Thomas Fuller wrote: “nothing sharpens sight like envy” an observation fueled by the emerging disparities of 17th century Britain. Last night, unable to sleep, I watched the first two episodes of season three of Downton Abbey and saw for the first time that its essentially a soap opera driven by discrete and clarifying instances of envy, jaundice and begrudgement. In turn the traction of the series depends on the accompanying fiction of compensatory generosity displayed by various characters. In this way the series is not about class disparities so much as its about sentimentality–characters acting “out of synch” with their social positions. Everyone is sharp, one feels the creases and starches. And almost everyone overcomes the weight of envy. For me, this makes the show entirely unbelievable. Give me “Vanity Fair”.
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Planet of the Blind 