We’re equally hooked on “Downton Abbey” and “Dallas,” quite a strange combo. But is it really? Once Daddy Mac and I started thinking about it, we realized there sure are a heck of a lot of similarities between the two. Here goes:
- Large, intricate families often at war within itself, the Crawleys and the Ewings
- An aristocratic bunch with a big fortune, Earl of Grantham and Ewing Enterprises
- One big MacDaddy estate with a massive lawn, Downton Abbey and Southfork Ranch
- really into their male heirs, Patrick/Matthew Crawley and John Ross/Christopher Ewing
- Lots of weddings – Christopher/ Pamela Barnes (or whoever the heck she really is) and Mary/Matthew Crawley, Sybil/Tom Branson
- Lots of broken engagements, some at the last minute, some by death – Edith and her “drudge,” , Mary/that snobby newspaper mogul, Mary and Patrick (who died on the Titanic), Matthew and Lavinia (who died of Spanish flu), Christopher/Alaina (wedding thwarted by mysterious email)
- Controlling father figures, although JR does blow Lord Grantham off the map in this department
- Both have a “dowager” of sorts – Violet Crawley (widow) and Sue Ellen Ewing (divorcee), although no one can compete — or would dare to – with Maggie Smith.
- Child of the family has a romance with a staff member (or a child thereof) – Christopher/Alaina (daughter of cook), John Ross/Alaina, and Sybil/Tom Branson (chauffeur)
- Characters unfairly accused of murder – John Ross/Bobby Ewing and Mr. Bates
- Ruthless people – Thomas and Miss O’Brien. Then again on “Dallas,” pretty much everyone is ruthless, except for Bobby and Christopher.
Phew! And that’s just off the top of my head! Thoughts, anyone?
LibbY