Maggie Smith and Michelle Dockery were brilliant in Downton Abbey. Their characters always seemed two to three steps ahead of everyone with their wit. And were hilarious to boot.
Robert Crawley was nominally in charge of everything. But it was clear that Violet and Mary were pulling all the strings through their understanding of how the social contracts really worked. And it was fitting that in the finale Violet hands over the future of the estate to Mary.
If you haven't already make sure you watch Brideshead revisited.
You have Phoebe Nicholls (who played Lady Rose's mother) and Diana Quick (Polina Molotova in The Death of Stalin and the Queen in the eponymous BBC series) doing some similar social machinations in the background of an absolutely stacked period-drama with a cast including Jeremy Irons, Laurence Olivier, and John Gielgud.
A towering presence of British stage and screen, with Dame Judi Dench being about the last of that golden generation since the passing of Diana Riggs (Olenna Tyrell).
Time for a rewatch of Gosford Park while archly sipping gin out of a china teacup with a raised pinkie.
Yeah she was a big loss, a 60s bond girl and all-round sex symbol who went on to completely transcend that label and developed into a serious thespian and RSC/Old Vic stalwart. She absolutely holds her own as the Wife of Olivier's Lear.
I'm delighted she got to work with Edgar Wright before her death and put in a great turn in Last Night in Soho; I'd a big fear she'd peter out with a few Dr.Who episodes in a fairly unceremonious end to a glittering and exremely accomplished career.
She was an absolutely wonderful actress. The Washington Post also has an article announcing her death [0]. It goes into a lot of depth about her work and who she was.
For her passing to make the front page of HN when she has no presence in the tech world really speaks to her impact. I imagine very few people would reach that level. Wonderful actress, she was the best character in Downton.
Truly one of the greatest actors of all time. For those of you that haven't seen this, I strongly recommend watching this show. Just a group of ladies having tea and a chat. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7363336/
Readit News
Robert Crawley was nominally in charge of everything. But it was clear that Violet and Mary were pulling all the strings through their understanding of how the social contracts really worked. And it was fitting that in the finale Violet hands over the future of the estate to Mary.
You have Phoebe Nicholls (who played Lady Rose's mother) and Diana Quick (Polina Molotova in The Death of Stalin and the Queen in the eponymous BBC series) doing some similar social machinations in the background of an absolutely stacked period-drama with a cast including Jeremy Irons, Laurence Olivier, and John Gielgud.
Time for a rewatch of Gosford Park while archly sipping gin out of a china teacup with a raised pinkie.
I'm delighted she got to work with Edgar Wright before her death and put in a great turn in Last Night in Soho; I'd a big fear she'd peter out with a few Dr.Who episodes in a fairly unceremonious end to a glittering and exremely accomplished career.
[0]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/09/27/maggie-...
I wonder how much of it has to do with the overlap between tech nerds and Harry Potter nerds.