Saturday 25 August 2012

Period Drama : Propaganda and Hype

A row with Downton Abbey clearly suggests that Parade's End is up to some desperate PROMOTION! 

The upcoming period drama Parade's End is aiming at cheap publicity as is evident from the remarks and comments made by actor Benedict Cumberbatch (plays lead in Parade's End) on Downton Abbey, the best period drama series in last few years.

As people say, No Publicity is Bad, this trick is definitely working for Parade's End. The first episode goes on TV on 24th August. The story is a love triangle with two women fighting for, alas, Benedict Cumberbatch (come to think of that, at least they could have gone for a better looking actor, English actors are all so good looking and talented).

Since Downton Abbey is  everybody's favorite so what would be better than criticizing the show openly and get some attention. Well, let us see how this parade goes (I have nothing against the actors and the story) with Cumberbatch in the lead and the cheap publicity, my hopes are not very high (IMDb ratings 4.5/10 from 82 voters). 
Downton Abbey and Parade's End
**Define Benedict Cumberbatch in a word - UGLY!**

Do tell me about the first episode!

4 comments:

  1. Downton Abbey looks like such a good show but I never even managed to finish the first season =( I have to rectify that soon. Along with Parade's End.

    I can't go without saying that I don't think Cumberbatch meants his comments to be interpreted as an insult. As unlikely as it seems to a lot of people, he does explain that it's a joke:

    "First of all, I knew it was the first [season] that it was getting awarded for, so that was the first part of the joke. The second part is that Rebecca Eaton, the executive producer on Sherlock and Downton, is a friend. The third, and probably the most important, is that [Abbey creator] Julian Fellowes has known me since I was born. [Abbey leading man] Dan Stevens is one of my good friends — one of my closest friends in England — as is Michelle Dockery. There’s just no way I would say something like that without it being tongue-in-cheek. And I don’t walk around town saying ‘Begone, woman!’ And suddenly [I’m in the middle of] a PR disaster. Maybe I am a PR disaster because I talk too much or don’t filter enough. But I was kind of mortified."

    Read More at: http://tvline.com/2012/06/14/sherlock-season-3-benedict-cumberbatch/#utm_source=copypaste&utm_campaign=referral

    And personally, I think he's rather good-looking ;)Not in the classical sense, but there's definitely something appealing about him.

    Also have you seen BBC's Sherlock? It's an excellent program, and despite being a 21st century version the entire thing's like a homage to the Canon.

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    1. Even if it was a joke/comment, why crack this joke just when his period drama was about to release. Downton Abbey is already two seasons old, ample of time to comment on the series.

      I would suggest you to complete Downton Abbey when you have time, it is a good series, really and I'll try Sherlock Holmes.

      You think Cumberbatch is good looking and that is totally fine, views differ from person to person.

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  2. Yeah, I can understand how it'd be inappropriate if it was made now, but this was at the Golden Globes in January when Downton S2 won a golden globe. This was before Parade's End was even mentioned. He was referring to the fact that S2 wasn't as polished as the first one (which a lot of DA fans seem to agree with.)

    I definitely will! It's just the type of thing for period fans and I think it's excellent that that genre is being reintegrated into pop culture. It rankles me when people claim that it has to be stuffy and boring just because the characters are in corsets and waistcoats -_-

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    1. I think he criticized Downton Abbey yet again in an interview with the Reader's Digest earlier this month while praising Parade's End and this interview will in the September issue of RD with Cumberbatch on the cover page.

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