5. Downton Abbey - Anna, Bates And Mr. Green Offscreen
Downton Abbey is an odd show. You can watch runs of episodes where precisely naff-all happens Carson's and Mrs. Hughes' sizzling sexual chemistry notwithstanding before Julian Fellowes decides to throw a bomb into the mix. If the man cooks as he writes, I'd advise you avoid every fifth dinner party lest you be smashed around the face with chillies. Anyway, back to Downton. Setting up the main plot of season four, Eastenders' Nigel Harman turned up and raped Anna. It was harrowing and upsetting, and lit a fire under what had threatened to be a pretty tepid season downstairs, focusing on what Anna's husband Bates would do when not if, obviously he found out. As befitting a man who's done hard time, Bates isn't a stable fellow (to describe him in Hugh Bonneville-esque terms), and he certainly went through the emotional wringer alongside his wife. He was mystified and saddened when she withdrew from him, before uncovering the (half) truth and putting on a murderous glower. By the end of the series he pretty much knew who'd done it and we were looking forward to some sort of resolution. But if you know Downton, you know it doesn't work like that. Much like Lady Mary's upstairs love triangle, the whole thing sort of petered out and was resolved unforgivably with an off-camera scene when Bates was implied to have killed Mr. Green. No dramatic resolution or anything just that nebulous Downton-esque form of plotting, where anything potentially violent gets swept under the rug and masked with a frenzy of 'gollys' and an incredulous, withering look from Maggie Smith. Weirder still, any loose ends concerning the rape plotline were tidied up at Christmas when everyone who knew about the whole sorry saga agreed they could live with it. It's a shame really Harman can do good villainy when pushed, and Bates' actor Brendan Coyle is an intense screen presence when given something to work with. Well, I say he does it's mainly just his eyebrows. But my, what intense eyebrows they are.
Durham University graduate and qualified sports journalist. Very good at sitting down and watching things. Can multi-task this with playing computer games. Football Manager addict who has taken Shrewsbury Town to the summit of the Premier League.
You can follow me at @Ed_OwenUK, if you like ramblings about Newcastle United and A Place in the Sun. If you don't, I don't know what I can do for you.
