They arrest Bates for Vera's murder. Anna tries to stop them ("I love you! For better or for worse!") but the always stoic valet tells them to do whatever is required. He is escorted out in handcuffs while the staff -- even Thomas -- looks on in shock.

For next week's finale: Will Bates be found guilty? Will Mary marry the devil? What else could possibly happen to Matthew? Leave your comments here and let me know.

DOWNTOWN ABBEY SEASON TWO EPISODE FIVE RECAP

2012-02-06T09:26:00.017-05:00

As the season builds to what is sure to be a shattering climax (it's true there are only a few episodes left!), this week's episode answers the question: Guess who's coming to dinner? and raises many other more unsettling ones like: Is Sir Richard Carlisle a distant relative of the late Russell Armstrong of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills?

It's 1919 and the war is drawing to a close. Mary has assumed the role of primary caregiver to Matthew and is wheeling him around Downton's verdant grounds (the cinematography from this episode was positively gorgeous). When he tells her he "keeps thinking about William ... he was the brave one," Mary with all the emotional efficiency she can muster replies, "You were both brave" and offers this bit of wartime wisdom: what happens during a time of war "just happens and we should live with it."

Not that anyone at Downton Abbey has any other choice. Aristocratic houses sit abandoned ripe for the picking by the new moneyed arrivistes, soldiers and officers continue to fall (bye-bye Major Mustache), the new emerging social order adds to the overall uncertainty for the aristocracy and the servants. And to top it all off, a mysterious stranger has come to Downton threatening to upend what little comfort its residents have managed to hold on to.

What's striking about this episode is how far all the characters have come in a short time (speaking in relation to the number of episode of the season). I've said it before but it bears repeating: more happens in one episode of this show than in season of most network dramas. This installment was no exception. In fact, Downton gets better and better every week. I don't know how I'll cope once it's over, but I digress. I can't think about that now. Here's my recap on what happened last night.

While watching Matthew and Mary from afar through a window at the house, Carlisle asks Lord Grantham, "Am I to be jealous?" The answer would be yes. Grantham, who can barely contain his contempt for his son-in-law to be, doesn't bother to answer. He's horrified to learn that Carlisle is taking Mary to see Haxby Park, the 12,000 acre estate next door in hopes of convincing his fiancee that it should be their new home. Unlike creaky old Downton, (Carlisle's view, not mine!) Carlisle is going to equip their lovenest with all the modern conveniences like central heating, a bathroom for every bedroom and a modern kitchen. "Sounds like more like an hotel," sputters the Earl. What Carlisle doesn't tell Lord Grantham is that he is hoping to bring Carson with him.

Major Clarkson tells Lord Grantham that a Canadian major, Patrick Gordon, who suffered severe burns while at the front, has requested to come to Downton because he has ties to the house and a family connection. Of course, he's welcome here, says a puzzled Grantham unaware of what's to come.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Anna and Bates are talking about getting their own house on the property once they're married when O'Brien grumbles something about it being unfair that the long suffering couple would get separate quarters. "Why," asks Bates who returns O'Brien's contempt in full measure. "Because we've all been such pals?"

Meanwhile, Cora (Loved that hat!) and Violet pay a visit to Isobel to talk about the future of Downton now that the war is coming to an end. Isobel is shocked to learn that Cora and Robert are eager to have their home fully returned to them rather than continue to use it for the some higher calling. She implores them to consider have it become a recovery center which, naturally, she will run. Surely they don't want to return to a life of "changing clothes and killing things" (Nicely done, Julian Fellowes). The Dowager Countess asks Isobel if she's "vote to abolish private houses?" Desperate to get this harpie out of their house for good, on the ride home with Cora, Violet vows to pull some strings and find something to divert Isobel's attention and find her another post-war project.

Lady Edith is the first Grantham to meet the mysterious major who has come to Downton to heal from the emotional and physical wounds he's suffered as a result of an explosion. Before she's able to get a good look at him, Edith cheerily tells him she's in charge of "the non-medical welfare" of the men. The major warns her that his appearance is quite off-putting. Edith, who has perhaps changed more than any of the Grantham sisters, says confidently, "At this stage there isn't much that puts me off." Then he steps out of the shadows and she gets a good look at him.

The new housemaid Jane tries to get Daisy to come to an event for local war widowes about their pensions but she isn't buying it. "I'm not a widow," she declares in front of the staff reminding them that her marriage lasted all of seven hours (Insert your own Kim Kardashian joke here). Despite Mrs. Patmore's urging that William wanted her to have the pension so she could be "looked after" Daisy reveals her anger at Mrs. Patmore saying, "You made me a liar when he was alive. I won't be false to his memory."

Carlisle finally gets around to offering Carson the job of running the home he and Mary are about to buy. It's no surprise that he thinks the promise of an "increase in salary" would lure him to the job of running Haxby Park ("There's nothing that money can't fix") When that doesn't seem to have any impact, he plays the Lady Mary card telling Carson that his favorite Grantham daughter would no doubt find Carson's services and presence invaluable as she settles into her role as a new bride. Carson, who has become one of my favorite characters this season because of his steadfast devotion to the family and his unabashed snobbery, tells Carlisle he will wait to make his decision until he learns how Mary feels about his coming to work for them.

"I don't dislike him. I just don't like him. There's a difference." -- Violet's best line of the episode offering her take on Carlisle when talking to her son who is still put out about Carlisle's plans to gut the graciousness of Haxby Park with the modern conveniences. Cora makes it clear she disagrees with her husband. "I'm an American. I don't share your English hatred of comfort." For several episodes now it's clear there's trouble brewing between Lord and Lady G. Although it's an inevitable plot twist, I'm not happy with this development at all.

Mrs. Patmore is worried about one dire consequence of the armistice: food rationing which gives Thomas, who knows it's time to figure out his next move, an idea about a new business. "Are you talking about the black market," he asks Mrs. Patmore. "I'm shocked." To which she replies, "Oh, I doubt that." In the next room, Ethel comes to the back door of Downton receive her care package of food from Mrs. Hughes. Carson catches the housekeeper helping the former housemaid.

In the helpless husband department Lord Grantham complains to Cora when she tells him he'll have to eat alone at lunch because she's too busy with work. "If you really can't be on your own for one luncheon ..." she says sounding annoyed. This, folks, is what we call foreshadowing.

Carlisle takes Mary to see Haxby Park which makes Downton look like a co-op on the Upper West Side. Mary is clearly moved when she recalls the happy days spent by its owners at the house who have now left because they were too devastated by the death of their son in the war to stay."What will we do about furniture?" asks Mary, her voice echoing in the cavernous space. "We'll do what anyone does -- buy it," offers Sir Richard. "Your lot buys it and my lot inherits it," says Mary in response.

"Should we give the house another chapter?" asks Carlisle attempting to sound romantic and seal the deal. Mary's response is a classic: "I suppose one has to live somewhere." Somewhere, Cupid is weeping.

Carson takes Mrs. Hughes to task in front of Cora for giving Ethel food on the sly. Evidently, Carson's soft side doesn't extend to women of loose virtue. "Men will be men, but for any young woman to let her judgment so dessert her ..." (Just asking, but I'm wondering if he'd have the same response if -- more likely when -- he learns the truth about his beloved Mary and Mr. Pamuk. We're guessing that will come up next season) Cora, who is becoming quite the modern woman, informs the butler: "Don't worry Carson, the baby will ensure she pays the price." She offers to write to the major to invite him to Downton in hopes that Lord Grantham can convince him to do the honorable thing. Mrs. Hughes isn't certain the major has any honor at all. Undaunted by Cora's rebuke, Carson has the final word: "I cannot condone her inability to pronounce a two letter word: no."

Cut to another housemaid who, it's clear, has eyes for a different man in uniform. Jane serves Lord Grantham lunch and he strikes up a conversation with her asking if the job at the house is proving manageable given her 'family situation.' After Robert inquires about her son (he's 12), the young woman opens up telling him the boy has a "talent for mathematics" and is hoping for a scholarship to Rippan Grammar and before Carson bursts in on them, the charmed earl promises to put a good word if he can. "It's my fault. I asked the questions," says a chastened Lord Grantham to a disapproving Carson. What will Downton do when its moral compass departs to work for the devil and the new Mrs.?

Mrs. Hughes goes to Ethel to tell her they've been found out and restating the obvious tells her "You've broken the rules my girl" letting her know that Cora has written to the major in hopes of helping her. If there's a point to this story, I wish we'd get to it already.

Back at the house Bates get a call from his lawyer and learns that Vera is going to tell the judge he paid her to divorce him which would allow the decree to be overturned. "I'm not divorced after all," he tells Anna after learning the news. "I'm a stupid, stupid, stupid man." No, not really, but this is really getting on my nerves. Can't someone find a house to drop on Vera and be done with her? Undaunted, Anna tells Bates "We're going to be together no matter what" while O'Brien listens from behind the door.

The burn victim major tells Edith that he is Patrick Crawley, Downton's heir who was believed to have drown on the Titantic. He is visibly hurt when she does not recognize him and tells her of his childhood memories spent playing at Downton. Clearly thrown by the news, Edith asks why he didn't come forward sooner. He tells her he couldn't remember who he was and had no reason to come back to England. When he was mistakenly to Canada, he took his new name from a gin bottle and in 1914 signed up for the infantry. After the explosion that left him burned, his memory started to return and that's when he realized he was Patrick Crawley, Downton's heir. We're as confused as Edith but this is a bit too All My Children for PBS so I'm guessing he's an impostor.

Patrick asks poor Edith if he loved Mary (remember, the couple were to be engaged before he went off on the Titanic six years ago) and then surprises her by saying, "You were the one who really loved me." Now in tears Edith replies, "I never knew Patrick knew." He tells her: "He did. I do." Edith is convinced the man beneath the bandages is Patrick Crawley but says, "I must tell Papa."

On another stroll about the grounds of Downton, Mary tells Matthew about Haxby Park with the effusive "It's just big" and then reveals that Carlisle wants "to steal Carson" and have him come work for them when they marry. When Mary frets that the butler may decline the offer, Matthew tells her, "Surely he'd open a vein for you so I don't think there's much doubt he'll do it." But Mary has an even bigger dilemma on her mind. "I don't have to marry him, you know." The ever gallant Matthew tell her yes, you do. "I can only really relax because you have a real life coming. I have nothing to give and nothing to share. If you were not engaged to be married I would not let you anywhere near me." Dan Stevens is simply perfect in this scene. I think he's got a big screen career in the not to distant future. Reminds me of Hugh Grant before he started doing all those dopey rom coms.

Watching from the window (I thought this man had a newspaper empire to run?) Carlisle knows he must make this problem disappear so he helpfully suggests to Cora that if she wants grandchildren, it's time for Lavinia Swire to return to Matthew's life. Cora takes the bait.

Sybil and Branson are inching closer to acknowledging they're in a relationship. Be patient a little longer, she tells him. She can't even talk about their secret affair of the heart until the war is over. "I'd wait forever," he tells. Cupid has stopped crying.

That night, Lord Grantham tries on a tuxedo for the first time noting that it's just the thing for those nights alone with Cora. ("All the chaps in London are wearing them only for the most informal evenings," he notes.) Bates observes his lordship might not get much use out of it when the war is over.

Carson and Mary discuss Carlisle's offer. "I need to hear what you think," he tells her. "It's a terrific idea. If anyone can keep me out of trouble, it's you," she says. "What about his lordship?" asks Carson. "Of course, he'll kill me," says Mary satisfied she's gotten her way. Again, Carson, the keeper of Downton's social order -- or what's left of it -- has the last word. "It's a huge wrench to leave Downton. I'll give you my answer when I've spoken to Lord Grantham."

Lord Grantham, having learned of Edith's conversation with the major goes to see him. "I wish you'd spoken to me first." Robert tells him he's put his attorneys in London on the case to find out the truth. "Do you not recognize me at all?" asks the anguished major who makes a gestures that stops Robert cold. Clearly torn, he feels for the fellow but clearly wants to protect his family -- and, most importantly, Matthew, from more heartbreak and leaves without giving his answer.
Violet goes to Isobel intent on diverting her attention from her plans to make Downton a part of the post-war recovery effort. She cleverly talks about all the causes sure to emerge after the war in hopes of finding something that would appeal to her cousin. "What will become of the refugees?" she asks Isobel who tells her she's struck a chord. "Thank goodness," says Violet under her breath. The choice is clear, she tells Isobel, between organizing exercise classes and lectures on pottery and helping men and women rebuild their lives. Violet teases that some unnamed organizer feels Isobel is absolutely essential to the effort and Isobel's ego gets the best of her. She says she'll give Violet her answer tonight at dinner at Downton where Robert has asked the family to gather for some important announcement.

Mary tells her father, as he is dressed for dinner by Bates, about her plans for Carson. He is not amused telling her there is "nothing more ill-bred than to steal other people's servants." Lord Grantham asks Bates what he thinks. "I say Mr. Carson must have the last word on where he lives and works" says his valet, clearly preoccupied with his own troubles.

In the drawing room before dinner, Lord Grantham tells the family about the patient "Patrick Gordon who claims to be Patrick Crawley." Carlisle senses he's missed something. What does it all mean? "If he's alive, than I'm no longer the future earl of Grantham," says Matthew. Edith tries to tell the group that the man knows things about life at Downton that he couldn't know unless he was Patrick Crawley and Mary cuts her to the quick. "That's a stupid thing to say." Growing increasingly upset Mary cries, "This man is an impostor. It's a cruel trick to play. Matthew has been through so much" basically forgetting the man she's engaged to is in the same room.

Matthew, who is also sporting a new tux, bitterly responds while everyone in the room sits in stunned silence: "He seems like a nice enough chap. Not pretty but he can walk on his own and sire a string of sons. All in all,a great improvement on the current situation." Another great scene from Dan Stevens.

More from the storyline no one cares about: Cora tells Mrs. Hughes Major Mustache is dead and that the house's ties to Ethel are effectively severed as well. As is the case when any real dish is being served, O'Brien is within earshot. What's going on? she asks Cora who tells her "a friend of Mrs. Hughes knew the major." O'Brien puts the pieces together in under ten seconds.

Once again we go from a scene about one housemaid whose reach exceeded her grasp to another who is playing the game far better. Late that night, Jane finds Lord Grantham staring into the fire in the library. "Anything I could fetch you?" No, says his lordship, "Nothing that would help" and leaves Jane to gaze longingly at him as he goes off to bed.

The next morning, sitting in the ruin of a garden on the grounds, Edith tells Patrick she does recognize him now. He is touched by her tenderness and asks her "once its all settled, might we talk again?"

Another scene with Ethel: Mrs. Hughes tells her that her child's father is dead. "Now I'm ruined," says the young woman but Mrs. Hughes reminds her, "You were ruined already." Ethel, clearly seething that another maid with a child has been accepted at Downton is reminded by Mrs. Hughes there is a world of difference between the two women's lives. "Jane is a responsible married woman that one man chose to make his wife." When we last see Ethel in the episode she is sitting alone crying holding the child on her lap and looks to be hatching some kind of plot. Enough already.

Bates tells Lord Grantham that he must go to London. "Please say this is about property and not the former Mrs. Bates," says Robert. "It's about the former or better yet the late Mrs. Bates." (More foreshadowing) says Bates. "She's found a way to ruin everything." His lordship cautions his valet telling him, "Be sensible and do not lose your temper."

Downstairs, Carson and Branson are engaged in a debate over the future of Europe while the staff looks on when Lord Grantham comes in to announce the war is over. The ceasefire will begin, he tells them, on November 11 at 11 o'clock. Everyone is to gather in the great hall of the house at that time to mark the occasion.

Meanwhile, Isobel tells Cora and Violet she has decided to go off and work to help the plight of the refugees but she hopes they will keep Downton open as a recovery center without her. (This woman, as the Brits like to say, is as thick as a plank)"You must go where you can make a difference," Cora tells her barely managing to hide her delight at the realization she will finally be rid of her nemesis. On the ride home Cora tells Violet, "I know it was for Robert and the girls but I thank you from the bottom of my heart." Score a big victory for Granny.

While sitting in the library with Edith, Patrick Gordon? Crawley? loses it when he realizes the family will never accept him as their long lost heir. She tries to reassure him, "You're not a stranger to me."

Downstairs, O'Brien tells Thomas, "I wouldn't want to be Vera Bates" having seen the look of complete rage on Bates' face as he left for London earlier that morning. Thomas, who has long lost interest in Bates tells her, "If I were you, I'd keep out of it." "Wise words," says Anna has she catches a snippet of the conversation. Later, when Bates returns (with a nasty scratch on his face) he tells Anna it was "worse than anything you can possibly imagine."

Lord Grantham reveals to the family what the lawyers have uncovered about 'Patrick Gordon.' There was a Peter Gordon who fought in the infantry. Edith still believes he's the heir, Mary does not. Violet offers this assessment: "When his face was blown away he decided every cloud has a silver lining. He was perfectly placed to replace his dead friend."

Matthew, who is, by now boiling over with rage over what the fates have doled out, tells Lord Grantham, "Don't think about me" in considering what to make of the major's story. The Earl won't hear of it. "My dear chap, how can you say that? I don't think of anything else."

Edith tells Patrick/Peter about the latest news. Yes, he says, I knew Peter Gordon. We were good friends. "We'll find this Peter Gordon," vows Edith. "Yes," says Patrick/Peter sadly. "I expect you will." Game over.

Carson tells Mrs. Hughes he is accepting the position to run Carlisle's house when he marries Mary. "I will miss you very much," Mrs. Hughes tell him. It's a very Remains of the Day moment.

At dinner that evening, Carlisle arrives with Lavinia in tow which is a shock to everyone but Cora. Matthew is furious as is Lord Grantham for very different reasons. Lavinia tells Matthew she's changed and that she loves him and that she's going care for him. "That's all there is to it." Knowing he can't have Mary, Matthew seems momentarily relieved that Lavinia has come back. Cora is ready for Robert's wrath. "Before you scold me ..." she begins before he explodes that she's conspired to doom Lavinia to be Matthew's caretaker. "Don't you want Mary's marriage to succeed. Do you want grandchildren?" she asks. Disgustedly Robert replies, "Sometimes, Cora, you can be curiously unfeeling."

Mary and her fiance are arguing about Lavinia's return when Carlisle, having had just enough of watching Mary pine for Matthew, grabs her and pushes her against a wall when they are alone and offers this threat: "If you think you can jilt me or set me aside, you have given me the power to destroy you and don't think I won't use it. Don't ever cross me. I want to be a good husband but never." He kisses her. "Absolutely never." Absolutely terrifying.

Sybil tells Edith that Peter/Patrick is gone. He's left a note for her. "It was too difficult. I'm sorry." It's signed 'P. Gordon' Devastated, Edith tells her sister: "We drove him away. His own family."

The episode's final scenes were among the best of the entire series. Everyone is gathered in the hall awaiting the clock to chime eleven times ending the long war on November 11 at the 11th hour. It's all quintessentially British and I loved it. Lord Grantham intones, "When the clock strikes to mark the finish of this terrible war, let us remember the sacrifices that have been made and the men who will never come back" As the bells chime, the camera pans to each character who have each undergone dramatic changes as well as the faces of servicemen meant to represent the collective brotherhood of soliders. "Remember this is not just the end of the war," says a sober Lord Grantham. "It is the dawn of a new age. God bless you all."

Afterwards as Bates wheels Matthew feels something that startles him. Is the feeling in his legs returning? He decides not to say anything until he is sure.

Standing at Downton's doorway Lord Grantham and Carson survey the changing landscape. "I don't suppose you have any doubts," asks his lordship about his longtime servant's decision to leave the house. No, Carson, tells him. He's made up his mind but he'll stay until a suitable replacement is found. "Whoever we find won't replace you," says Lord Grantham. The final shot of the scene is perfect. Filmed from behind the actors, it gave us a view of these two men, both heads of their respective households, standing side by side looking out into the distance in the shadow of the great house. It was my favorite scene of the episode.

While Edith sits alone crying in the field where just days before she's been with Patrick/Peter, the staff has reassembled down below in the kitchen when Bates received a telegram. He reads it and bolts from the room. Anna retrieves the paper. "His wife is dead," she tells the servants. Cut to a shot of Vera, eyes open, laying dead on the floor of her house surrounded by broken pottery.

Who done it? My guess is Carlisle had a hand in it. What do you think?

WEDNESDAYS AT MICHAEL'S: ALWAYS A SCENE

2012-02-01T22:20:00.007-05:00

I've been covering the Wednesday scene at Michael's in New York City for nearly six years. It's always a mix bag of social swans, moguls, Manhattan captains of industry and the random boldfaced name. Today, Harvey and Bob Weinstein together with Steve Tisch threw a pep rally for the Giants attended by the media elite. I got to chat with Katie Couric, Matt Lauer, Kathie Lee Gifford, Hoda Kotb and Regis Philbin (We miss you in the morning!)I was so glad to catch up with my favorite newsman, Brian Williams. He's one of the nicest guys in the business. To read this week's Lunch column on mediabistro.com, click on the link at the right.

Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris

DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON TWO EPISODE FOUR RECAP

2012-01-29T23:14:00.019-05:00

Memo to PBS: Kleenex should sponsor Downton Abbey. I went through an entire box watching this episode.

Before I begin this week's recap, a word on an obnoxious practice that is becoming far too pervasive among television reporters. For heaven's sake, why are outlets giving the entire episode away in their 'preview' pages? Why spoil it for the faithful who want to watch the story unfold on its own? The motives behind this are either stupid or mean, but either way, it's completely unacceptible. On Sunday morning, I happened on a paragraph that summarized the entire episode I'd waited seven days to see while perusing the TV pages of a paper that should know better. I was two sentences in before I realized it. The words 'spoiler alert' would have been nice.

So, if you've seen the episode, read on, if not, spoiler alert! Your choice. You're welcome.

It's the middle of 1918. Ever the dutiful servant even as a solider, William is readying Matthew, for battle. "Am I ready?" asks Captain Crawley. "Only you can answer that, sir," replies William before the two men join the regiment on the battlefield at Amiens. Matthew, having offered some words of encouragement and has them returned by his men, sounds the charge that sends his men over the barrier straight into the German's line of fire. The scene is positively cinematic and heartbreaking. One of the great accomplishments of this series has been its rendering of the absolutely terrifying conditions under which soliders have served during war. Even more impressive, Julian Fellowes has done it without the shock of over the top gore and violence. The short battle scenes have tremendous impact for the simple reason that they focus on the human scale showing soliders as men who, just a short time ago resided in a world so far removed from the reality they now face but who have no choice but to literally run headlong into danger expecting the worst but hoping somehow to be spared.

In this episode Julian Fellowes ventures into pretty soapy territory from the opening scenes, but it worked for me. At the moment Matthew and William are wounded in battle (the former footman throws himself in front of his commander in an effort to save him and both land unconscious in a ditch), Daisy freezes over a pot in the kitchen telling Mrs. Patmore, "Someone walked on me grave" while upstairs Mary drops her teacup telling her mother and grandmother, "I'm so sorry, I suddenly felt terribly cold." As someone who comes from a long line of Irish women who have what we call in our family 'Irish intuition' I've long heard stories of relatives who woke in the middle of the night only to find out a loved one across the continent had died at that precise moment so this bit of melodrama worked for me.

O'Brien wakes Lord and Lady Grantham in the middle of the night telling them to come downstairs where they are met by Mr. Mosley who has brought a telegram to Downton from the Crawley residence with word that Matthew has been gravely injured. Mary, looking appropriately ghostly reels at the news while just outside the parlor door the servants are gathered to hear the news. Lord Grantham tells them about Matthew and Daisy asks about William. Bates suggests if he's been injured his father must have received news as well. Edith (who has become one of my favorite characters since developing her newfound graciousness and compassion) volunteers to drive into the village in the morning to find out what's happened with him.

The next day, Anna tells Bates that Edith has returned with the news that William is severely injured as well. Thrown by the news, she asks Bates to go into the village with her so that they can pray for both men. I'm not sure, but based on their conversation I'm wondering if they went off and got married. Bates: "We should have had a church wedding." I think they got married at a justice of the peace. Anna replies: "I'd rather have the right man than the right wedding."

The news that William is at a hospital in Leeds prompts the Dowager Countess to go to Major Clarkson to request that her favorite servant be moved to Downton where he can be looked after properly and be close to his father. Edith volunteers to be his caretaker, but the major pulls ranks saying that he can't make an exception for the solider and bring him to a hospital for officers only. Granny is not happy. "When you give these little people power it goes to their heads like strong drink," she sputters after their unsuccessful meeting.

O'Brien, who is growing more evil with every episode despite her random moments of remorse for her hateful actions, tells Thomas she's sorry that she's written to Vera telling her that Bates has returned to the hosue "with everything going on." Thomas helpfully reminds her "It wasn't my idea." When these two turn on each other things are really going to get ugly.

Lord Grantham walks in on Mary as she prepares to go to the hospital so she can be there when Matthew is brought in. He tells her that Cora has written to Lavinia about what's happened. Mary quickly acknowledges that was precisely the thing to do and suggests that Matthew's fiancee stay at Downton while she's visiting so she won't be alone at the Crawley estate. Lord Grantham's face registers the full gamut of emotions for his daughter: sadness that she still loves a man she can't be with and pride over her selflessness to do the right thing despite the pain it's causing her.

Just as Mrs. Patmore is encouraging Daisy to let William believe she loves him while the kitchen maid admits she's "ashamed" that "she's led him up the garden path," Vera shows up. "What do you want?" asks Mrs. Patmore who smells trouble.

Nothing good, of course. Vera spews venom (her voice scares me) at Bates and Anna telling her ex (?) husband "Did you think I'd let you take up with your floozy?" and tells him that despite his payoff to her she still plans on selling her story about Lady Mary and the late Mr. Pamuk as well as implicating Anna in the cover up. "You're just angry because I'm happy," says Bates stating the obvious. "But you won't be happy for long," says Vera.

Sybil and Branson engage in their usual verbal foreplay when she goes to him in the garage asking the chaffeur to drive her to the hospital to be with Mary who is attending to Matthew. "Is she still in love with him?" asks Branson. "I don't want to talk about it," replies Sybil. Branson, always spoiling for fight baits her by asking her if she won't talk about it with him because he's just a chaffeur to which she replies, "Because she's my sister." Branson's astute comeback: "You people are good at hiding your feelings." Perhaps, says Sybil, but don't think we don't have any. As much as I love Bates and Anna, this couple has got a real heat that undoubtedly will give the romantic payoff we're waiting for.

Not to be denied, the Dowager Countess finds a way to bring the dying William back to Downton to live out his final days. While the doctor at the army hospital tells her nothing more can be done for him since he sustained a fatal injury to his lungs, out of earshot William's father tells the countess (and himself) that the care he will receive in familar surroundings will restore his health. Violet won't break the man's heart by telling him the truth, "Sometimes we must let the blow fall by degrees" she tells the doctor before departing for Downton. It turns our Granny really is just an old softie after all.

As Mary readies herself for Matthew's arrival, Major Clarkson tries to discourage her from helping out on the ward asking her to "hang back." Undeterred, Mary tells him, "I'm not good at hanging back ... I'm staying." The sight of a deathly pale and bloodied Matthew (is it me or did half the cast look like they were auditioning for Twilight during this episode?) clearly stuns Mary and Sybil, who has matured by leaps and bounds thanks to her role as an army nurse, steps in and tenderly asks the wounded man, "Cousin Matthew, can you hear me?" A soldier who has brought in him tells the women he has been "pumped with morphine and has been unconscious since being found.

Mary discovers a tag attached to Matthew's clothes which reads: 'probable spinal damage' while Sybil finds the little stuffed dog Mary had given him tucked inside the pile of clothes sitting atop his blanket. When Mary tells Sybil she'd given it to him for luck Sybil says, "If only it had worked." Stung by her words Mary tells her sister, "He's alive, isn't he?"

O'Brien is getting more worked up over Vera now that she's threatening to bring the house down on "my lady" since the vengeful maid had only planned to make trouble for Bates in bringing her to Downton. Thomas tells her it's her mistake because she didn't think it through ("It's all in the details," he scolds her). O'Brien calls him a "know it all." But Thomas has the last word: "Don't take it out on me -- you're the one who did it."

Anna tells Mary that Vera has returned with her threats to go public with the story of Pamuk's death in her bed and Mary decides she has no choice but to go to Sir Richard, come clean about the story and ask for his help in keeping her quiet. "Suppose he throws you over?" asks Anna. (I think Mary was secretly hoping for this to happen). Mary tells her maid-slash-BFF that she has no choice and will go to London right away to ask her slimy (my word, not hers) fiance for help.

But what about staying here and looking after Matthew, asks Anna? "I can take some time off to save my own neck," Mary tells her.

William has taken a turn for the worse and his father is afraid to leave him. Edith tells the heartbroken man that she will stay with his son. "He won't be alone. Not for a moment." I'm really starting to love her.

Lavina arrives and finds Mary and Lord Grantham at Matthew's bedside. She is told his spinal cord is permanently damaged. "Will he walk again?" she asks. "No," says Major Clarkson, "He won't." While Lavina cries, the doctor tries to reassure him by saying, "It's not the end of his life" with Mary adding, "Just the start of a different life."

In the hallway away from the women, Lord Grantham takes on the harsher aspects of what Matthew is facing asking Clarkson if Matthew can ever father children and is told no, not ever. Will there really be no love scenes in Mary and Matthew's future? This is really distressing news.

In what I found to be an unnecessary detour in the episode. Mrs. Hughes visits Ethel who has had her baby and, despite her best efforts, has not been able to get Major Mustache to write to her or to see the child. While Mrs. Hughes is sneaking food out of the house for the unwed mother and her infant son, she wholeheartedly disapproves of Ethel's behavior and tells her as much. So why is she helping her. Later, when the major visits Downton to see some of his old friends, Mrs. Hughes tries to convince the cad to have some contact with Ethel and "the wee lad" but is told in no uncertain terms to mind her own business. I don't care one iota about this storyline and it took valuable time away from everything else. I hope this doesn't gain any traction in the last three (!) episodes left.

Mrs. Patmore is still trying to convince Daisy to go to William, tell him she loves him giving him what little happiness she can before he dies. The poor girl is terrified and doesn't know what to say to her faux fiance. "You don't have to be Shakespeare," says the kindhearted cook. Reluctantly, Daisy goes to his room on an upper floor in the house where he has been squestered from the officers while Edith cares for him. William asks Daisy to marry him. She skitters back to the kitchen without giving him an answer.

Downstairs, Mrs. Hughes interviews a new maid, a war widow with a baby. The head housekeeper tells the young woman she will discuss hiring her with Mr. Carson. "I have to earn," says the pretty young woman.

Dreaming of Mary, Matthew wakes to her voice and asks her to tell him about his condition. "Why don't we wait for Lavinia," she tells him. But before long Mary tells Matthew his spinal cord has been damaged and when he asks how long will his injury last, her non-answer tells him all he needs to know. "I'd much rather know," he says while apologizing for "blubbering." Poor Dan Stevens looked positively vampiric in these scenes. It's a credit to his acting that it was only a slight (but unfortunate) distraction.

With her heart breaking, Mary tries to cheer him, "Blubber all you like then when Lavina is here you can make plans." When she gets up from his bed, her tears flow as well.

A word here about the great performances of Dan Stevens (Matthew) and Michelle Dockery (Mary). Both actors did their finest work of the series in this episode. Stevens' Matthew coming to terms with the end of the life he envisioned was heartbreaking and Dockery, who merely has to raise her brow slightly to register the appropriate emotion played devastated but determined Mary to perfection and had me rooting for this increasingly sympathetic heroine more than ever. Bravo to both of them.

The scene between Mary and Sir Richard when she goes to him to tell him the story of that fateful night with Pamuk was riveting. The positively reptilian Richard (is it me or does his voice make him sound like he could be related to Vera?) says upon hearing the tawdry tale: "Who'd have thought the cold and careful Lady Mary Crawley ... Do you still expect me to marry you?" I don't know about you, but he made my skin crawl.

Mary tells him they could dissolve their engagement since it hasn't even been announced but creepy Sir Richard has other plans. Before he tells Mary what he'll do, he reminds her that if they were to marry everyone would assume it is he who is marrying up into nobility, but they both know the real truth now. He'll set a trap for Vera to keep her quiet for his own unchivalrous reasons: "We come to marry on slightly more equal terms and that pleases me." What a guy.

Meanwhile, Lavina tries to convince Matthew that she doesn't care if he won't walk again. Matthew, who says he loves her for saying so, tells her there's "something else" that he can barely bring himself to tell her. "We can never be properly married." It takes a minute for this to sink in with Lavina but she recovers telling him, "That side of things is not important to me."

Matthew, clearly anguished at having to break the young woman's heart tells her: "I couldn't possibly be responsible for stealing away the life you ought to have. Go home. Think of me as dead. Remember me as I was." I pause the DVR to get a second box of tissues.

Branson and Sybil meet again in the garage and this time almost kiss. He tells her the rebels have killed the czar and his family. "I never thought they'd do it," he says. He starts to talk politics but Sybil reminds him they promised to put their politics aside until after the war. "Sometimes a hard sacrifice must be made for a future worth having." He touches her waist as she goes to leave, they almost kiss but she pulls away at the last moment. My money is on the next episode for the long awaited liplock.

I was happy for that brief passionate interlude because I cried my eyes out through rest of the episode. William tells Daisy he knows he's dying and he wants to marry her so he can leave her a widow's pension. "You'll be looked after. It's something to fall back on," he tells her as his breathing gets more shallow. "Let me do that for you." I knew from the moment this character enlisted he wouldn't make it through the season but Fellowes' depiction of his death has been more poignant than I could have imagined. I will really miss this sweet, earnest character. Remember how proud he was to serve that last dinner at Downton in his uniform? It's just so unbearably sad.

More tears as Mary finds Lavina weeping in her bed. She is stunned to learn that Matthew has told Lavina they "can't be lovers" and he won't marry her. "I'll die if I can't have him," Lavina sobs to Mary. That makes two of you.

At the breakfast table the following morning Lord Grantham is livid to read an announcement of Mary and Sir Richard's engagement. "Is that why you went to London yesterday?" he bellows at his equally surprised daughter. Now Mary knows her deal with the devil is etched in stone."Didn't he ask your permission?" he asks incredulous at the "high handed" behavior of his soon to be son-in-law. "I don't think asking permission is his strong suit."

The vicar has come to Downton to express his concern at marrying William on his deathbed to a maid who, he suspects, might be in it for her widow's pension. The Dowager Countess has had enough of men that are beneath her standing in the way of doing what she knows is right. After reminding the vicar that his house, church and its very flowers all come to him courtesy of Lord Grantham she fires her best shot of the episode: "I hope it's not vulgar of me to say I hope you find some way to overcome your scrupples."

Speaking of scrupples or lack thereof, Vera bursts into Sir Richard's office furious at being tricked into signing a contract with him which legally binds her to remain silent about Mary and Pamuk or suffer the consequences. "If I so much as read her name ... I will hound you and ruin you and have you locked up." Vera vows to get revenge on Bates which Sir Richard tells her he couldn't care less about.

Back at Downton, Lord Grantham, who seems to have a lot of freetime this episode is in the library when the new widowed maid bursts in. I detected some distressing chemistry between Lord Grantham and 'Jane' before Mrs. Hughes found the young woman and sent her off to clean the drawing room. I so want to be wrong about this, but I suspect that because Cora has become the busier of the two Grantham with her newfound sense of purpose running the convalescent hospital, the man of the house is feeling a bit neglected (note that she was sending her husband off on a social engagement alone in an earlier scene because she was too busy). I will be so not happy if he helps himself to the help but I get the feeling something is going to happen.

Daisy sits in the kitchen with freshly bobbed hair. Carson gives her a small bouquet from the gardens, offers her his arm and she leads the servants upstairs to William's room which has been poignantly decorated with the same flowers for his bedside nuputials. Fellowes somehow avoid veering into All My Children territory here because the scene is so still. It feels so real. With the servants, Edith and a tearful Dowager Countess ("I have a cold") looking on, the couple exchange vows along with their first -- and last -- kiss. There isn't a lot of dialogue. There doesn't have to be.

Mary is downstairs tending to Matthew who tearfully tells her, "No sane woman would want to be with me" and wretches into a bucket sickened by what he has become. He bitterly remembers how different things were just a few short years ago, when he broke off their engagement and strode out of that fateful graden party. Now, he's become "an impotent cripple stinking of sick." As she gets up to leave, Mary sees that Isobel has returned. Clearly moved to see how lovingly Mary is caring for her son, Isobel tries to put on a brave face as she approaches his bed. Matthew dissolves at the sight of his mother. I've only one tissue left.

Upstairs, Daisy sits at the foot of her new husband's bed. Mrs. Patmore comes in offering to take her place while the new bride gets some rest. "I won't leave him now that he needs me," she says. "He doesn't need none of us no more," says William's father from the head of bed.

And just like that, the last bit of innocence that remained at Downton Abbey is gone forever.

DOWNTON ABBEY RECAP: SEASON TWO EPISODE THREE

2012-01-23T13:33:00.034-05:00

Any talk that Downton's second season isn't living up to its first should cease right now! Last night's episode had it all -- romance (Who is your favorite star crossed couple Bates and Anna or Mary and Matthew? Discuss -- and comment below for goodness sakes),clever wordplay, squabbling among the servants (O'Brien should watch for falling houses) and a musical number that had me reaching for the Kleenex and was, hands down, my favorite scene in a deliciously satisfying hour. I have but one request of Downton's producers: give Laura Linney her walking papers. I like her, but really ... Have you noticed the way she says Downtin Abbey in the intro. The Dowager Countess does not approve!

If you saw this episode, you know just how fabulous it was and if you didn't here's what you missed:

The upstairs-downstairs residents at Downton Abbey have settled into their new routine running a convalescent hospital while maintaining a stiff upper lip and a truncated schedule of formal dinners. Lady Edith and Mary have agreed to a temporary truce long enough to perform together at a concert held at Downton to entertain the recuperating soldiers. Both Lord and Lady Grantham have seemingly gotten over their befuddlement and discomfort over having the war come to their right up to their doorstep and completely upend their lives. And Edith, of all people, seems to have found her calling as Downton's comforter-in-chief.

The turf war between Cousin Isobel and Cora over just who is in charge at Downton was decided in the opening minutes of the episode when Isobel, positively apoplectic over Cora's decision to go on medical rounds with Major Clarkson without her and change the patients' lunch schedule, confronts the lady of house. "You might think you ordain the universe," snipes Isobel loaded for bear. Cora, who seems to have gained a great deal more self-confidence since the last episode, stays silent until Isobel calls her "unprofessional" then adds it's really no surprise since Cora "never had a profession in your life."

When Cora fires back, "Stop your bullying!" Isobel threatens to leave Downton. Bad move. Cora calls her bluff and just like that the show's most annoying character (even if she is Matthew's mother) is sent packing to France to work with the Red Cross. Thus, I hope, ending this storyline. Buh-bye.

Out in the gardens, Mary faces another grilling by Granny about her dubious choice of suitors. The Dowager Countess isn't thrilled (and that's putting it mildly) that Mary's suitor resorted to blackmail to get information from Lavinia on that boring minister scandal which was revealed to be at the heart of the threatening exchange overheard by Rosamund between Sir Richard and Lavinia (or at least that what's Matthew's meh fiancee said). "He lives in a tough world," said Mary in his defense. "And will you be joining him there?" asked Granny who is still holding out hope that Mary and Matthew will reunite. "Granny, it's time to move forward," says Mary who clearly hasn't, but is doing her best to pretend she has.

Undaunted, the Dowager Countess moves on to another topic -- Sybil's love life. She suspects the youngest Grantham may be involved with a man "she doesn't care to mention." How astute of you, Granny. Over by the garage, Sybil and Branson (Who have yet to even kiss) have a heated lover's quarrel. For all his grand talk of standing up for his political beliefs, Sybil is disappointed that Branson is still at Downton "tinkering" with "the motors" from the sidelines while the world changes. Silly girl. The lovelorn but highly egotistical Branson explains why he hasn't bolted: "I'll stay at Downton until you run away with me... You're too scared to admit it, but you're in love with me." I predict some tastefully steamy scenes between these two in the not too distant future.

The couple is interupted by Mary who sizes up the situation pretty quickly and later confronts her sister. "What did you think -- you'd marry the chauffeur and we'd all come to tea?" asks Mary who is appalled at the idea of Sybil's downward mobility in the romance department. "Promise me you won't do anything stupid or I'll tell Papa tonight." Sybil reassures Mary she won't run off with the help but later tells Branson her sister knows about them. Branson feels this is the validation he's been waiting for from his Lady Love since this is the first time she's acknowledged there is an "us." She's incensed that he'd ask her to give her life at Downton up for him. "Too high a price to pay?" he asks. Maybe. Or maybe not.

Speaking of Papa, I am completely crushing on Hugh Bonneville's Lord Grantham. He has imbued the character with such warmth that he has surpassed my other favorite lovable British dad (the real life Michael Middleton -- just think back to how lovely he was on Kate's wedding day and you'll see what I mean). The man is just so decent and kind. I know Julian Fellowes never met an aristocrat he didn't like but he broke the mold creating this fine fellow. Okay, that's it for the soap box.

Lord Grantham was very busy being a big softie during this episode. His first stop is with Mary to argue on the merits of love versus money. (When Mary reminds him he married Cora for her money he is chagrined and says, 'Your mother has made me very happy.") He is none to pleased to receive a letter from Sir Richard Carlisle asking for his permission to propose to Mary (although he's already asked her). Mary's romantic reply when her father asks if she's accepted. "I think I'll take him." Be still my heart. "What about Matthew?" asks Lord Grantham to which she replies: "Oh no not you too! What must he do to convince you he's in love with Lavina open his chest and carve her name on his heart?" Ouch. Lord Grantham tells Mary to write to Matthew to tell him of her plans to marry. "You owe him that," he says.

Mary does write to Matthew who, after, reading the letter picks up Mary's little stuffed dog -- his good luck charm -- and heads out with William (who I was sure was going to be dead by the end of episode) on patrol only to get shot at by the Germans. Uh oh.

Back in Yorkshire, Isobel's departure has left little for Mrs. Bird and Mr. Mosley to do. Mosely decides to kiss up to Carson and see if he can fill in (permanently) as Lord Grantham's valet. I don't like this character but it might be interesting to see him go up against O'Brien. Even though he's a bit wishy washy, something tells me he's wily enough to give her and maybe even Thomas a run for the money.

At the house, Daisy is concerned that something has happened to William and Matthew because they haven't shown up at Downton as William had written they would. She boldly asks Lady Edith (while denying when asked by Edith if William is "her beau") if Lord Grantham could look into it. The newly compassionate Edith says she'll ask her father to find out what he can. Lord Grantham is stricken to learn from the War Office that Matthew and William are both missing and asks Edith not to tell anyone the news until they learn more.

Thomas ("That's Sergeant Barrow!") is driving all the servants batty with his imperious manner and is back in cahoots with O'Brien. Major Clarkson tells him to back off. He receives a letter from his father telling him that Bates is working at a pub in the village. Daisy overhears the news and shares it with Carson who is aghast that a "trained valet" would slum it in a public house. He immediately takes the news to Lord Grantham and the two men confront Thomas about keeping the news from them. The former footman doesn't flinch reminding them that he was under no obligation to share this bit of information. "I'm not under Carson's command now, your Lordship."

Down in the kitchen, while O'Brien chides Thomas for letting Lord Grantham question him ("I won't put you down for a career in diplomacy"). Ethel applauds Thomas for escaping servant life and announces "I'm ready for a new adventure." O'Brien, who is obviously psychic in addition to being a witch says rather presciently, "Be careful what you wish for."

In carrying out his latest string of good deeds, Lord Grantham tells Anna about Bates possibly being in the village and the housemaid tells him she's already seen him. Why hasn't he come back? asked Lord Grantham clearly missing his old "comrade in arms." Two reasons, Anna explains, one he wants to settle "certain matters with Mrs. Bates" and two, because they "parted on bad terms" Bates fears it might be "embarrassing." To which Grantham replies: "It is for me to be embarrassed."

Hat in hand -- literally -- Lord Grantham goes to see Bates to convince him to return to Downton. This scene was among my favorite in the episode with both Bonneville and Brendan Coyle playing these two honorable men constrained by their social positions with such subtlety and meaning. Bates tells his former employer that he has proof Vera has been unfaithful pointing out that while he has "cheated in his heart," he has never done anything dishonorable and her indiscretion will allow him to divorce her. Lord Grantham, who now knows the real reason behind Bates' hasty departure was to protect the Granthams from some mysterious scandal, tries to get him to reveal the real story about the gossip his wicked wife was threatening to reveal, but Bates dismisses it as "nonsense."

Lord Grantham then tells Bates that Matthew is missing and he fears for the worst. "I don't think I could bear it," says Grantham about the idea that Matthew may have been killed. "I loved him like a son. No I love him like a son. We have to stay in the present as long as we still can." So, he asks his old friend, will you come back to help me get through this "veil of shadows? I misjudged you and abused you when you left. I'm sorry." And with that, Bates is back in the fold. And Mr. Mosely is out of a job before he even started.

When he returns to the house, Bates gets a warm "welcome home" from Mrs. Hughes but O'Brien and Thomas are there to remind him that he's still the enemy. Bates jokes that he and Thomas are "like a couple of bad pennies" that keep turning up, but O'Brien is quick to remind him that Thomas has returned under very different circumstances. "I take orders from Major Clarkson." Bates offers his best line of the night: "Yet another reason to pray for peace." Good one!

O'Brien is particularly hateful in this episode. After suspecting that good hearted Mrs. Patmore and guileless Daisy are stealing food and selling it at the Crawley house with Mrs. Bird for profit, she brings Lady Cora along to catch them in the act. When Cora discovers the women are actually feeding wounded men discharged from the war, she rolls up her sleeves and helps them -- and puts O'Brien in charge of slicing the bread.

Anna and Bates have another one of their signature moonlight lovers' rendezvous in the courtyard. Bates asks Anna to "be patient" (only Job has been more patient in my book) and reassures her "You're stuck with me now good and proper." Cue the music (which I love!) as the couple embrace.

Not everyone is having a good night. That same evening, Mrs. Hughes, on a tip from Mr. Mosley, finds Ethel and Major Mustache rolling around in a spare room and fires Ethel. An new adventure, indeed.

Upstairs, the family -- still trying to maintain what little decorum they can -- are getting ready for a formal dinner. On their way down to the dining room, Edith tells Mary that Matthew is missing not out of spite but because she truly believes her sister has a right to know. Reeling at the news, Mary finds comfort in Anna who, if you ask me, is Mary's BFF despite their class difference. Later, Lord Grantham finally tells Cora the bad news and the family heads downstairs to put on the concert for the men. "We have to keep going whatever happens," Lord Grantham tells his wife and daughter.

The best line of night comes once again courtesy of Maggie Smith when her Countess, having overheard the soldiers making a racket on the other side of the door, while trying to enjoy a quiet evening with the family makes this observation: "It's like living in a second rate hotel with guests constantly arriving and no one seems to leave."

The night of the concert finally arrives and everyone looking miserable at the prospect of having to accept the worst about Matthew and William's disappearance. Major Mustache, the warm-up act, performs magic tricks with a black hat and some mysterious scarves for his fellow soldiers. Then it's time for The Crawley Sisters' act. "Now I've seen everything," deadpans the Dowager Countess. Accompanies by Edith on the piano, Mary performs "If You Were the Only Girl in the World." (Fun fact: the song, published in 1916, has been performed by Doris Day and Barbra Streisand) It's an extremely poignant moment as the camera pans to various soldiers in various states of recovery, the staff and family members who are all listening intently to Mary's sweet, lilting voice. Mary then gets the room to join her in song only to be stunned into silence when Matthew and William walk in. Everything stops. I cry like a baby.

"Don't stop for me," says Matthew as he walks towards Mary. (Michelle Dockery was wonderfully expressive in this scene without saying a word. My heart broke for Mary) A clearly relieved Lord Grantham rises to embrace the son he never had as Matthew ("My dear boy, my dear, dear, boy") joins Mary for the big finish on stage. It's Downton Abbey, the musical! More, please. And for God sakes man, kiss her already and lose the mopey redhead.

Afterwards, the whole house is glowing with happiness. Bates and Anna, clearly caught up in the spirit of things, steal a few moments where he tells her: "Who knew an amateur concert could be the summit of happiness. I've been in such a fog of misery since I left you." Anna tells him: "We must get used to being happy and trust it." Bates: "God, I want to." Something tells me this isn't going to end well. Believe me, I so want to be wrong but I don't think I will be.

Thomas and O'Brien look on. Thomas, although still clearly a sworn enemy of Bates, tells O'Brien he's got bigger things to worry about. O'Brien isn't about to let it go. "I hold a grudge longer," she says. The thought of she and Vera working together against Anna and Bates sends a chill up my spine.

Downstairs, Mrs. Hughes is confronted by Ethel who has returned to the house with news that she is pregnant with Major Mustache's baby. Let's see what trick he has up his sleeve now.

DOWNTON ABBEY RECAP: SEASON TWO; EPISODE TWO

2012-01-16T10:44:00.012-05:00

"You're not the only member of the walking wounded in this house" -- Mrs. Hughes to Mr. Lang

Last night's episode of Downton Abbey did indeed focus on the wounded residing at Downton and reminded us that it's those scars that we cannot see that often go the deepest. It's frayed nerves and broken hearts all around as the great house is turned into a convalescent home for those wounded in the war. The turn of events has given cousin Isobel her chance to try to take over Downton from the good hearted Granthams --- but not so fast!

It seems the other war that is brewing has Lord and Lady Grantham (Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern who continue to be entirely convincing as a long married couple whose love keeps them going through it all )trying to hold their ground while Isobel asserts her conveniently self-appointed authority. While Lord Grantham grapples with the idea of his beloved library being turned into a rec room (Who ordered the pool table?!?), Cora finds herself having to reassert her authority -- in front of the staff, no less -- as lady of the house. This horrifies the staff none of whom are keen to take orders from a distant Grantham cousin. Cora's greatest ally in this battle of wills is O'Brien, whose loyalty is now clearly fueled by the guilt she feels over causing the Lady's miscarriage over a mistaken belief that she was to be replaced. O'Brien shares none of this with Thomas, who is suspicious of his enabler's fierce protectiveness for the woman she had so disliked before, ("What's in it for you?")but, as usual, his own self-interests is enough for him to go along with whatever scheme O'Brien cooks up. When O'Brien convinces Lady Grantham that by assigning Thomas, a former staffer with medical training, to act as manager of the hospital, she'll retain the control of the house, Cora jumps at the idea.

With a few convenient strings pulled, Thomas arrives --and comes through the front door! -- much to Mr. Carson's dismay. But Thomas pulls ranks -- "It's Seargent Barrow!" and with just like that, he's back in the fold.

Much of the episode devoted to the turf war was amusing, but I hope it doesn't take over. This plotline has Isobel morphing into an increasingly annoying and unlikable character. As Matthew put it: "Dear Mother does love a bit of authority."

As for the Grantham's daughters, Lady Sybil, fully immersed in her new passion as a nurse looking very Florence Nightingale in her starched white apron, proves somewhat of an inspiration to Lady Edith. Find something you're good at and go do it, the suddenly sensible youngest Grantham tells Edith. "It's doing nothing that is the enemy" says Sybil. Tired of being the odd woman out, Edith finds bringing touches of kindness to the recovering men is rewarding and gets a surprising acknowledgment for her work -- a champagne toast from a general no less -- leaving everyone (but Isobel)suitably impressed.

Lady Mary has become a much nicer person since breaking up with Matthew. While it makes for an interesting storyline, it doesn't really connect with what we knew of her before, but it's kept the story moving along. In the last episode, Lady Rosamund overheard Richard Carlisle (a long lost Murdoch cousin?) threatening Livinia and smelled blood. Last night, the Dowager Countess and Lady Rosamund continue to plot to get rid of Livinia determined to find out what damaging bit of information they could unearth to banish her from Downton and replace Mary as the rightful heir to Matthew's affections.

"Livinia is an obstacle to your happiness and must be removed" Violet tells Mary but the suddenly sainted Mary will not hear of it. (My favorite line of the episode) Besides, Mary tells her grandmother, there is no guarantee that if Matthew and Livinia end their engagement he will once again propose to her. Violet, never one to take no for an answer, tells her she's taking care of one problem at a time.

The big secret about Livina turned out to be a bit of a snoozer. It turns out that Livinia's uncle, the government's liberal minister, was involved in a stock trading scandal (zzzzzzzzzzzz) and Livinia stole the evidence to and gave it to Richard Carlisle to protect her father who owed Carlisle a large sum of money. In learning that Livinia's pilfered government secrets (but not knowing why), Violet and Rosamund also decide that Lavinia and Richard must be lovers as well. That would make this subplot a lot more exciting but turns out, according to Livinia, not to be true.

Armed with the news of the theft of information, Mary does not tell Matthew but rather goes to Livinia and asks her about it. Big surprise: Livinia does her best delicate flower act (I don't buy it) and says, yes, she did it to protect her father. Mary understands all too well what it means to do whatever it takes to protect your family so she drops the whole thing wasting about ten minutes of valuable episode time that could have been devoted to the lush scenery of the grounds that we've been hankering for.

Matthew turns up on his way to the northern provinces and charms Mary once again with his wry observations about their mothers' turf war over Downton. Several looks across crowded rooms are exchanged. When he departs, he lovingly kisses his fiance good-bye and gives Mary a farewell akin to 'Cheerio, old chap.' Ouch.

The most interesting things happening in the episode took place among the servants who seem to have a much better grasp on the concept that the world is in fact changing and their lives changing with it.

Anna, on a trip to the village, thinks she sees Bates. When she tells Lady Mary of this, Mary tells her Richard can find out anything about anyone (how comforting) and she'll ask him to locate Bates. In short order, Mary tells Anna he is indeed working at the Red Lyon pub in the village. Anna can't understand why Bates, who has admitted to problems with drink in the past, would be working in a pub. Don't be dense! "It's what you do with the information," Mary tells her. So Anna goes off to see Bates. "I don't know if I dreaded this moment or longed for it," he tells her when she steps up to his bar amd orders a glass of cider. These are the moments that I love on this show!

Bates tells her he has evidence that Vera has been unfaithful and that's grounds for divorce. Anna is so in love with Bates she doesn't want to wait for the divorce to be final to be with him. "It's not against the law to take a mistress, Mr. Bates," she tells him. (Isn't it time to call him John?) To which he replies: "I know you, Anna Smith, and that's not the right path for you." Dear Lord, please give these people a few hours of happiness before this whole thing is over.

William, about to go off to war, asks Daisy to marry him. Mrs. Patmore had warned the girl this was coming and told her the only decent thing to do was to say yes even though the kitchen maid didn't share his feelings. I have a terrible feeling William is going to be Downton's first casualty. He's such a sweet, guileless soul so it's a pretty safe bet he won't make it through the entire series.

Lang's shell shock is getting worse and the sight of all those officers proudly wearing their red uniforms is giving him night terrors about being sent back to the front. One night, his nigtmares wake the entire staff. Surprisingly, it's O'Brien that shows him the most compassion. Everyone else just tries their best to steer clear of him.

Branson, an increasingly loose cannon whose political leanings make everyone nervous, tells Sybil he's enlisting so he can denounce the British military (who killed his Irish cousin with a bullet in the street because they thought he was a rebel). But you'll go to jail, says Sybil, clearly distressed by his decision. Yes, but I will have spoken my mind and I'll be alive. Branson's plans are thwarted when he fails the physical (it turns out he had a heart murmur). Then he finds another opportunity where he can make his political views known. When he learns there is to be a dinner at Downton for the general visiting with Matthew, he tells Carson he will stand in for Mr. Lang who clearly is no longer fit for service. Carson, who had fretted about serving the dinner without a footman, is relieved to have the help and tells Branson to find a livery.

In the episode's best sequence, Anna finds Branson's note to Sybil saying he's sorry for what he's about to do. Thinking the worst, the house maid races through the house setting off a relay while we see Branson standing with his back to the group gathered in the dining room about to be served -- what? -- by the disgruntled chauffeur. With seconds to spare, Mr. Carson bursts into the dining room and forcibly removes Branson. Once back downstairs, he accuses him of trying to assassinate the general. That wasn't exactly what he had it mind -- he was just going to pour some cow pies and slop on his head. That will show 'em. At the last minute, sweet William in his military uniform steps in and receives praise from everyone at the table. Dinner goes on unaffected.

But war lurks at every corner. When the general and his squadron are leaving, Lang joins the rest of staff at the front of the house as per Mr. Carson's instruction. Lang finally snaps and collapses into the arms of Lord Grantham begging not to be sent back to the front. Grantham uncomfortable with the emotional display ("Things can't be that bad, man!") hands the distraught Lang back to Carson who is finally forced to see that life at Downton will never be the same.

That night, while preparing for bed, Lord Grantham offers his take to Lady Grantham on the events that have transpired: "The world was in a dream before the war but now it's woken up and said good-bye to it." Indeed.

What did you think of the episode? Leave your comments here

THE GOLDEN GLOBES 2012: FASHION WINNERS & SINNERS

2012-01-15T23:09:00.024-05:00

This year's Golden Globes was a suitably lighthearted affair that seemed infinitely more enjoyable than last year's broadcast namely because host Ricky Gervais struck just the right tone with the Hollywood crowd. For all his talk that he wasn't going to hold back, it was clear that this was going to be a kinder, gentler Ricky when he chose to take not one but two shots at a safe target -- Kim Kardashian -- within the first ten minutes of the broadcast. When Gervais introduced Johnny Depp, the evening's first presenter, he cleverly managed to signal all was forgiven(at least by Depp)for his full-frontal attacks like the one he deployed on The Tourist last year. If you happened to have forgotten, Gervais basically called out Depp for making one of the worst movies of last year with costar Angelina Jolie. Tonight, he told the audience that Depp had taken such a hit for making the film that he was now reduced to starring in a film with him. When Depp took the stage Gervais asked Depp if he had yet to see The Tourist to which Depp sheepishly admitted he hadn't. It was a funny bit and it worked to set the right tone for the night.

From there on in, the stars knew it was pretty much safe to come out on stage and those that did endured fairly benign ribbing which made for a relaxed evening that has always made the Globes the best of the award shows to watch. Full disclosure: I switched to PBS for my weekly fix of Downton Abbey from 9 to 10 pm (moments after it won its own Globe for Best Mini-Series. Hurray!) so I won't be doing my usual minute-by-minute recap. Instead, here's my fashion scorecard from the evening. Let's face it, that's what you want to read about anyway. (For those do who care, I will be doing my usual minute-by-minute recap of The Academy Awards next month)

Okay, let's talk fashion.

The evening's big winner? Zac Posen who dressed so many women I finally lost count including Reese Witherspoon, Kelly Osbourne (never looked better)and glamazon Elle Macpherson.

So who was Best Dressed? Hard to say, I have to give it to Angelina Jolie. While she contends she isn't particularly fond of doing the whole red carpet thing, no other actress is doing it better right now. Sure, she looked a little ice queen-ish but like my mother always said, it's not what you wear, it's how you wear it and Angelina owned that red carpet. No question. Her choice of the one shoulder ivory satin stunner accented with a touch of red by Versace Atelier is sure to be one of those images that we see over and over again forever. Everything was perfect: the understated hair swept into a chic chingnon, the scarlet lips and the red clutch were to die for. If we were scoring points for best dressed couple, however, we'd have to deduct some points. We like the clean, shaven classic Brad a lot better than the scraggly one.

There are several runners-up for the night's top fashion honors. My three favorites of the night: Charlize Theron in pale pink Dior couture (I have to say I really loved the black Azzedine Alaia she wore to the Critic's Choice Awards), Natalie Portman in a sumptuous crimson and fuchsia Lanvin (a glorious way to return from maternity leave!)and Kate Beckinsale (the best body in Hollywood) in a strapless beaded Cavalli gown in the evening's surprisingly popular shade of greige.

Stacy Keibler's looked beautiful in her red Valentino gown(loved the bow in the back!) She and beau George Clooney are my pick for the night's best looking couple. Big surprise, I know.

Other actresses who dressed and impressed: Sofia Vergara in a strapless navy Vera Wang fishtail gown that showed off her twice a day visits to the gym in preparation for tonight perfectly. An elegant Jessica Alba in a lavender beaded Gucci gown that reminded me of another dress in a similar hue that first got her notice on the carpet several years ago. Alba has taken a page from Halle Berry's playbook and began dressing like a movie star long before she became one.

And a round of applause for two of my favorite Hollywood vets: the ageless Michelle Pfeiffer looked absolutely flawless in her navy strapless Armani with its flowing tiered skirt. At 73, Jane Fonda showing off her still killer bod and beautiful face (so what if it's been helped along, she looks good) is my hero.

I bet Reese Witherspoon is having a lot of good sex. How else do you explain her temptress bedhead tresses and skintight red fishtail gown? Contrast this look, if you can, with that frumpy 1960's debutante ball gown she wore when she won her Oscar one husband ago. The transformation is striking. It's not that she didn't look good, but it was just a little too much. I much preferred her revenge dressing looks that she wore from Nina Ricci when she and Ryan Phillippe first spilt.

What a difference a few years make, Madonna. I was frankly shocked that she chose to wear a completely boring Reem Acra (really?) on the red carpet after such a long absence in the limelight. Meh. And the crucifix and gloves? Haven't we moved on from that?

Rooney Mara has one of the most gorgeous faces I've ever seen. I liked her black Nina Ricci dress but it felt it was a little too much of an expected choice given we've seen her in so much black of late. Time to let go of the goth girl.

What was with all those matronly dresses? I love Michelle Williams (who happened to give one of the evening's loveliest speeches) but her penchant for frumpy frocks is disappointing. Remember that dreadful burlap sack adorned with daisies she wore to last year's Globes? This year's panne velvet number by Jason Wu was an improvement but not by much. She is too lovely for these heavy dresses that overwhelm her petite frame.

Jessica Biel looked like she was wearing Sandra Bullock's wedding dress from The Proposal before Betty White altered it. Draping that gives you a third breast is never a good idea. I stood next to this beautiful creature on the red carpet this fall when she was wearing a gorgeous Giambattista Valli. When she gets it right, she's flawless. This was not one of those nights.

Another Jessica, The Help's Jessica Chastain, missed by a mile in a too tight, strangely styled Givenchy. I didn't get the turtleneck, all those pearls or the belt. And her fussy hair aged her. This beautiful young actress, who is really having a moment, needed a statement making dress to suit the stellar year she's had. This was not it.

And what was up with Mila Kunis? You get a contract with Dior and you show up looking like you've put on ten pounds and you've been up all night? I love this actress and anointed her as a new fashion star at last year's Oscars when she wore that dazzling lace dress in lavender by Elie Saab, but tonight she looked awful.

Memo to Lea Michelle: please stop trying so hard. She was literally the last person left on E!'s red carpet and was posing for anyone with a flash. And that lace Marchesa, which would have looked more at home on a professional ice rink, was as overwrought as the actress who wore it.

Now it's on to the SAG Awards!

Leave a comment and tell me who you thought was the night's best and worst dressed.
Photos: Getty

DOWNTON ABBEY: RECAP SEASON TWO, EPISODE ONE

2012-01-09T12:38:00.033-05:00

Well, it certainly was worth the wait.

Season two of Downton Abbey opened with very PBS-like fanfare -- a one minute interview by PBS president Neal Shapiro with Elizabeth McGovern (Lady Cora) and a brief introduction to the episode by Laura Linney all dressed up in a suitably elegant black lace dress. We appreciate the gesture, but it wasn't really necessary to have the actress with a penchant for period pieces introduce the season as a way to class up the joint. As Lady Cora likes to say: "No need to gild the lily, dear."

With those distractions out of the way, it took all of a minute to be transported back in time -- to 1916 to be exact. The season's first scene which depicted Matthew (Dan Stevens)leading his men in the trenches at the Battle of the Somme told us this is going to be a very different season at Downton, indeed. Life back at the sprawling Edwardian estate seems "like another world" recalled Matthew to a fellow solider. And now, a greatly changed one for sure.

Cue music and with that, the show's familiar haunting soundtrack swept us back to that fantastical place where politeness and propriety still reigns in the face of war, but not without its challenges.(Last night, the use of music was particularly effective. The show should be sponsored by Kleenex!) Stoic and steadfast Mr. Carson (Jim Carter, never better) works himself sick because he believes "keeping up standards is the only way to let the Germans know they will not beat us in the end." Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) grapples with the realization his days on the battlefield are over and is a bit shamed and chagrined to learn his role as a colonel in this new war is largely ceremonial -- he is charged with 'keeping the spirits up at home.' Lady Grantham is left wistfully to watch her daughters grapple with finding out who they are in the face of the changes the winds of war have brought upon the family and the servants.

"War makes early risers of us all," announces the Dowager Countess as she arrives one morning as Lord and Lady Grantham are directing the staff to prepare for a fundraising concert to be held that evening at Downton to help the war effort. Maggie Smith is off and running when her countess helpfully volunteers to oversee the flower arrangements. She fires the first of many deliciously acerbic one liners with impeccable timing. Upon assessing Cora's efforts she surmises the bouquets "look like something from a first communion .... in southern Italy."

We're quickly brought up to speed on Crawley's three daughters. The perpetually overlooked Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael)has taken up driving having had lessons from Branson, the chauffeur (who, I predict, is going to attract quite a following this season)and announces one night at dinner that she's told some neighbors that she's be happy to drive a tractor to help them care for their farm. After all, she reasons, there will soon be no men left at home for such work so she might as well make the best of it. And she does, falling for the farmer which doesn't sit well with his wife. Something tells me she isn't going to just take the latest in a long line of rejections in stride.

Encouraged by Isobel Crawley (Penelope Wilton), Lady Sybill (Jessica Brown-Findlay), intent on making a contribution to the war effort ("I want to do real work") goes off to work at a nearby hospital in York. Before she leaves, she enlists the aid of the kitchen staff who teach her how to boil water (literally). She winds up in a hospital working with the former duplicitous butler Thomas, who managed to get himself sent home from battle by putting himself in harm's way. (More on him later)

While both her younger sisters are grappling with the changes at home, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) has gone off to London. When she returns, she learns that Matthew is engaged (spitefully Edith couldn't wait to tell her) to Lavina Swire (Zoe Boyle)and that the man she still loves and his new fiancee are expected for to attend the concert and dinner at Downton that very night.

Julian Fellowes manages to pack more in the first half hour of this episode than most network producers unspool in an entire season. Yet nothing felt rushed or forced. It was simply brilliant storytelling and never more so when he gives viewers the kiss they've been waiting for between long suffering Bates and Anna. Having returned from London on the same train as Mary after his mother's death with news that he's inherited more money than he'd known about, he tells Anna that he can finally divorce his wife since she'll take the money and run. He tells her they can go off and buy a small hotel and start a family. "In my whole life, I never thought I could be this happy," a glowing Anna tells Bates. The actors (the equally wonderful Brendan Coyle and Joanne Froggatt)played the scene with such a palpable longing making what followed almost unbearable to watch.

A woman seen from the back wearing a large black hat (A coincidence? We think not) is heard telling Ethel, the new housemaid (who, not so subtly represents the many cultural changes afoot in the mansion with her outspokenness over her resolution to'better herself')about some salacious gossip about the family. She is none other than the long lost Mrs. Bates. I hated her on sight. Her voice dripping with venom, she introduces herself to Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) and Anna. In short order, she's blackmailed Bates into leaving Downton with threats of going public with the ruinous story of Mary's ill fated night with Mr. Pamuk. Having no choice (in his mind) but to sacrifice happiness for the sake of the Crawleys, Bates, offering no explanation to Lord Grantham, resigns his post. Lord Grantham, who is becoming increasingly agitated about the torrent of changes he can't control happening all around him explodes "I've never been so disappointed" while Bates silently endures his tirade.

I was literally sobbing by the time Bates said good-bye to Anna telling her his wife reminded him he was a married man and he needed to go off an honor his vows. While Anna knew this couldn't possibly be the truth, Bates offered her no other explanation despite her pleas not to do anything if it was to save Anna from whatever his horrid wife had in store. But it was no use. It was over. But is it? Mrs. Hughes, who'd lent the estranged couple her office for their reunion chat, was listening at the grate outside heard the long sordid thing and knows the real story behind Bates' hasty departure. She later shared what she knew with Mr. Carson. We found the picture below on the PBS website today, so we're hoping there's a glimmer of happiness for our favorite Downton couple down the road.

Downton's other star crossed would-be lovers, Lady Mary and Matthew exchanged glances across the crowded parlour when he arrives with Lavina. "Well, looks aren't everything," sniped the Dowager Countess as everyone was on their best behavior pretending to be happy for everybody else. Matthew, upon receiving congratulations from Mary, asks her if she's happy. "I'm about to be, does that count?" We doubt it. For the rest of the episode, the former couple treat each other gingerly while juggling their new romances. I thought Fellowes did a particularly good job with making us care about the couple. Honestly, I didn't see that strong of a connection between Lady Mary and Matthew last season so one has to surmise that with them it's a case of absence making the heart grow fonder. (Their good-bye scene at the train station was positively cinematic. We're sure the stuffed dog Mary offers her former love for good luck will figure prominently in future episodes. Will Matthew go missing in battle leaving the tiny trinket behind? Stay tuned) Now that they are involved with others, there seem more in love than ever which can only mean some terrific things for future episodes.

Of course, Mary wouldn't be Mary if she wasn't sabotaging her prospects for a happy life. On that score, she has asked her father to welcome her latest suitor, Richard Carlisle, to Downton which displeases just about everyone. He's a self-made man whose money comes from sensational tabloid newspapers with little regard for keeping up appearances among the aristocratic set but possesses a keen understanding of what a wife to the manor born could mean for his fortunes. "The hawker of newspaper scandal" as Lord Grantham calls him is clearly a harbinger of nasty things to come. Later, when Lady Rosamund (Samantha Bond) hears him arguing with none other than Lavinia in the gardens we know he's up to no good and that's bound to mean trouble for the entire lot.

With so much to do with these major storylines, Fellowes somehow managed to bring viewers up to date on what was happening with all of the servants and there were plenty of surprises on that front, too. I'm not crazy about the new servants or those formerly in the background that have been given more to do this season but that's because their screen time takes precious minutes away from the favorites of season one.

There is one actor whose work in last night's episode warrants a special mention because he was given so much more to do this go round and more than delivered the goods. Thomas' storyline is quite compelling and a well drawn bridge between the house's upstairs-downstairs worlds. Kudos to Rob James-Collier for giving viewers a glimpse into the former footman's tortured psyche. All of Thomas' scheming to secure a place in the medical core in hopes of saving himself from the worst of the war has clearly backfired. When we see him again he's positively terrified on the battlefield. His plans to get himself back to Downton are aided by his old ally O'Brien. He's successful (but not exactly welcomed with open arms). The move proves costly as it land him in unfamiliar emotional territory when he has to grapple with a tragic unexpected loss.

Who knew that a series about love and loss among the emotional ruins of one family and their servants alive during the waning years of British empire would prove to be the most addictive drama to come along in ages. "There is never a dull moment in this house," says the Dowager Countess as she assures a dinner guest when things go awry. We're counting on it.

See you next Sunday!

Photos: Courtesy of PBS

THE ROYAL WATCH: ALL HAIL DOWNTON ABBEY!

2012-01-04T21:17:00.047-05:00

Forgive me, loyal readers of The Royal Watch. Up until now, this blog has been devoted exclusively to chronicling the goings on of the British royal family. This week, I'm breaking with tradition to write about another equally fascinating family from across the pond.

I'm talking, of course about those embattled aristocrats of "Downton Abbey" -- and their loyal servants (with a few wicked exceptions).

"Downton Abbey," whose second season premieres Sunday night on PBS Masterpiece is as addictive as any soap opera I've ever seen (and trust me, that's saying something!) But it's not a guilty pleasure. I guarantee you'll feel smarter after watching one episode. For all its sublime plot twists and turns and star crossed romances, the period drama is also something of a history lesson on what life was like in Europe on the brink of World War I. For the uninitiated, the series chronicles the lives of the Crawley family and their servants during the reign of King George V. Season one opened with the news of the sinking of the Titanic, an event which sets the story in motion as the family is left without an heir.

Set against the backdrop of a lavish estate in the English countryside during the late Edwardian era, "Downton Abbey," has it all. Breathtaking scenery gorgeously shot, a lavish production (its been reported production costs run upwards of $1 million per episode) filled with beautiful period costumes offering enough inspiration for years of Ralph Lauren collections, perfectly calibrated performances from first rate actors who literally disappear into their characters and enough drama surrounding class conflict, ambition, sex and sibling rivalry to make network executives green with envy.

And then there's the extraordinary house. "Downton" is itself character in the series played by Highclere Castle located in Berkshire. Shooting a majority of the scenes in the huge, imposing structure and on its sprawling grounds lends a rare air of authenticity to the production.

None of this is surprising of course since its part of PBS' Masterpiece Classic. Downton's pedigree is simply impeccable. Written and produced by Julian Fellowes (who won an Oscar for his Gosford Park screenplay in 2001), the show is an original work produced by Britain's ITV by Carnival Film & Television with PBS Masterpiece as coproducer. Originally conceived as a mini-series, it won six Emmys last year and is nominated for four Golden Globes this year. It was recently been announced production will soon start on season three.

What is shocking is "Downton's" runaway ratings and surging popularity here in the states at a time where the tastes of the lowest common denominator dictate much of what makes it to the small screen. In season one which aired first in England, Brits and American Anglophiles alike were consumed with the 'upstairs and downstairs' lives of the inhabitants of a sprawling Edwardian mansion. Without the big media campaign and network hype that seems to come along with every 'prestigious' production these days, season one of the show drew an amazing 5 million viewers to each episode. (In contrast, "Mad Men's" wildly celebrated first season drew just under 1 million viewers.) In the U.K., season two -- which as already aired -- drew 9 million viewers. Starting this Sunday, record numbers of stateside viewers will likely flock to PBS to find out how the war has effected the social order of "Downton."

Perhaps some of the success of the period drama can be attributed to its timely resonance with modern life with its themes surrounding class conflict and a world struggling to adapt to new technology (a telephone! a typewriter! electricity!). While it appears the stories surrounding various classes and their issues are very specific to the period, there's an appealing timelessness to the stories as well. "The way of life of these servanted houses has always interested me," says Fellowes. "There is something intriguing about this group of people living in close proximity but with such different expectations. The family is living within a sphere and the servants are living in a different one. All with different hopes and dreams."

Thanks to the show's historical advisor, Alistair Bruce, everything about the era in which these people lived is spot on down to the smallest detail from the way in which a valet assisted the lord of the manor with his evening dress to how newspapers were ironed by a footman before they were sent up on the family's breakfast trays. "If the details are right, chance are people will enjoy it more and get more into the story," explains Bruce.

I have to admit, Downton wasn't on my radar when it premiered last year. Thanks to a nasty bug that kept me in bed for several days over the holidays, I was able to watch the entire first season in one marathon session. When I popped in the first DVD containing Downton's first two episodes I was literally transported to England circa 1914 in minutes. A few hours later, I'd watched of all seven episodes and was stunned by what I'd just seen.

I simply could not get the residents of Downton out of my mind (or the haunting soundtrack out of my head). There are 16 principal characters -- of them all with their own intriguing stories played by a mix of most British veterans and appealing newcomers. I adore Dame Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham and matriarch of Downton who presides over the family with her irrefutable opinions and delivers the most delicious one-liners of the series. Hugh Bonneville (who some viewers will recognize as Hugh Grant's best friend in "Notting Hill") is the heart and soul of the show as the stoic, sensible and soft-hearted Earl of Grantham who is married to Lady Cora played by Elizabeth McGovern (Best known for her role as Timothy Hutton's pretty high school friend in "Ordinary People"). Casting McGovern was a canny choice as she is one of very few American actors who live and work in the UK having moved their decades ago when she married British producer Simon Curtis. The Grantham's marriage which is cleverly depicted as having evolved from strategic union common within that class for the period (the Earl married Cora for her money) into a true love affair. The couple's affection for each other anchors the show with a timeless realism not often found in period pieces of this sort.

They have three daughters Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery ) whose love life presents untold complications for the family, Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) who seems destined for spinsterhood and secretly resents the attention lavished on Mary and the rebellious Lady Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay) with a growing interest in politics.

As for the servants, I didn't recognize any of these actors, but I suspect I'll be seeing a lot more of many of them. Most notably Joanne Frogatt whose poignant portrayal of head housemaid Anna, whose love for Mr. Bates (the wonderful Brendan Coyle) has kept her gingerly trying to break down the walls the emotional and physically scarred valet has erected around himself. The actors playing the duplicitous Thomas (Rob James-Collier) and O'Brien (Siobhan Finneran) have taken what could have easily been one dimensional caricatures and turned them into compulsively watchable supporting players.

While season one ended with Lady Mary turning down Matthew Crawley's proposal just as World War I begins, season two opens two years later with all of Europe emersed in the war and life at Downton dramatically changed as a result. Undoubtedly, scenes of war will cast a darker tone on the show taking viewers out of the stately house (which now doubles as a convalescent home for the wounded) and on to the battlefield.

What will that mean? How will the family and staff adapt to a new world filled with uncertainties? I'm simply dying to know if Bates and Anna find love and if Mary's secret will finally be revealed and if so, what does it mean for her and her parents? All of the more trivial matter of season one (lost snuff boxes and stolen wine) will undoubtedly pale in comparison to what the residents of Downton will have to face thanks to the winds of war.

If you want to be surprised, here's a word to the wise: stay away from the PBS website and anything from ITV. Spoilers abound. Part of why I loved discovering the series on DVD was the newness of it all. I knew absolutely nothing about the series when I began watching it. There is something delicious about letting Downton unfold at its own pace. When the screen goes to black after the final scene in each episode, the viewer is always genuinely surprised at its denouement and left wanting more.

For those viewers who feel compelled keep up with the Kardashians every week, "Downton" may not be your cup of tea but I have to say, the show's existence has restored a bit of my faith in the medium that somehow managed to make that creature named Snooki a star.

So if you haven't seen it already, do yourself a favor and run out and buy the DVD of season one now or watch it on Netflix before Sunday night's season two premiere. It's simply jolly good intelligent television. Pour yourself some tea, wrap yourself in your favorite cashmere throw and tune in. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON TWO PREMIERE
SUNDAY, JANUARY 8 9 P.M. ON PBS

Photos: Courtesy of PBS

Wills & Kate Plus One? The Royal Baby Watch Is On!

2011-11-20T22:24:00.033-05:00

Is she or isn't she?

Practically from the moment they walked out of the church as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the speculation about when Catherine and William would announce her pregnancy has been non-stop. First came the tabloid stories that she was too thin and therefore stressing out about having difficulty conceiving. Then, reports of various due dates started to appear. Some other cited 'royal insiders' saying she would be giving birth in early 2012. Earlier this month while on an official engagement in Copenhagen (as pictured above), Catherine, who is usually game for anything, fueled the pregnancy rumors by politely declining to sample some peanut paste. Royal bump watchers pointed to the notion that doctors usually advise pregnant women to avoid peanuts due to allergens.

Now, InTouch is reporting that Catherine is six weeks pregnant and is preparing not one but three nurseries at their various homes including one in Kensington Palace. Miguel Head, an official palace spokesperson for the duchess addressed the report by saying: "We never confirm or deny these rumors. This is about the millionth pregnancy report we've had. If it were true, you'd hear the announcement from us and not a gossip magazine in the U.S."

Here's my take: While InTouch did manage to correctly break news about the couple's honeymoon plans and reporting the Queen's wedding gift to Catherine, it seems unlikely that the magazine would wind up with such a prized scoop. It's also worth noting that given the approach the royals took in controlling every aspect of disseminating the information about Catherine and William beginning with their engagement right right through the Today show worthy official website to chronicle their every detail of their wedding, they have learned a lot about packaging the stories about William and Catherine and leveraging them to their greatest advantage.

Unlike the high profile royal couples that have come before them, Catherine and William seem to have picked their friends and 'insiders' wisely with nary a peep of about anything of any significance relating to their marriage being leaked since they became husband and wife. They have brilliantly managed to be both the most accessible (Kate goes to the market to do her own food shopping!) and most elusive (remember how tight lipped even the celebs were when the royals made their trip to California?) royal newlyweds ever. Quite a feat in the age of the 24/7 news cycle.

With those factors in mind, if the tabloids couldn't manage to break the story about who designed the duchess' wedding dress (Remember the palace revealed Sarah Burton to be the designer with great synchronicity by announcing it on the wedding website with sketches at the precise moment Catherine stepped from her car at Westminster Abbey) it's hard to believe they'd get the royal scoop of the decade

If there is a pregnancy, I predict the official announcement from the palace will come at Christmas refuting (at least the timetable of) InTouch's story. And, of course, if there isn't any word forthcoming any time soon from Buckingham Palace, the tabloid can always spin the tale to their advantage -- "Kate's Baby Sorrow!" or something of that ilk.

Of course it's a matter of when, not if, the royal newlyweds have their first child. What makes the royal babywatch even more interesting to me right now is the recently announced changes to the archaic royal succession rules. Last month, the 16 leaders from the Commonwealth countries voted to end the centuries-old rule that discriminates against female heirs to the British throne. This means that regardless of whether Catherine and William's first born is female, she will follow him in the line of succession. He is currently second in line to the throne behind his father, Prince Charles (And no matter what has been reported elsewhere, there is no plans afoot for William to ascend to the throne instead of Charles, who last spring, became the longest serving heir). The British monarchy is a monarchy built on tradition and continuity and no amount of opinion polls touting William's (and Catherine's) popularity is going to change that.

The change that allows Catherine's and William's daughter to become the future queen even if the couple goes on to have a son, is the biggest change to happen to inner workings of the monarchy in centuries.

The time will come -- in all likelihood it will be decades from now -- when William becomes king. Will it then be his daughter or his son that will become heir to the throne? Thanks to an important change to the law, the waiting game will be an even more fascinating one if Catherine and William's eldest child is a daughter.

I, for one, am crossing my fingers that the couple has a girl and names her Diana.

Think of all the karmic possibilities.

Photo credit: Getty Images

THE ROYAL WATCH: WELL-MATCHED NEWLYWEDS, A NEW ROYAL BIO PIC & KATE-INSPIRED KIDDIE CLOTHES

2011-08-05T20:53:00.030-04:00

It's been a few weeks since the royal newlyweds returned from their successful first official visit to Canada and California and by all appearances, they've gone back to their 'normal' life. The duchess was once again photographed going grocery shopping in Wales and the picture above is a shot of William and Catherine hand in hand while strolling through Edinburgh's Holyrood Park last week.

They look like any other young couple in love (albeit an extremely color coordinated one)and even with the world's eye trained on their every move, they seem as comfortable as they can be trying to get on with their lives as everyone watches. I don't know about you, but I can't help but wonder what goes on behind closed doors at their home is Wales. Remember when Catherine got her first look at the crowds that had gathered to cheer the couple as they walked out on to the balcony at Buckingham Palace on their wedding day? You could see her mouthing, 'Wow!' to William. It's that sense of genuine wonderment at the pageantry that goes along with the official duties of being royal with her levelheadedness and composure as the love of William's life that makes her so utterly charming to so many people. You're doing great Kate, keep it up.

This past week I've spent a lot of time talking to the cast of the upcoming Hallmark movie, William & Catherine: A Royal Romance which premieres Saturday, August 27. It stars newcomers Alice St. Clair and Dan Amboyer (above) as Catherine and William. The supporting cast, which includes a four-time Academy Award nominee is impressive: Jane Alexander plays Queen Elizabeth, Victor Garber (Alias) is Prince Charles and Jean Smart (Designing Women, 24, Samantha Who?) is Camilla. I joked with all of the supporting cast about how they are a vast improvement in the looks department on the genuine articles. "Well, at least I have the ears," joked Victor Garber.

The film, which chronicles the now familiar ground of the couple's long courtship, takes the unusual approach of exploring William's emotional life through flashbacks depicting his close relationship with his mother, Princess Diana played by Lesley Harcourt (above). There are several scenes with the Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla that also offer a glimpse into what William -- and now Catherine -- have to contend with as young royals who aren't about to give up love for the sake of duty. I've not seen the screener yet because the producers are rushing to get it done in record time, but based on my conversations with everyone involved, I'm intrigued and am fairly certain it will draw raves from royal watchers who can't get enough of William and Catherine. Look for my piece on the film in an upcoming Sunday edition of The New York Post. I'll also be posting interview transcripts with the actors to coincide with the premiere of the film.

If you are looking for proof that Catherine is the year's most celebrated style icon (she landed on the International Best Dressed list in the September issue of Vanity Fair), just check out the offerings at your local mall. This weekend on a trip to the Westchester in White Plains, I saw 'The Kate Effect' everywhere I looked. At the Baby GAP, there is the UK-inspired Portobello Road collection as seen in the adorable ad above. (Crown not included) For upscale fashionable tykes one of my favorite children's boutiques, Janie and Jack, has their own 'Lovely London' collection featuring gray flannel dresses and short pants, a trench coat, sweet plaid dresses and sweaters and party dresses embellished with British street scenes featuring London Bridge, Big Ben and the guards at Buckngham Palace. Both stores have tons of options for moms looking to outfit their young princes and princesses royally.

At Nine West, the affordable footwear label that has never met a trend they didn't knock off, I found a stampede of nude patent leather platforms and pumps obviously inspired by Catherine's favorite footwear by LK Bennett. If you're wondering what it's like to be in her shoes, this is probably the closest you're ever going to come to finding out.

Photo credits: Fame, Hallmark Chanel, GAP, Getty

THE ROYAL WATCH: KATE'S DIANA DILEMMA

2011-07-26T09:45:00.035-04:00

Ever since the world caught its first glimpse of Kate Middleton, now Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, sporting the same sapphire engagement ring worn by Princess Diana, the endless comparisons between the two have not stopped. It's only natural that the young woman who married Diana's son would be compared to her. In choosing to give her his mother's ring, I suspect that William tried to somewhat preempt all Di vs. Kate comparisons by getting out in front of it and acknowledging that while his beautiful, stylish young wife is not Diana 2.0, she is her natural successor in the eyes of the public and, if truth be told, in the eyes of the royal family as well.

Aside from the obvious similarities -- the photogenic looks, savvy fashion sense and naturalness with people -- there are substantial differences between the two women, the most significant being that while Diana was expected to fend for herself and learn the royal ropes simply by being thrown in the deep end, Catherine has been the recipient of boundless guidance and support from her husband and the rest of his family.

No matter how hard the British royal family may try to take the best of what Diana brought to their orbit, impress those experiences upon Catherine and sigh with relief that she doesn't bring the same emotional baggage to Kensington Palace that Diana did, they can't escape the spectre of Diana. The public simply won't allow it.

It is a credit to Catherine that her wedding in all its splendor was uniquely her own. She was so dazzling and regal (more than any other royal, it's worth noting) that there was no one or nothing that overshadowed her on that day. That is why it seems a bit odd that it is now, seeing her adapting to her new life as a royal that Diana's ghost seems to hover around her at every turn.

I'm not talking about Tina Brown's ghoulish Newsweek cover either. By the way, why on Earth was Diana made to look so wizened? I'd bet the farm that Diana would have looked a hell of a lot better than was imagined in that photo composite.

When Catherine and William stepped out for the BAFTA gala, I gasped when I saw the duchess get out of the car in a dress that was virtually identical (except for its lavender color) to the dress Diana wore at Cannes. Since Catherine was given a primer on how Diana handled the media and red carpet appearances you have to wonder if her choice of this stunning Alexander McQueen dress was meant to be a silent homage to Diana or is it that she has been so influenced by her late mother in law that she subconsciously picked the style without realizing the connection.

I'm fascinated by William's gifts of his mother's jewelry to Catherine. He has explained that choosing to give her Diana's engagement ring was done in part to assure his mother "played a significant part" in their wedding. He recently gifted his bride with his mother's sapphire and diamond studs (seen in the pictures above) which have been refashioned into the duchess' favored style of drop earrings. Since these earrings are not part of the royal family's jewels but part of Diana's personal collection they are rife with meaning. Kate's decision to wear them to public appearances is a calculated one for sure since she knows people that follow such things are bound to notice and write about it. (Done and done)

While the breathless comparisons between Diana and Catherine's style are a fun fluffy diversion, the growing whispers -- and prevalence of tabloid stories -- about another thing the two women may share is something else indeed. With Catherine's rapidly shrinking frame, Princess Diana's much chronicled battle with eating disorders have been brought back into the forefront.

This picture of Catherine and Nicole Kidman, one of Hollywood's slimmest actresses, at the BAFTA gala is simply shocking (and is sure to horrify the Oscar winner). It's clear that Catherine has lost considerable weight since her wedding. According to one tabloid, experts put her weight at below 100 pounds which is clearly unhealthy for a young woman of her height (5'10"). It was widely reported that Catherine (and her mother) were both on the Dukan diet (basically the French version of the Atkins diet) in the months leading up to the wedding. But now it appears that the new bride is veering dangerously close to the same unhealthy territory that plagued Diana when she first joined 'The Firm.' While it's true that Catherine is older and more sophisticated than Diana was when she first had to adapt to life as a royal, the pressure she is facing is just as intense. In some ways, one could argue, it's almost worse.

Hence, Kate's 'Diana Dilemma.'

Unlike Diana, Catherine has a lot to live up to. Diana forged her own path as the first superstar of the royal family of the media age. Until she came on the scene, there was no British royal that transfixed the world the way Diana did. The Windsors have learned valuable lessons from Diana and more significantly from the public reaction to her death. In order to remain relevant in this post-recession, Internet age, the British royal family knows they need a compliant superstar that will dazzle the public and tow the party line in private. Catherine fits the bill perfectly. She has dutifully gone out and done the walkabouts that were required of her chatting with regular folks and pulled off her first official visit with her husband to Canada and California beautifully.

It's been reported that William and Catherine are pulling back a bit for the rest of the year to enjoy being newlyweds (the rest of the unwritten sentence goes something like this -- and so as not to overshadow the Queen). And, of course, there's Prince Charles who has been all but forgotten in the mix which can't possibly sit well with him. Catherine is said to have grown close to Camilla and looks to her as an advisor on royal life. Call me cynical, but I wouldn't want to have to navigate my way around that snake pit. (Camilla selflessly volunteered to show Diana around when she became engaged to Charles). I'm willing to bet that things could get pretty tense once William and Kate have their first child. There is no way in the world there will be any oxygen left for any other royal in the mind of the public when that happens. Of course, there is a great deal of affection for Queen and there always will be, but as far as the public is concerned there is Catherine and William and Harry (and his future bride). No one else matters.

While everyone seems to be getting on fine now, all of this has to weigh heavily on Catherine's tiny shoulders as she wants to please her in-laws, do whatever is expected of her and make her husband proud. Luckily, she has the love of her adoring husband (which Diana did not). Hopefully, that will be enough to make it through the initiation phase of her new life as a royal. It seems obvious that the stress has taken a physical toll on Catherine even with all the support she is getting. The only visible strain so far that we've seen has been the Queen's less than thrilled reaction to the display of Catherine's wedding dress in Kensington Palace when she accompanied her to see the installation. It's been reported that she found the exhibition "horrid" and expressed those sentiments directly to Catherine. (I have to agree with the Queen. I find the disembodied gown and floating tiara a bit ghostly)

So perhaps Catherine's dramatic weight loss is the first indication of just how much pressure the newlywed is feeling as she adapts to a life so far removed from anything she had ever known. She is clearly a very strong young woman who has not yet faltered in the public eye. She is not 'the new Diana,' but yet she must feel the pressure to live up to a woman who in death has only grown in stature. A tall order to be sure. This has to be worrisome for William because saw first-hand how much his mother's battles with low self-esteem cost her. I'm certain he won't let the same thing happen to his new wife.

Photo credits: Getty

THE ROYAL WATCH: Kate's Fashion Report Card

2011-07-11T13:57:00.044-04:00

She's only been a royal for ten weeks, but the newly minted Duchess of Cambridge is proving she's no novice when it comes to fashion. Having mastered the art of high-low dressing by combining both designer (Alexander McQueen, Catherine Walker) with high street (her go-to label, Issa), Catherine is proving herself worthy of her fashion star title.

For her trip to Canada and California, the Duchess of Cambridge traveled with nearly 40 different outfits (and without a dresser!) but was smart enough to bring her trusted hair stylist, James Pryce along. (Smart choice. What woman wouldn't want a professional blow out every morning?) Without handlers or a lady-in-waiting to keep things looking fabulous, Catherine actually pulled herself together every morning without help. This shouldn't really come as a surprise since she was brave enough to do her own makeup on her wedding day undaunted by the fact that billions of people from around the world would be watching.

I've been impressed by everything I've seen her wear, but especially on this trip. As the Brits like to say, she "didn't put a foot wrong." One of the things I like best about Catherine's sense of style is that that she isn't afraid to trot out her favorite pieces again and again (like those L.K. Bennett pumps she wears everywhere). I'm not sure that makes her a royal recessionista, but it does show that Catherine is very much in touch with 'the real world' and that she wants to be perceived as a modern young woman and not a royal show pony.

She is quickly establishing her signature look by selecting sleek, well-tailored pieces (that aren't necessarily expensive) usually in neutrals or jewel tones that both flatter her and photograph extremely well. I particularly liked the purple long sleeve Issa dress worn with gorgeous Prada pumps and a diamond brooch in the shape of a Maple leaf first worn by Queen Elizabeth on her first trip to Canada in 1951.

It's impossible to analyze Catherine's style without making those inevitable comparisons to Princess Diana and during the royal couple's trip to Canada, I was instantly reminded of the late Princess of Wales when I saw the duchess wowing the crowds on 'Canada Day.' Like Diana always did, Catherine is using clothes to communicate to the world. Diana learned very early on in her public life that appearances counted for a great deal. Catherine has been an equally quick study from her choice of the flawlessly elegant and timeless McQueen wedding gown to her affordable Issa dresses, she has used clothes in the absence of words to tell the world she understands that she's a duchess-slash-princess for the modern age. Simply put, Catherine intuitively understands the power of style. Kudos to her for forging her own path in the limelight by neither dressing like a celebrity designer shill nor succumbing to the British royals penchant for alternately frumpy and freakishly outlandish get-ups (favored by Princess Beatrice and Eugenie. Will you ever forget Beatrice's IUD-inspired hat at the royal wedding? Me either)

Besides her Duchess of Cambridge title, Catherine seems to have inherited another title from Diana -- the Ambassador of British Fashion. While it was widely believed that Diana was required to wear clothing from British designers, it was, in fact, her choice to do so. When she wasn't wearing Catherine Walker or Bruce Oldfield, she always made sure to wear something designed by a native of the country she was visiting along with her favorite British designers. Catherine, it seems, is following suit. In Canada, she mixed Burberry, Reiss and Catherine Walker with pieces from Canadian labels. The minute I saw those first images of the Duchess of Cambridge greeting the crowds in Canada on July 1 wearing an ivory Reiss dress (the same one from her engagement photo!) and that red maple leaf fascinator by Canadian Sylvia Fletcher at Lock and Co., I thought of the striking similarities between her look and the ivory Catherine Walker suit and ivory and red hat emblazoned with a 'rising sun' by Philip Sommerville worn by Diana in Tokyo in 1990. 'Theme' dressing for official visits was very popular with Diana during the eighties and early nineties and Catherine has adopted that rather playful tradition with the same delightful results.

Fittingly during the royal couple's trip to Los Angeles, Catherine appeared at the BAFTA fete in a Grace Kelly worthy gown by Alexander McQueen very reminiscent of the diaphanous Catherine Walker dress Diana once wore to Cannes.

Take a look:

Catherine and William on the red carpet at the BAFTA event this weekend:

Princess Diana and Prince Charles at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987:

Although flattered by the comparisons, I'm told Catherine is weary of the frequent comparisons between her and her late mother-in-law (One can only imagine what she must have thought of Tina Brown's ghoulish Newsweek cover). And so, she is caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place when it comes to her look. Since Catherine's and Diana's style is so similar, it's only natural to think that the newest member of the royal family finds some inspiration in Diana in honing her look for her life in the spotlight. While I'm sure Catherine is a great admirer of Diana, I'm also struck by the fact that unlike Diana, she came into her new role as a confident young woman who is very much comfortable in her own skin. (Can you imagine any famous actress today wearing a three year old dress for an important photograph or red carpet event?) By contrast, it was only in the last years of Diana's life that she seemed to have been at peace with herself and her looks.

And that is the biggest difference between these two women who will forever be linked by history. The most attractive element in Catherine's wardrobe is her easy, relaxed confidence that she effortlessly slips into when she's out making appearances with Prince William. After watching them together on this trip, I have to say they are a positively captivating couple. She radiates with happiness; he beams with pride. No designer dress or dazzling diamond can compete with that.

It's just like the old adage my mother, a former model who lived in jeans, always told me, it's not what you wear, it's how you wear it.

Catherine wears her new worldwide fame beautifully. Fashion Report Card Grade: A -- For a fashion star on the rise.

Photo credits: Getty Images, Retna, Fotoglif

THE ROYAL WATCH Diana at 50: What Might Have Been

2011-06-29T22:27:00.024-04:00

When I wrote my book, Diana The Secrets of Her Style one of the things I speculated about was how Diana might have handled getting older. Undoubtedly, she would have remained the embodiment of glamour for a generation of women as she (and they) reached the milestone of a fiftieth birthday. No doubt, she would have looked fabulous helped along by rigorous sessions with a personal trainer and some Botox. Her style would have continued to evolve into one that mixed high-low better than Michelle Obama could ever dream of doing. She would have graced the cover of American Vogue at least twice and Tina Brown would have tried her best to land her for the first cover of Newsweek. I have no doubt Diana would have shown us how to age gracefully and with style.

Just as the newly minted Duchess of Cambridge is destined to become an icon to this generation of twenty something women, Diana was a cultural touchstone and yes, heroine, to the women who are now on the brink -- or just this side of fifty. I know this to be true because I am one of them. I felt a kinship to Diana from the moment I first saw her on the pages of People magazine. When she married her prince, we were the same age and even shared the same nickname. When I began emulating her early look of pearl chokers, ruffled collared blouses, red shoes and cut my hair just like hers, my mother and her friends took to calling me 'Lady Di.' Then, when researching my book, I was stunned to learn that we shared another title. Her family called her 'The Duchess' in private as did mine. While on the surface her life bore absolutely no resemblance to mine, over time I came to relate to her on far deeper level than one based on her flawless sense of style.

Many of us saw our own reflection in Diana. When she exchanged ballgowns and tiaras for sleek suits and straighter hair, we recognized ourselves -- the idealized version of ourselves -- in Diana. We wanted to be like her and, it seemed she wanted to be like us. She was an old friend who survived her husband's infidelity and a painful divorce, the death of a beloved parent, the ups and downs of a fractured familial relationships and had struggles with self-esteem. She used (and abused) food to self-medicate, shopped out of boredom and cut her hair when her relationship soured. What women hasn't done at least one of those things? Diana made us believe in transformation and reinvention. Diana showed us that not every sadness or disappointment has to leave a visible, indelible mark. Ironically, she also taught us that the scars we can not see were inevitably the deepest.

So what would Diana be doing today?

I believe, having had her fill of showy, revenge relationships, she would have settled down (but perhaps not remarried) with a powerful, older man who would have undoubtedly not fit the mold set by her in-laws. If her passionate love affair with Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan was any indication (and I think it was) for the long haul, she would have settled down with a deeply serious man with a spiritual side. Having never lost her desire to shock 'the establishment' he could have been a Muslim (But she would have left Dodi after their ill-fated summer romance by Christmas of that year). But before she found her rock at last, she would have likely had a few high profile romances with some stateside moguls (Teddy Forstmann?) and undoubtedly lived at least some of the time in New York. Sorry Kevin Costner, but I don't for a minute believe she would have played herself in The Bodyguard 2.

Just as she was doing in the final year of her life, Diana would have continued to champion the causes closest to her and become even more involved in international politics. Surely she would have gotten on with David Cameron but likely have cut ties with Tony Blair having seen him fail in his peacemaking initiatives. She would have adored the Obamas. I'm fairly sure she would be running her own foundation (a la Bill Clinton) and jetting around the world to lend her star power and financial resources (funded by all those well-heeled gentleman and their friends that inhabited her orbit) to causes like cancer and AIDS research. Its not too far fetched to imagine Diana would have been one of the first to enlist in helping out with the telethons that raised money for the victims of 9/11 and the tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and Haiti.

I don't think she'd follow her former BFF Sarah Ferguson into the realm of reality television (she would have found Sarah's downfall terribly sad but not that unexpected) although she would undoubtedly have embraced social media and had her own website and Twitter feed (with just as many followers -- more, I'd like to think -- than Lady Gaga). She may have given one big interview in conjunction with the announcement of an important humanitarian initiative. Oprah would have likely scored the get of the century leaving Barbara Walters bitterly disappointed. Or, perhaps, she might have met Ann Curry while the new Today show co-host was covering one of the many disasters over the past decade and chosen to talk to her. They would have gotten on famously.

Her relationship with the royals would have largely recovered and, thanks to their bond over their sons, Diana and Charles would have built a strong friendship over the years. There would have been plenty of behind the scenes drama between Diana and Camilla once she became Charles' wife, but Diana would have made it work if she had finally found happiness in her personal life.

Diana would have remained William and Harry's closest confidant and would have been thrilled to see how they turned out. If Diana had lived, I'm guessing Harry would not have had nearly as many missteps with the press.

The big question -- How would Diana like Kate? -- is an interesting one because I believe if Diana hadn't died there might not have been a romance between William and Kate. The lessons the royals learned from her death, taught them they needed to allow William to break outside the confines of his royal lineage and marry a 'commoner' for love. Without the gaping wound of Diana's death that has defined much of his life since then, William would not have needed the solace he found in Kate and would possibly still be a bachelor. When he did settle down, he may have been encouraged to find a more 'suitable' wife who, if not a royal, was at least a woman with an aristocratic pedigree.

But if Diana were to become Kate's mother in law, surely she would have seen both the irony and the poignancy in watching a version of her younger self captivate the family and the public. She would have undoubtedly taken to the Middletons as William has and seen to it that she made a fast friend in both Michael and Carole. Most significantly, Kate would not be wearing Diana's engagement ring, she would not have walked up the aisle to the hymn that was played at Diana's funeral. Both women would have been allowed to be themselves rather than ghost and spiritual protege.

Diana and Kate would have laughed together at Ascot, been photographed in the royal box at Wimbledon and shopped at high street boutiques in matching skinny jeans and boots.

Just think of the pictures. They would have been gorgeous.

Photo credit: Kim Knott/Retna

THE ROYAL WATCH: Kate's a sell-out, Pippa isn't single & Michael Middleton for Father of the Year!

2011-06-19T10:48:00.032-04:00

In this week's royal watch, we continue tracking the Duchess of Cambridge's steady rise as a fashion star. While most often we're commending her for making relatively inexpensive high-street choices look chic, this week she earned top marks for her choice of Jenny Packham's $5,600 nude colored sequin gown that she wore at an ARK Charity dinner. The designer is a current favorite of Kate's (once rumored to be in the running for designing the wedding dress) and is a perfect choice for her penchant for understated elegance. We're told the dress sold out all over London once the images of the duchess appeared the next day. In what's been dubbed "The Kate Effect" Packham is just the latest in a series of fashion brands that have gotten a serious boost in sales thanks to the Duchess. The $175 taupe Reiss dress she wore to meet the Obamas sold out in 24 hours crashing the company's website. One can only imagine the fashion PR pitches that Clarence House must have to deal with on a daily basis. The mind reels ...

Now, on to the latest about Pippa Middleton who is proving to be more than a worthy stand-in for the tabloids hungry for royal dish. Despite all the reports that Pippa had broken up with Alex Loudon, reliable sources in London are telling us that the couple is, in fact, still together and word of an engagement is "imminent." If you ask me, Pippa was taking a page out of sister Kate's book when she went on vacation with former beau George Percy. According to insiders, Pippa and Alex were going through a "rough patch" but all is fine now. If you recall, when Prince William broke up with Kate, despite her feeling devastated she made sure she was out and about being spotted -- and photographed -- having a wonderful time. It worked for Kate and, it seems, it might have worked for Pippa. When it comes to keeping their men in line, these girls know what they're doing. Perhaps they should pen their own British version of 'The Rules.'

I have to admit I didn't have high hopes for Finding Sarah, the six-part documentary on Sarah Ferguson's quest for personal redemption that premiered on OWN last Sunday, but boy, was I wrong. The first installment was absolutely riveting television as the Duchess of York laid bare of all her heartbreaking insecurities for the audience to see. Our fascination with all things royals made this a must-see if only to hear what little tidbits she might divulge about 'The Firm.' And, in fact, she did deliver when she talked (however briefly) about how she isn't in touch with Prince Charles and has been banished from the family's Christmas celebrations since the divorce. Sitting in the back of a chauffeured car eating "her sweets," she offered an insider-turned-outsider's tour around London, pointing to Buckingham Palace ("my old house") and sadly reminiscing about living there.

Having thought what could possibly be left to learn about her struggles with her weight and self-esteem, her revelations about the emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of both parents was both sad and shocking. Even the requisite stunt casting which brought in Suze Orman and Dr. Phil to advise her felt raw and was riveting. The show left me rooting for the disgraced former duchess (who still won't admit to selling access to Prince Andrew despite being caught on film doing it -- but my money is on Dr. Phil for making her see the light). I, for one, am rooting for her. If you want to tune in the show airs on Sunday nights at 9 pm on OWN.

And finally, since it's Father's Day, I'd like to nominate Michael Middleton for sweetest father of the year. There were a lot of iconic images from the royal wedding but the ones that made me weep were those where he gallantly held Kate's hand for the long walk up the aisle and lovingly glanced over to her when they arrived at the altar. He is my all-time favorite 'Father of the Bride.' Those closest to the family have nothing but glowing things to say about the head of the Middleton clan citing his calm demeanor (which Kate apparently inherited), down to earth manner and quiet kindness as the qualities that make him who he is. Carole Middleton -- and the kids -- are lucky to have him. Happy Father's Day!

Photo credits: Getty Images, Press Association

BREAKING NEWS! Kate's Wedding Dress to be Displayed at Buckingham Palace

2011-06-06T09:27:00.012-04:00

Proving they are willing to keep their savvy PR campaign that began with William and Kate's engagement going, this morning Buckingham Palace announced Princess Catherine's wedding dress by Alexander McQueen designer Sarah Burton will go on display at Buckingham Palace this summer. The dress, veil, shoes, earrings given to the bride by her parents (inspired by their new family crest)and diamond tiara owned by Queen Victoria and loaned to Catherine by Queen Elizabeth will be displayed for public viewing from July 23 until October 3. Ticket costs will be 17.50 pounds ($29). The exhibition is part of the tour of the public rooms in the palace that receives thousands of visitors each year.

It was also announced that the newlyweds would be taking a apartment in Kensington Palace (Princess Diana's former home where William lived for much of his boyhood) as their temporary London home for the next year while the palace undergoes renovations.

THE ROYAL WATCH: A Day at the Races, Will & Kate's Canada-U.S. Trip Schedule Announced & Pippa: The Next TV Star?

2011-06-05T20:55:00.053-04:00

Don't you just love this picture?

Forget about Mr. and Mrs. Wales wanting to be just like the couple next store. I love them at their regal best when they are sleek and chic (Love the top hat and the Stephen Jones fascinator!) and infusing formerly fusty old royal family outings with their own particular brand of modern glamour. Judging from this shot, I'd say Kate is a pretty quick study, wouldn't you?

Prince William and Princess Catherine (that Duchess title just doesn't suit her, does it?) pulled out all the sartorial stops when they were on hand this weekend to cheer on Queen Elizabeth's horse, Carlton House, at the Epsom Derby in Surrey, England. The newlyweds certainly lent a touch of glamour to the event, but didn't bring the Queen any luck -- her horse came in third. The afternoon was truly a family affair. Carole and Michael Middleton (who were not invited to sit in the royal box and watched the races from the stands) were also on hand. Turns out Kate's parents had a stake in another horse, Sohraab, who came in fourth in another race.

In the newlyweds first appearance in the U.K. since returning from their honeymoon in the Seychelles, they completely dazzled. Kate chose a pretty ivory jacket and chiffon skirt to show off her mile long legs that looked even better thanks her nude patent leather platforms. (Diana would be so proud of her daughter-in-law's elegant style)

I don't know about you but I can't wait to see what Kate will be wearing for Trooping the Color next Saturday. William and Harry will, of course, be wearing, full ceremonial dress and join the military parades at the all-important occasion. I'm betting the newly minted princess will wear something beautifully tailored and elegant. Diana always wore Catherine Walker for the occasion. It still remains to be seen who will become Catherine's go-to designer for official royal occasions. But as the Brits like to say, style-wise she's "hasn't put a foot wrong" so far -- and seems to get better with every appearance.

Speaking of appearances, details have just been announced about Williams and Catherine's first overseas trip to Canada and southern California scheduled for June 30 through July 10. Here's what I know:

They will be visiting Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City in addition to other parts of the region. Their stop in Calgary, Alberta will coincide with the city's celebrated rodeo, the Calgary Stampede. Yeehaw!

The newlyweds will also be visiting the Canadian airfield where Catherine's late grandfather, Peter Middleton, was based as an RAF pilot during the second World War. One insider told me Catherine was very close to her grandfather who passed away last year at age 90. "It's going to be emotional for her."

The final leg of their trip will be a two-day stop in Los Angeles beginning July 8 which is rumored to include an event with the British Academy of Film and Television or a charity polo match with the proceeds going to one of the many charities patronized by the royal couple. No official confirmations on any of this have been made by Clarence House, but one thing is for sure -- don't look for them to try to catch up with the Kardashians. "This is a working visit," one royal insider told me. "They do not want to be perceived as spending time sipping champagne with celebrities. They are being very, very careful with their public image and they know this trip will be closely watched." Sorry Kim, but you won't get a chance to pump the princess for wedding tips after all.

And finally, from the Pippa pipeline comes reports courtesy of The National Enquirer that television divas Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey are dueling it out for the chance to sign Pippa Middleton to a television deal. While she is proving to be more than a worthy stand-in for her otherwise engaged sister, I'm fairly certain this will never, ever happen. The Middletons are proving to be very savvy with their public relations strategy which doesn't include doing anything to annoy or overshadow the in-laws. I'm sure the royal family is happy to let Sarah Ferguson (who has a documentary on her attempts at personal redemption permiering on OWN) have the sole spotlight in the states as she continues to humiliate herself at every turn.

Stay tuned for more dish on the royals in next week's ROYAL WATCH. Cheerio!

Photo credits: Getty

THE ROYAL WATCH: Five Things You Need To Know Right Now

2011-05-24T09:59:00.037-04:00

Now that the royal wedding is over and the newlyweds have settled into married life in Anglesey, Wales here's a primer on everything you need to know to keep up with William, Catherine and the in-laws right now:

1. For the moment, Kate and Wills are back on the PR trail Now that Prince William and Kate (I just can't get used to calling her Catherine yet) are back from their media-free honeymoon in Seychelles, they are back on the 'walkabout' circuit (the Brit's term for photo ops). On Tuesday, the couple met with President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama (Evidently, there are no hard feelings about the Obama's invite getting lost in the mail) at Buckingham Palace. In a series of photos released earlier today, it looked as if while the president and the prince chatted, the women struck up their own conversation where Catherine appeared to show Mrs. Obama her engagement ring. (AP has the whole series of snaps). For the record, Michelle wore a floral dress by Barbara Tfank with her signature shrunken cardigan and wide belt (Im not a fan of this silhouette) while Kate sported a chic taupe sheath by Reiss for the occasion. Who wore it better? I'm giving this round to a rapidly shrinking Kate (who may or may not be on the Dukan diet)

2. Pippa is the new media darling of the family Outlets from The New York Times to People have christened Pippa Middleton a star. People even went so far as to say that Kate's younger sister "stole the show" at the wedding. No other celebrity bridesmaid in recent memory has garnered so much attention for simply showing up. The moment she stepped from the limo in her figure hugging white dress with its strategically placed buttons running down the back, the web exploded. To wit: 150,000 fans of "The Pippa Middleton Ass Appreciation Society" are showing their enthusiasm for Pippa's size 2 um, assets on Facebook. Thanks to a penchant for posh but price-friendly high street style, Pippa is fast becoming a style icon, too. The same day she was spotted carrying a grey leather handbag from Modalu, the site sold out of the item. And here's a newsflash: The New York Post ran a fashion story touting the return of blazers thanks to Pippa and Kate. Interestingly enough, all this attention to Pippa actually works out very well for the royal family since it takes some of the heat off Kate. But her mother and father must be under some pressure to keep things on an even keel. According to a source with ties to the Middletons, Carole and Michael Middleton are being very careful to maintain the dignified image they demonstrated throughout the engagement and at the wedding which means keeping a watchful eye on Pippa and her brother, James.

3. Prince Harry is now the most eligible bachelor in the world Having long endured being second string as "the spare" to William's "heir," it looks as if Harry has finally come into his own as a star in his own right. Let's face it, he is a lot sexier and suddenly better looking than William and seems to have transformed his inner bad boy urges (no more Nazi uniforms or druken dust-ups with the paparazzi) into a very charming persona. He was simply wonderful with his young charges at the royal wedding (and even produced some toys from his pocket to keep the pages and flower girls occupied on the carriage ride to Buckingham Palace). His whispered comment to William, "Wait until you see her" when he spotted Kate walking down the aisle as the two brothers stood at the altar is one of my favorite moments from the wedding. Harry's on-again, off-again lady love Chelsy Davy was at the wedding (looking a bit bedraggled, if you ask me) and attended the private dinner afterwards with him so things seem to be back on for the moment. This summer, the couple will be living near each other about 80 miles outside of London where she'll be working in a law firm close to where Harry is stationed to fly military helicopters. Some reports say its Chelsy, not Harry, who is reluctant to take their relationship to the next level. It seems free-spirited Chelsy is not at all enamoured of life as a royal and doesn't want to give up her freedom. I'm sure there's any number of duchesses-in-waiting who would gladly take her place. My money is on Harry for next year's winner of People's Sexiest Man Alive title.

4. Despite all rumors to the contrary, Charles will be England's next king Reports have been circulating for months that Charles will never be king and William will succeed his grandmother because an overwhelming number of people in the UK would like that to be so. These rumblings were supported by several polls taken by British media outlets. Polls are one thing, but the line of succession is another. There is no end in sight to long reign of Queen Elizabeth so it's likely that Prince Charles' reign, when it happens, will be a relatively short one and Prince William will likely be nearing his forties by the time he ascends to the throne. One royal insider told me: "Tradition is not something William takes lightly. He would never push for a change of this magnitude. He knows his father has waited his whole life to be king. He wants to see his father in the 'top job.'" For now, William is enjoying married life and pursuing his passion as a RAF search and rescue pilot. "He is in no mood to hurry destiny along," said the insider.

5. Prince William and Catherine will keep a low profile for the next year -- or two After inviting 2 billion people to witness their nuptials, the royal newlyweds are trying to maintain some semblance of "a normal life" and won't be making a ton of official engagements during the next year. The reasons for this somewhat low profile approach are myriad. One is William, still contemptuous of the press after his mother's death, is not eager to assume the role of lead PR pitchman for the royals -- and has made that clear to all involved -- although he has filled in for his grandmother when the occasion calls for him to step in and support of one of the many charities patronized by the British royals. The other rationale is that the decision has been made behind the palace walls to carefully dole out access to William and Catherine in such a way that satisfies public interest but does not create a media superstar (a la Princess Diana) that overshadows the rest of the family. William and his bride will attend the Trooping of the Colour next month (June 11 -- the Queen's official birthday) and have previously announced an eight-day trip to Canada in July which will also include a two-day stop in Los Angeles. Some time after that, William will be leaving on a ten-week training exercise in the Falkland Isles leaving Catherine at home (or more likely visiting with her parents in London which is sure to bring out the flashbulbs). Kate will not, according to the palace, be undertaking any royal appearances on her own. Look for the tabloids to make hay with the couple's first "separation."

So there you have it. That's the latest on the royals right now. Look for the next installment of The Royal Watch coming next week!

Photo credits: Reuters,Getty Images

THE ROYAL WATCH Was Diana Murdered? A New Documentary Says It Was an 'Unlawful Killing'

2011-05-14T21:04:00.060-04:00

If the British royal family thought the wedding of Prince William and his new bride would wash away the last remaining vestiges of controversy surrounding their treatment of Princess Diana they were very much mistaken.

Just as word comes that William and Catherine are blissfully enjoying their honeymoon, a new documentary unspooled at Cannes this weekend alleging that Princess Diana was murdered as the result of a plot that was hatched behind the walls of Buckingham Palace.

The film's premiere comes at a time when the royal family was likely breathing a sigh of relief that the public seems to have put the scandal-ridden Diana era behind them and embraced Prince William and Catherine as the hopeful, non-controversial future of the monarchy.

While the world is fascinated with the royal honeymooners it's plainly obvious the origins of our interest lie in the couple's connection to Diana. Their story is the next chapter in her story -- the one that was cut short when she died on that fateful summer night in 1997.

The wedding was indeed the fairy tale spectacular that the public -- and the royal family -- had hoped for. The royal couple, who did not seem all that fascinating during their engagement, completely captivated us for their wedding. A new, blessedly scandal-free chapter on the British royals had begun.

Not so fast.

The debut of director Keith Allen's (father of pop singer Lily) controversial documentary, Unlawful Killing, which raises the issue that Diana's death may not have been an accident but may, in fact, have been murder, brings Diana back into the forefront reminding everyone that the most sensational figure of Britain's royal family does not have be alive to be the most compelling figure of the group.

The truth is she is even more fascinating in death than she likely would have been in life at this particular time. If she lived, chances are Diana either would have been living abroad (she had been looking at houses in California the summer she died) and settled into a life focusing on her charitable causes or she would have made some spectacularly bad choices (like a marriage to someone like Dodi) which would have prevented her from having much regular contact with the royals. Her strong relationship with her sons, particularly William, would have prevented total banishment but either way, she would not be the beloved icon she is today had she lived. That kind of reverence is reserved for those who die an untimely, tragic death at the peak of their promise and beauty.

Which of course, she did.

Unlawful Killing brings it all back. Those frenetic last few days spent in Paris. (I've always wondered what she was thinking -- what wealthy person that has everything at their disposal goes to Paris in August?) The unlikely romance that seemed to bloom out of nowhere since Diana was madly in love with Pakistani heart surgeon Sr. Hasnat Khan up until the minute she met Dodi. That fateful night at the Ritz where the couple inexplicably decided to leave the security of the hotel despite the presence of the scrum of paparazzi who were waiting to follow them into the night.

The documentary resurrects all the details about the night that still leave many people with the uneasy feeling that the truth about what really happened has yet to be uncovered.

While the film reexamines the questions surrounding what happened that night it also raises others about the intent behind the film. Mohamed Al Fayed, father of Dodi Fayed, who was killed with Diana and has long claimed that both his son and Diana were victims of a nefarious plot headed by Prince Philip, is the film's producer. In it, he is depicted as a man dealing with such profound grief that he can not sleep in any of his mansions preferring to live in a tent near Dodi's grave. His claims that the couple was killed because they intended to marry and the English establishment would not allow the mother of the future king of England to marry a Muslim are given another airing and the portrait that emerges of him is of a man profoundly mired in his own emotions and understandably devastated by what's happened.

Allen weaves the most sensational details already revealed around Diana's death into the film's narrative including:

In 1993, Diana wrote a letter to a friend predicting her own death would occur as a result of a car accident "clearing the away" for Prince Charles to marry. She also gave a letter to her then butler Paul Burrell to be opened in the event of her death which stated if she died under suspicious circumstances her ex husband should be held responsible.

Numerous friends including former British tabloid editor Piers Morgan are interviewed in the film giving their reasons as to why her death may not have been an accident.

One of the most unsettling details about the events surrounding her death is also re-examined. On the night of the crash, all of the cameras in the tunnel, which are ordinarily on 24/7, were turned off.

The official inquest, longest and most expensive in British history, concluded the deaths of Diana and Dodi to be the result of a drunk driver. Their chauffeur that night Henri Paul, who was also killed, reportedly had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit. Allen's point in making the film is: How can a judicial body called the Royal Court of Justice be trusted to tell the truth about the event which involved the most problematic ex-member of their family?

More than anything else, the film is a reminder of a very dark time in the history of the British royal family when the world saw how the fairy tale (that never was) turned into a horror story once the world's favorite royal was banished and left to flounder outside without the protection of their inner circle. Looking back on those months leading up to her death, Diana clearly was on a collision course with fate and one way or another was going to ignite a controversy for the family that wasn't going to be easily resolved. Stripped of her HRH title and having to navigate the difficulties of sharing her young sons with Prince Charles, Diana was left to forge a life for herself for the first time since she was a teenager. There is no doubt she made some bad choices that summer. How directly they led to her death remains a question that I think will never be satisfactorily answered for some royal watchers.

A few weeks ago, we all believed in fairy tales -- at least for a few hours when we saw Diana's son walk down the aisle of the same cathedral where the world had witnessed her funeral. We saw her son marry for love, not duty. We imagined how proud she would have been. We saw another young woman walk into the church an outsider and walk out a royal. Would Diana have approved? How would she have felt about sharing the spotlight? Would she have had a new husband to stand with opposite Charles and Camilla? After causing such controversy with her divorce from Charles, would the family have made peace with her?

"Unlawful Killing" will clearly benefit from our collective renewed interest in the British royals which in and of itself feels more than a little opportunistic. It is no coincidence that its premiere at Cannes happened two weeks to the day after Prince William's and Catherine's wedding. Knowing how much William has struggled to live with the series events the culminated in the death of his mother and how much he wanted to make Diana a meaningful part of his engagement by giving Catherine her ring only engenders sympathy not suspicion for at least two members of the British royal family. It's hard to imagine that anyone living in Buckingham Palace would have a hand in anything that would bring such heartbreak to William and Harry.

But yet, the simple truth is everything is much easier for the royals without Diana. With her gone, no one is going rogue and telling tales from behind the palace walls. (Sarah Ferguson's sad attempts to trade what little ties she has left to the royals were simply the pathetic actions of a lost soul still looking for their approval -- she even told Oprah as much) As a result of Diana's death, Charles was able to marry Camilla just as Diana predicted. So, depending on what you believe her death was either the result of one of the most sinister plots ever carried out or an just incredible coincidence.

All I know is just when we thought we'd witnessed a fresh start for the British royals, Diana will not let us forget her. As she told Piers Morgan, she won't go quietly.

Here's a look at the trailer for the film:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/diana/8511940/Trailer-released-for-controversial-Diana-film-Unlawful-Killing.html

Ann Curry Named New Cohost of Today

2011-05-09T09:05:00.014-04:00

This morning Meredith Vieira announced she will be leaving the Today show in June. Her replacement is long time Today show vet Ann Curry. I have known Ann since the mid nineties when I was covering Today for TV Guide. Besides being one of the best journalists out there, she is one of the warmest, most caring people I've ever met. It's great to see someone who has worked hard and dutifully hung in there finally get the recognition she has long deserved. I'm reposting a condensed version an interview I did for mediabistro with her a while back where she talks about her tenture on Today, how she felt about not getting the job when Katie Couric left and how she wound up with Angelina and Brad on her speed dial. Congrats Ann!

During her twelve year-long tenure at Today, Ann Curry has been game for anything the producers could dream up from climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro (she made it within striking distance of the top but had to turn back when her team began suffering the effects of altitude sickness) to bungee jumping off the landmark Transporter Bridge in England to raise money for charity. At the time, she said, “I was really thinking, ‘I hope this does some good.’ If you’re going to do something as crazy as that, you want some good to come out of it.”

While Curry has always good naturedly participated in Today show stunts like dressing up for Halloween and hot air ballooning into a viewer’s backyard, it is her deep desire to do “meaningful work” that has sustained her throughout her broadcast career. She’s never been content sitting prettily behind the anchor chair reading the news. Curry is much more at home reporting from Baghdad, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Rwanda and Darfur among other global hot spots. Earlier this year, she traveled to Iran when she landed the first interview with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after the June elections on the eve of his visit to the United Nations. She was the first network news anchor to report from war-torn Kosovo, the first on the ground from the Southeast Asia tsunami zone and the first to document the genocide in Darfur. While hard news is Curry’s “first love,” she’s also managed to land the big celebrity gets, too. When Brangelina was sequestered in Africa preparing for the birth of their twins, Angelina Jolie spoke only to Curry.

The self-described “army brat” and eldest of five children born to a Japanese mother and Caucasian father was the first in her family to graduate from college and still marvels that she landed on Today. “I never imagined that anyone who looked like me would have a place here.” But she makes no bones about what it takes to stay there. “I’ve come to a point where I’ve gained a terrific opportunity to do the work that means the most to me and the work, in the end, I’ll always be grateful I did. I work really, really hard,” says Curry. “

Name: Ann Curry

Position: News anchor Today; anchor Dateline NBC

Resume: Joined NBC News in August 1990 as Chicago-based correspondent; named anchor of NBC News at Sunrise in 1992. Helped launch MSNBC and joined Today in March 1997 and was named co-anchor of Dateline NBC in May 2005. Substitute anchor on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. Prior to coming to NBC, worked as a reporter for KCBS in Los Angeles and as reporter/anchor for KGW, the NBC affiliate in Portland, Oregon. Began her television career as an intern in 1978 at KTVL in Medford, Oregon where she became the station’s first female news reporter.

Birthdate: November 19

Hometown: “I grew up all over the world, but we ended up in Ashland, Oregon and I still consider it my home town.”

Education: University of Oregon, BA Journalism

Marital status: Married to software entrepreneur Brian Ross; two children daughter MacKenzie and son Walker.

First section of the Sunday Times: “The Front Page”

Favorite television show: “The Office. I love Steve Carell. I like House as well.”

Guilty pleasure: “Sometimes I feel guilty about going to yoga. Like a lot of people in this world at this time, to take time out to exercise, breathe and think about your own health makes you feel guilty. But it’s what you should be doing all the time. I often feel guilty thinking, ‘I should be home.’ I’ve organized it so I can take a yoga class and still get home in time for dinner. But even then, I still feel a little guilty.”

You’ve been at NBC for nineteen years – coming up on thirteen with Today. What is the secret to your longevity?

There are two things. I aspire to be valuable. I try not to lean on too many other people. I try not to have other people do my work. The other thing is trying to keep a sense of humility and trying to always remember to be grateful for this opportunity and proceed in that way. Having that humility can help you. It can certainly stop you from getting too full of yourself.

Which is all too rare in this business.

It is. The loss of humility is a disease of this profession for a lot of reasons. I don’t want to catch that disease.

You’ve been part of the mix of so many different personalities on Today. How has that affected the way you do your job?

I’ve been grateful to have the ear of the managers of this network who have trusted me to do the stories that I am most proud of. That’s not the work that involves sitting on any couch or being in front of a camera on a live broadcast. It’s about being in the field. That’s really something I intend to continue to pursue. This was not something I ever figured out how to do when I first began at NBC and the Today show. But I’ve figured it out and it’s working so far.

I can work on the nightly news broadcast, the Today show, MSNBC and msnbc.com and I’m still exploring ways of getting information out. I’m a serious photographer now and it’s another way of getting the story out. That’s my motivation – to get these voices heard and get these stories out because I know they’re important to do.

Did you want Katie Couric’s job when she left? If you had gotten it, it’s unlikely you would have been able to do the type of work you just described.

I did think about that job. The one great thing about that job is you have the opportunity to interview newsmakers and have access to major stories. I would have been a fool to not want that job, but the thing about life is that sometimes not getting what you think you want has a silver lining. Had I gotten that job I might never have been able to go to Darfur four times. I might never have gotten to do what some have said was a transformation hour on Iran and the interview with Ahmadinejad or gone to Congo and brought attention to the crimes against women there. That’s just the short list.

I think people are often disappointed by not getting exactly what they want. I think the secret is keep your eyes open and not to blink because you need to see that what is possible is something you may not being paying attention to. This road I’m on has been so deeply rewarding. I realize I’m in an unlikely and incredibly lucky position to be able to get this work done because of people like Jim Bell, Bob Epstein, Steve Cappus and Alex Wallace have really let me do all this stuff. It’s interesting that you sometimes get a chance to do exactly what you should be doing because you didn’t get what you wanted. I would have loved that job and I would have relished it, but you’re right, I wouldn’t have been able to do this other work.

When we did an interview back when the Today show was celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, the headline from the interview was ‘I want you to care.’ That seems to sum up so many of the stories you’ve done from Kosovo to Darfur. Would you say that’s what drives you?

Absolutely. I believe that our job as journalists is to work for the future. I believe journalism is an act of faith in the future. I believe if do our jobs with the pure motive to inform people so that they can have power over their lives, the world will be better. It’s not for me to say how or how much, but if it’s only a little that’s enough. It’s not about us anymore. It’s about our children and what they’re going to inherit. I think we all have an obligation to step it up a notch and leave them a better place.

You have personally witnessed so much of the devastation the world has seen in the past decade both natural and man made. Is there one event that you could say has affected you the deepest?

It’s difficult for me to compare them. Kosovo was the first one where I recognized there was nothing I could do to stop what I was witnessing. I will say I’m proud to say that our reporting in Kosovo was an early part of the wave that did bring change. It was transformative to see these people stuck in these camps crying without food or milk for their babies. In Darfur, I was face to face with an elderly woman who tried to save her husband from the burning house where a thatched roof fell on top of him. He was an invalid and she was in her eighties. I found her in a hospital a few days later with her whole body covered in third degree burns and her husband was dead. How do you compare that to anything? When I went to Congo I met a girl who saw her parents killed right in front of her and she ran away. She was caught by the same men who killed her parents and then chained up and raped for months. She became pregnant and when she delivered her baby, everything inside her was broken. I found her on an operating table having surgery so she could go to the bathroom normally. When I asked her if she wanted revenge she said to me, ‘All I want is to rise from this bed and thank the people who helped me and work for God.’

I see all of these events as one. That’s the one thing I’ve come away with – I recognize that every one of those lives matter. There is no life that is less precious than another. There is no culture that is less important than another, and when we allow these kinds of crimes against humanity to continue, we are hurting our human family.

In addition to doing so many important stories, you’ve also managed to get unprecedented access to the tabloid couple of the decade having scored a number of exclusives with both Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Talk to me about your relationship with them separately and as a couple. How did you establish such a good rapport with the both of them?

I think it’s based on mutual respect. I first interviewed Angelina a long, long time ago when she was first emerging as an actress. Even then I could see the depth of her wish to be useful. A lot people didn’t see her for who she was, but because I had this opportunity to sit and talk to her I could see she was far more than people realized. I really don’t know why we were able to hit it off except that I have a lot of respect for her work and I think she might have some respect for mine.

Did you find that she knew a lot about you when you met?

Not the first time I interviewed her, but certainly in subsequent interviews it was clear that she knew about my efforts. As she became a force for humanitarian work, I understood her efforts and motivation and my respect grew for her as well. Brad is very much like that as well. He has got a sense of altruism and a sense of justice. He’s really old fashioned and delightful. Maybe it’s a surprise to some people, but he’s serious about the injustice that has lingered for so many people in New Orleans. He’s not only talked about it but he’s done something about it. Some people actually want to elect him mayor although he’s not planning to run. I respect that. I respect people who stand up for what they believe in and do something.
I think they are people who get it.

It’s fascinating that you know them in such a different context from their separate tabloid personas.

I think it’s hand in glove, though. It’s because of their celebrity that they can make the movies which then in turn allow them to give money and do these good works. They have been pioneers creating that kind of trail from celebrity to altruism.

Speaking of celebrity, Today has always mined the lives of the show’s key players in such a way to connect to the audience on a personal level with segments on your family lives and background. Have you grown more comfortable with that over the years?

I’m a little more comfortable, but I still am pretty largely uncomfortable with stories about us because I think the story should be on everybody else but us. I recognize that there is an interest. The first time we did it, the response was so enormous. It was surprising because people responded not just to us, but about how they felt about their own experience through us. That’s made me feel a little more comfortable. If someone can feel something about his or her parents because you’ve been honest about your own experience about losing a parent – if you can help them in their grief – then that has value. I think that the broadcast is a soup-to-dessert broadcast. It’s going to have all that stuff, but balance is the key.

Has any of that affected the way you do your job?

I just did an interview with a woman who is dying of breast cancer and for the first few moments she said, ‘I just can’t believe I’m actually sitting with you.’ I didn’t take me that long, but it did take me a minute to have her stop thinking about that and start thinking about what I really wanted to talk to her about. That’s not good. It was an interesting kind of situation, but I don’t want it to bleed over into the work and I struggle against that.

On a happier note, you’ve got two kids and a demanding job. So many women are juggling so much especially these days. How have you made it work for you?

I finally came to the conclusion that doing a good job at work is taking care of my kids. When I’m at work, I work one hundred percent and when I go home, I work one hundred percent. I don’t think about work. I don’t worry about work unless there’s a crisis. I really do put down the Blackberry especially on the weekends. But more important than any kind of juggling is love: expressing it to your children, talking to your children and playing with your children. If I had to choose between paying my bills, cleaning the kitchen, making dinner or talking to my kids, it would be the latter. Prioritizing your emotional relationships with your family is the most important thing you can do. You can’t get everything done. The thing you can’t not get done is being connected in an emotional way with your husband and your children. Everything else you can do later. I procrastinate on almost everything else. (Laughs)

So what do you do to decompress?

Photography has really helped me decompress because it makes you look at things differently. It can sweep you away. The other thing I’m starting to do when the kids are in school on Fridays instead of going to lunch is to go to with a girlfriend to an art museum. I love art. When the kids were born I couldn’t go very often and as they grew up they didn’t really want to go. I love looking at paintings and looking at art. I have yoga, art and photography. That’s a lot.

It beats retail therapy.

I used to do that. I find that retail is not therapy anymore because I feel bad buying for myself. Shopping your closet is pretty good. I’m amazed at what I can put together, but I guess the viewers should be the judge of that. (Laughs)

How would you say you’ve gotten to where you are?

I don’t know. I’m as surprised as anyone. If I can get to where I am, anyone can. I’m the girl who wasn’t even supposed to go to college raised by a woman with a thick immigrant’s accent and grew up mispronouncing words as a result. How the hell did I get on national television? I want so much to be a journalist that meets the needs of this time. I keep trying to be good enough and I think it’s the effort. I’m never satisfied.

Do you have a motto?
Be of service and help people. Always.

A longer version of this interview originally appeared on mediabistro.com in December 2009.

THE ROYAL WATCH: The (Media) Honeymoon is Over

2011-05-06T12:39:00.024-04:00

That was fast. It took barely a week for the royal newlywed formerly known as Kate Middleton to go from princess bride gliding down the aisle at Westminster to posh housewife perusing the pizzas in the frozen food aisle in her local supermarket.

The front pages of the British tabloids published on Friday morning boasted several pictures of Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, navigating a shopping cart in Anglesey, North Wales where she and Prince William live with snickering headlines ("Kate's back up the aisle" snarked The Daily Mail). In skinny jeans paired with ballet flats and ruffled wrap over her white t-shirt, her enormous 12-carat sapphire engagemment ring was the only totem of her newly 'royal' life in evidence. Unless, of course, you count the five royal protection officers that accompanied her on her errands. (She did drive herself to the market in her Audi A3)

I, for one (make that two if you count Queen Elizabeth, I'm betting) am not amused.

Let me explain: Last week when I speculated as to why the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have reignited royal watchers' fascination with the British royals I made the case that the newlyweds embody a sense of tradition and tastefulness sadly lacking in the celebrity stratosphere. And, let's face it, the over the top fairy tale element of seeing a "commoner" marry into royalty and imagine all that comes with it has made Catherine a pretty compelling figure.

Having said that, I do not want to see her picture in the pages of Us Weekly splashed across the 'Stars Just Like Us!' feature. For me, and I suspect for millions of others like me, the reason I am interested in Catherine is because her life is nothing like mine. She is not just 'like us' and not amount of photos of her hauling grocery bags into the back seat of her car is going to prove otherwise.

Celebrity journalism (and I use that term loosely) is completely schizophrenic these days. The same outlets that breathlessly anointed Catherine as a modern day Cinderella last Friday are the same ones that are now lying in wait for that photo of the duchess looking bedraggled taking out the trash. They are also trying to drum up whatever traction they can from the non-story that Catherine's sister Pippa was photographed 'dancing in her underwear' with a similarly clad fellow once upon a time. Nice try but a) the picture was taken in 2008 and b) she's wearing more than Kim Kardashian does every time she hits the red carpet in the photo in what looks to be a bra top and skirt. Have we grown so cynical in the media that we can't possibly believe that people want to focus on the positive about a person for more than five minutes? In order to feel good about our own lives do we really have to tear down the very same people who we looked up to five minutes before?

I am so sick of the trashiness, banality and negativity that fuels the celebrity media complex. I am equally tired of non-stories that consist of a large photo and three sentences that basically recount where a 'star' has been and what she wore end with the question: "Hot or not?" Just because the Internet exists in a limitless space doesn't mean we have to fill it with absolute nonsense every minute of every day in order to keep the masses entertained.

I do not begrudge Catherine and William their attempt at living "a normal life" -- whatever that means if you are the future king and queen of England. I think it's kind of charming that they decided against having servants. Mark my words, that will change the minute their first child is born. At least they are doing it out of London where the press, who gave William a pass for some many years, are revved up to cover every detail of the couple's daily life. It's curious to see that for everything that William saw transpire in his mother's life as she, too, attempted to live a "normal existence" --especially after her divorce from Prince Charles -- that he would opt go this route. Surely, when the couple is expecting the frenzy surrounding the 'royal bump watch' will keep Catherine largely away from such everyday venues as the local market or shopping on London's high street for fear that the paparazzi will be in overdrive. If William and Catherine are thinking that by being (somewhat) accessible they are de-clawing the beast, they are very,very wrong.

Last Friday, Catherine proved herself to be capable of acting more royal than a lot of the royals themselves. She was flawless not only in her appearance but in her demeanor which was equal parts dignity and delight. Her family, having endured endless sniping in the press about being strivers and nouveau riche, "didn't put a foot wrong" -- as the Brits like to say.

But how will they hold up under the 24/7 microscope they are now living under? The pressure must be enormous. For Catherine, who has been schooled by the royal handlers and William himself about just how difficult life can be, there will be a learning curve that is sure to have some bumps along the way. As much as we think she is up to the job, the realization that your every move is now being documented and instantaneously broadcast around the world must be quite stunning.

So, while the couple have yet to go on their honeymoon, it's clear the one they had with the press is now over in record time. And that's too bad for them -- and for us.

God Save The (Future) Queen

2011-04-30T09:23:00.028-04:00

Congratulations to the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge! The marriage of William and Catherine actually lived up the media hype and transported an estimated 2 billion people to a place where fairy tales, at least for that day, do come true. Quite an admirable achievement, if you ask me.

Rather than deride our newfound fascination with the couple (who, let's face it, weren't all that interesting during their engagement), I think we should embrace it. Despite my husband's best efforts, I don't see it as a fluffy, escapist exercise. On the contrary. I believe my interest in William and Catherine (and that of millions of other 'royal watchers') is born out of a feverent belief that we -- humanity, not just Americans -- haven't gone to hell in a handbasket despite all the evidence to the contrary.

At a time when too many Americans have been lobotomized by bread and circuses (what other excuse is there for a Donald Trump faux presidential campaign?) the marriage of William and Catherine is reminiscent of a time when tradition, duty, decorum and (gasp!) good taste was the rule, not the exception.

Watching the coverage of the wedding one of the things I found most fascinating was genuine sense of pride that every British person on virtually every broadcast constantly referred to when talking about just how momentous an occasion the wedding was to them --- personally. Leading the charge was Piers Morgan who could barely contain himself any time he was explaining any aspect of the pageantry to his 'commoner' colleagues. After listening to the congregation sing 'God Save the Queen' Morgan proclaimed, with a noticeable catch in his voice, "And if that doesn't make you proud to be British, nothing will!"

Clearly, no other country does pomp and circumstance like the Brits. History, and tradition mean everything to its citizens who have always been more collectively conversant about their history than a majority of Americans. But what makes the royal family -- particularly a twenty-something couple that hasn't been touched by scandal, isn't starring in a reality show and seems exceedingly level headed -- interesting to Americans?

Could it be that we are actually hungering for the return of good taste? A shocking prospect, to say the least.

Maybe it's because I want to believe it, but I think it's true. Designers interviewed about Catherine's wedding dress couldn't say enough about the tastefulness of the design. Vera Wang on CNN said it was the "perfect choice" for this "modern" bride. Yes, Catherine had chosen the avant guard house of Alexander McQueen, but Sarah Burton had not designed an edgy couture confection that the house is known for but rather a dress that was the absolute epitome of appropriateness modernized mainly by the woman who was wearing it. How much more of the moment could a design house hope to be than to dress the most famous woman on the planet?

Aside from her role as instant style icon, Catherine has a far more substantial role to play in the future of the royal family. Instead of being the new Princess Diana, she must, in fact, be the anti-Diana in order to succeed -- and to ensure the future of the British monarchy.

Where Diana was desperately unhappy plodding through the rainy grounds of Balmoral or sullenly watching from the sidelines while her prince played polo, Catherine is right at home in her wellies and gamely participates in shooting parties. Although she is allergic to horses (really!), she is content to watch William indulge his passion for polo no matter how uncomfortable she may be -- always smiling for the caneras.

While Diana bore the indelible scars from her unhappy childhood, Catherine has the obvious love and support of both still-married parents who have shown her just how valuable a happy marriage is to assuring the success of the family.

The biggest difference between Catherine and Diana is in their marriages. Diana famously told Martin Bashir, "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded" when she gave that infamous interview that finally pushed the Queen demand Diana and Prince Charles divorce. Catherine has lived with and is now married to a man who loves her, who wanted to marry her and is determined to protect her. In fact, it is Diana's tragic life as a royal that has made Catherine's improbable one possible.

After 30 years of scandal culminating in Diana's death, the monarchy was pulled from the precipice by Tony Blair (it's worth noting the former prime minister was not invited to the wedding) who anointed Diana 'The People's Princess' and somehow convinced the Queen that a television tribute to Diana and the subsequent show stopping funeral were necessary. But the damage had been done; the public's relationship with the royals has never been quite the same. Up until now, there has never been a thought given to any of its members ever being as remotely popular as the late Princess of Wales. Just months before William and Catherine's wedding, students attacked the car carrying Prince Charles and Camilla pelting it with rocks and food. In a stunningly symbolic gesture of hope for the future, that same car, repaired and shining like new, carried Catherine to Westminster Abbey on her wedding day.

Now that the couple are finally wed, the whole world is watching as the new duke and duchess assume their roles as Britain's marquee players as the country enters into a new chapter in the longest running British soap opera. The country has been energized with revitalized national pride embodied by the first royal couple in decades that actually seem to have a fighting chance for a happy marriage. People want William and Catherine to succeed.

I'm betting that as time goes on, all the royals will benefit from the reflected light of Catherine and William's stardom. As long as the couple appear to be happily married, scandal free and do just the right 'walkabouts,' they will have the Brits rooting for them and the royal family. Once their first child comes along and the marriage is still on course, there will be calls for William to become king rather than Charles. But that will not happen. There is a line of succession that must be followed. Tradition is all. William, ever the dutiful son, would never be a party to depriving his father of the role he has waited his whole life to assume. But he will have done his part is rescuing the future of the monarchy by picking the right bride.

And just maybe while dutifully playing the roles the rest of the royal family is so intent on having them play, William and Catherine will wisely carve out their own path for the future of 'the firm' they will one day lead. Things look promising. They have chosen to live on a tiny island in Wales without servants and deferred taking their honeymoon so William can finish his RAF training.

In marrying a 'commoner,' William has assumed the role Diana always wanted for him --a royal for the common man -- and assured the monarchy has a place in the modern age.

God Save the (Future) Queen.

From Commoner to HRH: The Amazing Transformation of Catherine Middleton

2011-04-29T10:57:00.020-04:00

Kate Middleton walked into Westminster Abbey this morning a commoner and emerged with an HRH title, but that's only the start of her amazing transformation. From this day forward, her life will never be the same. I was struck by Catherine's incredible poise. From what we saw this morning, the bride (who chose the perfect McQueen dress said to be inspired by her admiration for Grace Kelly's wedding dress) is more than up for the job as the royal family's newest star. She acted and looked as if she was born to the royal life (and, I must say, at certain points seemed much more comfortable than William).

When I started covering the engagement and in the run up to the wedding I wrote that I did not find her fascinating. All that changed this morning.

'Waity Katy' no more, Catherine (she can no longer even be thought of as 'Kate') looked so serenely happy and firmly in control as she confidently look her father's hand and glided down the aisle of Westminster Abbey. She appears to be neither skittish nor addicted to the limelight. Catherine is just one of those rare public figures who is simply is made for the spotlight. It has transformed her but she has not lost her naturalness that makes her so charming. She is simultaneously able to appear regal and 'regular' as when the couple appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace and she appeared to have said, 'Oh wow!' when Prince William gestured to the huge crowd that had gathered before them.

It's quite clear that William adores her and she him. That alone -- the added confidence she has from knowing that he married her for love, not duty, will make all the difference in how the next chapter of their lives unfolds.

And what of Catherine's family?

I have to say I was quite impressed with the entire Middleton family. Pippa (who also looked stunning in Alexander McQueen) performed her duties as Catherine's maid of honor flawlessly and was quite charming with her young charges. It would be wise for Catherine to have Pippa as her lady in waiting so as to have a true friend and sister in such an important position will be another key element in ensuring Catherine's success in her role as Princess Royal.

Her parents completely melted my heart. For whatever is or isn't true about Carole being the driving force behind the family's ascension into the social stratosphere, she struck exactly the right tone in her behavior and appearance. I believe she chose her classic Catherine Walker coat dress as a touching tribute to Diana who almost always wore a similar look whenever she attended a wedding or official royal function. Just lovely.

Michael Middleton looked and acted like the absolute perfect father of the bride. He was clearly proud but charmingly a tad nervous as evidenced by his gesture of wiping his brow as father and daughter finally made it to the altar. He's held himself with great dignity throughout this entire pre-wedding episode and when I look at him, I see a kind, thoughtful man.

Phillipa Gregory, appearing on the Today show with Meredith Vieira sounded the only discordant note of the day saying she "wasn't optimistic" about Catherine's future and speculating that her parents would quickly be "iced" out of Catherine's life by the royal family. I think she is greatly underestimating Catherine -- and William, too.

It is rare to watch history unfold before your eyes and at the same time get a glimpse of what is to come. I felt that when I saw the newlyweds sitting on the altar and when Catherine flawlessly curtsied to the Queen before she walked out of the Abbey to greet the throngs of people awaiting a glimpse of their future queen.

Now all of England (save the Queen) must curtsy to Catherine as an HRH. As a royal, she received the title of Duchess of Cambridge. Whether she will be known formally as Princess William of Wales(which was bestowed upon her automatically -- she is not officially Princess Catherine because she is not of royal blood)remains to be seen, but one thing is clear. She is the royal family's newest and most important star and that's a currency that I believe she will use wisely.

It's RNN: The Royals Script Their Own (Un)Reality Show

2011-04-26T12:36:00.032-04:00

It's only Tuesday of 'royal wedding week' and the head-spinning amount of coverage about the royal wedding has the less than fascinated crying uncle. I happen to reside happily in the other camp. I simply can't get enough.

I started the week off watching the footage of the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana on TLC Sunday night and found myself tearing up at the thought of how badly the 'fairy tale' ended. Without going all Barbara Cartland about it (who, in case you didn't know, was Diana's step grandmother), seeing the 19 year-old Diana Spencer walking down the aisle on the arm of her father, the ailing Lord Spencer while her erstwhile mother, Frances Shand Kydd (the 'bolter' who left Diana and her siblings and ran off with a wallpaper millionaire)stood in the background, left me feeling wistful for what might have been. Not for the faux fairytale marriage which was doomed from the start, but for how Diana, had she not found herself in Paris on that August night in 1997, might have gone on to live her life as a much wiser single woman with a strong, loving relationship with her two sons and been in the church on this coming Friday to see her oldest son get to marry for love, not duty.

As she did when she was alive, Diana is still the driving force behind our obsession with the British royal family. The major difference now is that on the eve of the second 'Wedding of the Century' in the last thirty years, the Windsors have embraced the 24/7 media culture (of which Diana is the patron saint) to such an extent that they are purveyors of their own news 'packages' and B-roll on the official royal website. They have at least created the impression that they welcome the obsessive coverage. How brilliant is this week's cover of The New Yorker?

What strikes me about it all is that regardless of the subject matter, the spectre of Diana hangs over everything. Let's face it, everyone -- the reporters that cover the royals (particularly those in the UK who have been left to drum up stories about Charles and the terminally frumpy Camilla), royal watchers and the royal family themselves -- are hoping lightening will strike twice. Since Diana's death there has been something of a vacuum with the royals. There are no stars. William and Harry are popular, but not like their mother. (Although, Harry's stock is on the rise now that he has been christened the world's most eligible bachelor) Diana was a superstar. It seems that the royal family has come to recognize that to keep their glided train on the tracks, they need some real stars. They are banking on William and Kate (Killiam? Wate?) to grow into their parts in this tightly scripted reality series.

For now, it seems William and Kate (who has actually been instructed by royal insiders by watching video of Diana), are willing to play along -- but for how long?

He's done his best at putting it in the deepest recesses of his mind for the moment, but William believes -- and always will -- that the media played a key role in his mother's death. One of the reasons he waited so long to propose to Kate was because he was so reluctant to subject her to the same scrutiny that his mother faced. Kate is reportedly much more deferential than Diana, but she's not officially joined 'The Firm' yet. Remember, as Tina Brown once put it, Diana became 'the mouse that roared.' I suspect as Kate settles into her role as the new princess (and rest assured, she's getting that title) and comes to realize how important she is in the scheme of things, she'll be less inclined to embrace her role as show pony. With the added confidence of knowing she is married to a man who truly loves her, she has more power than Diana had going in.

What she and William do with it remains to be seen.

The Royal Wedding: The Madness Begins!

2011-04-25T10:56:00.017-04:00

My front page story in Sunday's New York Post on the wall-to-wall coverage planned for Friday's royal wedding. Also: PR expert Catherine Saxton, who has worked with the British royals, gives the 411 on royal protocol. No tweeting allowed in Westminster Abbey!

Click here for the article

Here is the complete viewers guide. The usual suspects (ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN) are covering -- even The Weather Channel has gotten in on Kate and Wills fever!

Click here for the article

Photo credit: Mario Testino