TV aerials in Downton Abbey spotted on eve of DA2 premiere


We’ve all secretly done it…meticulously watched films or television shows searching for that elusive shot where sunglasses are worn in one scene, but disappear from the same scene when the camera cuts to a different angle.

There have long been rumors that in one of the battle sequences in the John Wayne film, The Alamo, you can see a charging Santa Anna-led soldier wearing sneakers. Supposedly, there are over 250 continuity errors in Star Wars. All of these make for witty banter at cocktail parties, but that’s about it. Apparently, not so with the mega-ITV hit, Downton Abbey.

With the long-awaited premiere of Downton Abbey 2 slated for tomorrow evening on ITV, some viewers seems to have been given too much time on their hands between series one and series two. Enough time to have viewed series one so closely that they spotted a rash of continuity errors present over the course of the series. So much time, in fact it now has become a parlor game with a mission in the UK.

While huge debates seem to have erupted over the accuracy of certain phrases being used given the historical context of the series, the two most glaring seem to be the presence of a rooftop television aerial on a house during one of the outdoor scenes shot in the Oxfordshire village of Bampton and the appearance of double yellow lines on a nearby road.

Considering the brilliance of Downton Abbey and the pain-staking length of time that goes in to pre-production, filming and post-production of a series of this caliber, pointing out errors that slip through the cracks needs to remain a fun past-time and not elevate (or sink) to the level it seems to have done with DA. For more discussion on the subject, click here.


In: Drama,Odds & Sods