What was supposed to be a sneak peak at Downton Abbey 2, well….
As with any “teaser” clip, no matter the length, it’s always been a fine line between maddening and anticipation. An all-too-short clip that I screened early Thursday, was to give millions of extraordinarily patient fans a first glimpse at what’s next for both the residents and servants of Downton Abbey. At only :12 seconds, it managed to invoke both madness and anticipation. Unfortunately, in the span of just several hours, what I was able to upload earlier this morning, the :12 second teaser for series 2, has since been removed by ITV replacing it with a lovely message stating that this video contains content from ITV.com who has blocked it on copyright grounds. (see below)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxGDjjvpAjo
A quick re-cap of series one, you’ll remember, war is imminent and, as you can imagine in series 2, it will have a dramatic effect on all those connected with the stately home of the Earl and Countess of Grantham.
SPOILER ALERT: The Hollywood Reporter’s Tim Appelo was able to interview Julian Fellowes earlier in the summer where he discussed a brilliant sequence in which the sudden death of one of the visitors to the estate was covered up by the ladies of the home in order to save their reputation was based on true events. “This young woman had this man in her bed, a diplomat, and he died of a heart attack. If this story got out, the scandal would’ve been sensational and ruined them. So they dragged his body down the corridors into his own bed. The deception was completely successful. I said, one day I’m going to use this in a script. Ten years or so later, I did. I kept the story in the squirrel-nut box one has in one’s head.” Fellowes recalled.
Even without seeing the clip, I think the scale, for me, has now tipped to the side of anticipation, leaving madness behind. I’ll leave the madness part as not being able to share with everyone. What about you?
A reminder, series 2 of the brilliant Julian Fellowes creation will premiere this Fall in the UK on ITV1 and January 8, 2012 as part of PBS’ Masterpiece series in the States.
