The Wild Blog in the West

So here we are on the final days of the Manor House  project.  Let me start by saying that I understand the appeal of spending three months living upstairs.  John and Anna Olliff-Cooper have gotten some flack for their comments about how they regret having to leave that world for the modern one, and while some of that flack is deserved, I feel that some of it misses the mark. For three months, "Sir John" and "Lady Olliff-Cooper" got to put aside their cares and be catered to every hour of every day.  While we might scoff, is that not what most of us secretly aspire to?  Isn't that what most of us secretly wish for -- to become rich and not have to deal with the petty stupidities of life like waiting in line at the bank, or listening to the neighbor's leaf blower ?  So for three months, Sir John and Lady Olliff-Cooper got to be exactly what they had always worked so hard to be: so rich, they no longer had to deal with day-to-day cares.  And best of ...

We're nine weeks into the project, and it's time for a history fast-forward.  The year is now 1911, the year that Edward VII's son, George V, took the throne.  It's nice to see Manor House  acknowledge the changeover, instead of pretending that Edward VII lived until the beginning of World War I as so many historians do.  Ah yes, the Edwardian Period, that sun-dappled time of innocence and splendor before Everything Changed Forever.  Since George V was to be crowned Emperor of India, as well as King of the United Kingdom, the Olliff-Coopers are going to hold an Empire Ball, as well as a separate "Raj Supper" with an Indian prince as one of their honored guests. That is the cue to focus on Mr. Raj-Singh, Guy's tutor and a background figure up to this point.  The narrator notes that in 1911, most Indians in Britain would be high-ranking civil servants or the sons of the Indian upper class.  In real life, Reji Raj is a primary school teacher and presu...

Seven weeks into the project, everything is great now that the new scullery maid is at Manderston.  The daughter of a farmer, Ellen is actually used to hard physical labor and doesn't shy from the nastier tasks like plucking fowl.  Since she arrived, the kitchen has been humming, and Monsieur Dubiard and Antonia are so happy and relaxed, and... Where did she go? It turns out that Ellen and Kenny are enjoying a clandestine relationship.  Despite Anna and Bates carrying on with the full knowledge of both the staff and the upstairs, it turns out that servants are expressly forbidden to have relationships.  If Ellen and Kenny had been caught together in Edwardian times, she would have lost her job and he would have been disciplined.  But since this is 2001 and the staff don't want to hire yet another scullery maid, Edgar can only give them a stern talking to.  However, all of their secret trips to smoke cigarettes are causing them to neglect their work, t...

If the house seemed like a well-oiled machine in the last episode, it quickly collapses in this one.  Four weeks have passed and the servants are dead tired.  Their fondest dream is to have some honest-to-goodness time off, which is at Sir John's discretion. Kenny grumbles that if he doesn't get so much as a half day off, he will kidnap Jonty and hold him for ransom.  Antonia muses that if she were really a kitchen maid in the Edwardian times, she would have quit service and become a prostitute.  The reasons?  She would never have to worry about scandal for smoking and drinking, and her feet would never be tired because she would be on her back all day. The servants are also getting sick of having to smile with good humor whenever one of the family makes a funny.  Rob tells Charlie that he wanted to "plunge a knife in their backs" when they laughed at him for being tired.  He singles out Jonty's "girly laugh" for criticism. For their part, Sir ...

So two weeks into the "experiment," both upstairs and downstairs are settling into their roles.  Lady Olliff-Cooper plays tennis with Jonty, while Guy exclaims that the whole experience has given her a virtual happiness orgasm.  Not his exact words. In Lady Olliff-Cooper's defense, anyone  in that position would feel the same way, especially given the harried nature of her real life .  That includes the people downstairs who complain about her upkeep.  Who wouldn't want to give up having responsibilities for two weeks?  Best vacation ever. Still, many people must work very hard to keep her so comfortable, and the strain is beginning to show.  At one point, a weepy Antonia proclaims that she only got three-and-a-half hours of sleep the night before, and that she misses her family and her boyfriend.  There is a lot of weeping and missing the family on this show.  But at least a new scullery maid has arrived: Kelly Squires ("Kelly"): Whe...

Manor House , or The Edwardian Country House  (as it was known in the UK), aired on American television in 2003.  It was part of a series of reality shows that also contained history lessons, including The 1900 House  and The 1940s House . Manor House was ahead of its time, in that its producers sensed our thirst for opulent period drama long before Downton Abbey  became a hit.  And like Downton Abbey , Manor House  took place in the close-yet-far-away time period of pre-World War I Britain. The house and lifestyle were meant to represent wealthy living during the years 1905 and 1914.  Unlike Downton , the actors playing the "upstairs" and "downstairs" didn't get to leave their roles at the end of the day.  Instead they lived them every day for three months. This series also has a fundamentally different outlook from  Downton Abbey .  With Downton , the objective is to show how harmoniously the classes lived together...