SPECIAL EDITION OF 20/20: MYSTERIES OF THE CASTLE: BEYOND DOWNTON ABBEY (TV)
Summary
One in this series of news magazine programs. In this two-hour special edition, host Amy Robach goes behind the scenes with "Downton Abbey," the highly popular dramatic British series about the aristocrats and servants who dwell at the Downton Abbey estate in post-Edwardian Yorkshire, and profiles several real-life families like the fictional Crawleys.
Robach travels to Highclere Castle in Hampshire, England, where the show is filmed and which is also the functional home of Lord and Lady Carnarvon and their three children. Show creator Julian Fellowes discusses the show's historical accuracy, including mentions of "The Lady," a magazine containing employment advertisements for servants, and the strict hierarchy of the waitstaff, with the butler as top boss. The Carnarvons explain that the castle has become a business of its own and is available to rent for events and weddings, in addition to being a popular tourist spot and filming location. The staff of 20 – reduced from 60 in the castle's heyday – preserves the historical home with natural beeswax as a cleaner.
Robach next visits Inveraray Castle, also featured in "Downton," home to Torquhil Campbell, the Duke of Argyll (as in the socks), who enjoys elephant polo, among other pursuits, and his wife, Eleanor Cadbury (as in the chocolates). The Campbells explain that their house, too, has become a profitable tourist attraction. Next, Robach profiles Sir Benjamin Slade, a 67-year-old bachelor searching for a wife who fits the requirements on his "secret list" – and hopefully an heir. Fellowes describes some of the scandalous true stories behind the show's most shocking moments, including Lady Mary's (Michelle Dockery) one-night stand with Turkish diplomat Kemal Pamuk (Theo James), who abruptly dies in her bed, and Lady Sybil's (Jessica Brown Findlay) class-defying romance with the family chauffeur, Tom Branson (Allen Leech). Robach then talks to a "real-life Bates and Anna," two members of the Highclere staff who have become a couple, like the show's valet and lady's maid, played by Brendan Coyle and Joanne Froggatt.
Next, Robach interviews Emma McQuiston, who made history by becoming Britain's first black marchioness upon her marriage to Ceawlin Thynn, Viscount Weymouth, in June 2013. The pair, who met as children, discuss dealing with the long-held racism of the British peerage, and Emma, who is also interested in pursuing fashion and culinary careers, describes redecorating her new home, Longleat Estate, which boasts a safari park, in addition to other attractions.
Robach and Fellowes explain how marriages between British lords and American heiresses, like that of Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) to American Cora Levinson (Elizabeth McGovern), "bailed out" the aristocracy from potential financial ruin in the late 19th and early 20th century, using "Titled American" magazine as something of a "Victorian match.com." Highclere's carefully maintained records describe the many expenses involved in hiring a full staff of servants, down to their crisp uniforms; the castle itself is estimated to be worth $400 million. Next, Robach covers the issue of primogeniture, the antiquated rule stating that only a firstborn male can inherit the family estate, which is the very problem that kicks off the "Downton" story when Robert's heir Patrick Crawley dies on the Titanic in the first episode. Lady Liza Campbell, daughter of Hugh Campbell, 6th Earl Cawdor (as in "Macbeth") talks about her efforts to change the sexist policy, objecting to the idea that a woman must "be marriageable" in order to inherit her family's home and belongings.
A real-life example of the perils of primogeniture is found in the Fulfords, a landed gentry family whose oldest son, Arthur, stands to inherit everything from his father Francis, unlike his twin sister, Matilda, and two younger brothers Edmund and Humphrey. The feisty and foul-mouthed family has gained fame on reality TV, and has taken to searching the walls and floors of their home for "treasure" in order to repair the crumbling estate. Arthur seems pleased with the prospect of hard work, however, and his younger siblings are largely unconcerned by their historically mandated secondary status.
Highclere Castle head chef Paul Brooke-Taylor and the rest of the staff prepares for a fundraiser dinner at the palatial estate, noting that the kitchen staff is now largely comprised of men, unlike in the "Downton" era. After a brief "table-setting crisis," the well-organized affair proceeds smoothly. Later, the cast and crew of "Downton" resume the complex process of filming the show, which can feature close to 50 scenes in one episode; executive producer Rebecca Eaton explains that the series is by far the most successful show under the "Masterpiece Classic" umbrella. The actors comment on loving their characters, though several voice concerns about being killed off, as Lady Sybil and Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) were in season 3. Fellowes, however, explains that he is unlikely to kill off a character if the actor doesn't wish to depart the show, as Findlay and Stevens did, adding that it is harder to get rid of a family member than it is a servant, whose departure can be explained by their simply finding a position elsewhere.
Several cast members appear on "Good Morning America" to preview season four, which will explore the newly widowed Mary's grieving period and the challenge of paying Matthew's "death duties," a tax required upon an heir's demise. Members of the Highclere staff then address decorating the castle for Christmas, pondering whether they identify with the characters in the show. Many of the interviewees try to name their favorite characters, with many voicing love for the witty and imperious matriarch Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, played by legendary actress Dame Maggie Smith. Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: December 26, 2013 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:59:31
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 115062
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Public affairs/Documentaries; Talk/Interview; Television
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1978-
- COMMERCIALS:
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- TV - Commercials - "Grudge Match" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Her" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Saving Mr. Banks" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - Abreva cold sore medication
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- TV - Promos - "20/20"
- TV - Promos - "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve"
- TV - Promos - "Good Morning America"
- TV - Promos - "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
- TV - Promos - "Killer Women"
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- TV - Promos - "Nashville"
- TV - Promos - "Revenge"
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CREDITS
- John Green … Executive Producer
- Muriel Pearson … Senior Producer, Writer
- Carolyn Durand … Coordinating Producer
- Bruno Roeber … Producer
- Bram Harris … Producer
- Joan Martelli … Producer, Writer
- Sarah Feuquay … Associate Producer
- Lauren Putrino … Associate Producer
- Evelyn Seijido … Associate Producer
- Jeff Winn … Director
- Ann Reynolds … Writer
- Amy Robach … Host
- Julian Fellowes … Interviewee
- Torquhil Campbell … Interviewee
- Eleanor Campbell … Interviewee
- Benjamin Slade … Interviewee
- Fiona Carnarvon … Interviewee
- Emma McQuiston (see also: Emma Thynn) … Interviewee
- Ceawlin Thynn … Interviewee
- Liza Campbell … Interviewee
- Rebecca Eaton … Interviewee
- Joanne Froggatt … Interviewee
- Hugh Bonneville … Interviewee
- Michelle Dockery … Interviewee
- Allen Leech … Interviewee
- Elizabeth McGovern … Interviewee
- Arthur Fulford … Interviewee
- Francis Fulford … Interviewee
- Matilda Fulford … Interviewee
- Humphrey Fulford … Interviewee
- Edmund Fulford … Interviewee
- Paul Brooke-Taylor … Interviewee
- Brendan Coyle
- Jessica Brown Findlay
- Almina Herbert
- Theo James
- Maggie Smith
- Dan Stevens