Three Things

[rejectomorph]

1. Sluggo has been misbehaving quite badly tonight.

2. LJ is not sending me e-mails of comments.

3. I've been watching late night reruns of Manor House on PBS for the last three nights. How timely that there should now be a show about the arrogant and doomed Edwardians! Now that I've seen all three episodes, I can say that I found it to be the most interesting bit of reality television I've seen, and that it resonates oddly (and disturbingly) with many current headlines. And, are French chefs always so delightfully nasty? I want one!

OK, that's all I have time for this morning.

Comments

[paul.livejournal.com]

I saw that series, as far as reality TV went, I quite enjoyed it. I liked how the servants kept getting told off for their utter fecklessness and being totally unprofessional.

Not sure if it'll ever get to you, but the BBC are currently showing a drama series about the lives of servants around the same time that Manor House was set. It's probably the kind of program you'd enjoy.

Out of interest, did the World War 2 House program ever reach your shores? It was on a similar vein to Manor House, but featured a family living life as it was in the 40s, including rations, clothes and random midnight air raids/power cuts. It was certainly interesting to see how life was in an era not too long ago.

[weetanya.livejournal.com]

The chef ! I love how he refused to shake hands with the "lord" for not eating his fois gras!

[rejectomorph]

They ran the 1940's house series on PBS last year. I found that one fascinating, as well, partly because I grew up hearing stories about the war years from my parents and grandparents. They also ran the Victorian House series a couple of years ago. Coal stoves!

Those two series actually seemed a bit more authentic than Manor House. For Manor House to have been completely true to Edwardian realities, Sir John would have had to rape at least one of the maids (in addition to keeping a mistress somewhere nearby) and, of course, gotten away with it; Miss Anson would have had to go off for an abortion after getting knocked up by Charlie, and then the scandal would have been hushed up; Jonty would have had a torrid affair with Tristan, which, if discovered, would have led to Jonty being packed off to the army and Tristan being done up for some crime he didn't commit (since his actual crime would have been too embarrassing for the family to acknowledge) and sent to prison; Kenny would have been regularly abused by Charlie and Rob, and probably would have gotten rickets from his malnutrition; and Master Guy would have gotten meningitis or polio and died. Lady Olliff-Cooper would then have begun holding seances with a medium introduced to her by Mr. Raj-Singh, while a drunken Sir John rotted away from syphilis.

It wouldn't have been particularly authentic, but an enjoyable twist ending had the chef poisoned the entire household, gotten drunk, and was then found in a field shagging a sheep.

[rejectomorph]

Sir John was so incredibly dense, and smug, and condescending! I would like to have seen the chef challenge him to duel, or at least slap him across the face with a fish. There was so much Monty Python potential in the whole situation!

Re:

[paul.livejournal.com]

*lol* You know someone might steal those ideas, the way UK terrestrial TV is going they'll be making "Manor House Revealed" next year.

[marseille.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, perhaps a Fawlty Towers reality set-up? Or set-to.