The Dowager Countess Battles Against Modernity | Downton Abbey

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  • Опубліковано 2 січ 2025

КОМЕНТАРІ • 140

  • @hopelesshopefulromantic1791
    @hopelesshopefulromantic1791 Рік тому +346

    "No no, I'm a good sailor."
    Not only is this quote brilliant, it fits her so well. So much is thrown at her throughout the series and even if she is against it at the end she handles it all in stride. She truly is a good sailor.

  • @12classics39
    @12classics39 Рік тому +294

    “Is this an instrument of communication or torture?” Funniest line of the entire show, hands down.

    • @carolineandrews7231
      @carolineandrews7231 11 місяців тому +12

      And Edith's face is a picture in this scene, she is trying so hard not to laugh!

  • @robboyte1101
    @robboyte1101 Рік тому +628

    Such a pity that Violet didn't live long enough to see the earliest television. I KNOW she would've had a classic response. 😂

    • @melaniekendall4903
      @melaniekendall4903 Рік тому +7

      Do you need a reality check???😂😂

    • @robboyte1101
      @robboyte1101 Рік тому +11

      @@melaniekendall4903 ??????

    • @jazzycat8917
      @jazzycat8917 Рік тому +44

      @@melaniekendall4903 This reply makes literally no sense, why are you being mean for no reason?

    • @roguejester4986
      @roguejester4986 Рік тому +3

      Or died of a heart attack given how it was still very new at the time.

    • @dramaticScar
      @dramaticScar Рік тому +2

      I’ll say it in a more polite manner…
      I do think she lived to the era of televesions… but not to the time she could own one

  • @morbius109
    @morbius109 Рік тому +234

    Violet is a good example of how I imagine many older 19th century folk encountering innovations of the early 20th century, haha. It reminds me of my granny (born in 1917) trying to understand the time my parents bought a PC back in the early 90s…she was so lost in grasping the basics of it. Every generation suffers this problem, I dare say!

    • @justmechilling...
      @justmechilling... Рік тому +9

      My Dad could never use an ATM...born in 1924.😊

    • @SavingHistory
      @SavingHistory Рік тому +15

      Completely agree. I just had dinner with friends yesterday, and her mother who lives with her is almost 106 years old. She could not grasp what we were doing when we all decided to play a little “beat saber” VR exercise game (we’re all in our 60s). She could see on the tv what was going on, but could not comprehend why we had to wear a helmet and hold sticks in our hands. LOL

    • @sonofednawelthorpe8609
      @sonofednawelthorpe8609 6 місяців тому +1

      My grandparents were born 1899 and parents in 1924/5. There must have seen some remarkable inventions and changes. My parents couldn’t get their head around computers. My mum got a front loading washer and I had to work it in 1970. I was a 12 year old boy.

    • @especiasuy
      @especiasuy 2 місяці тому

      I present myself to you as an example: born in 1990, the XXIst century has started to be an absolute struggle to me about ten years ago, with a steeper curve in the last two or three.
      I always say I'm a very well conserved 180-year-old, which is more accurate than calling myself a 33-year-old

  • @rachelpopa3562
    @rachelpopa3562 Рік тому +192

    The telephone scene might be my all time favorite from the whole series 😂

    • @RobSchellinger
      @RobSchellinger Рік тому +2

      Kinda like Bob Newhart's routine.

    • @teddyslibrary
      @teddyslibrary Рік тому +4

      I'm talking about HOLLERING, through that phone! Lol

    • @Knappa22
      @Knappa22 Рік тому +21

      I love how Laura Carmichael is dying trying not to laugh during the phone scene 😂😂

    • @matthew8153
      @matthew8153 11 місяців тому

      Same for Rosanne when Jackie is trying to tell someone her father’s dead.

    • @formulanostalgiachannel4361
      @formulanostalgiachannel4361 11 місяців тому +3

      @@Knappa22ever since she said she was on the verge of breaking character, I can’t unsee it 😂

  • @BazukinBelyugovich
    @BazukinBelyugovich 11 місяців тому +106

    "When I'm with her I'm reminded of the virtues of the English."
    "Isn't she American?"
    "Exactly."
    She's not mincing words with this one XD

    • @norahsmith2303
      @norahsmith2303 24 дні тому

      her son married an american woman for her money to save downton so violet is just forgetting that

  • @NoxHowl
    @NoxHowl 11 місяців тому +95

    "Why does everyday involves a fight with an american" - LOL love her

  • @williamofhanover
    @williamofhanover 7 місяців тому +32

    the fact that she was more surprised that a nudist colony was opened in Essex rather than a nudist colony being opened at all is reason enough to love her 😭😭

    • @tytn9978
      @tytn9978 2 місяці тому

      YES! That is exactly what made the character so wonderful, and the writers understood that Maggie could and WOULD deliver such a line with the perfect inflection of tone that was Maggie's trademark! Her lines were music to my ears!

  • @DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER
    @DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER Рік тому +92

    "Is this an instrument of communication or torture??"
    I either say or DEFINITELY think that phrase or its equivalent at least ten times a day with regard to my so-called "smartphone". 😂
    The more things change, the more they stay the same.

  • @bhinoyj
    @bhinoyj Рік тому +104

    "What is a weekend" .. that needed to be in this compilation

    • @Robert08010
      @Robert08010 Рік тому +10

      My favorite touch is the half spoken "Whu.." just be for that line indication only the most total of bewilderment!

  • @odysseusrex5908
    @odysseusrex5908 Рік тому +48

    0:47 The Dowager, despite her constant rearguard action to keep the world in the Victorian era, drops a literary reference to H.G. Welles in casual conversation. I remember another episode where she made an allusion to Jules Verne. I think I would enjoy perusing the library at the Dower House.

  • @hopelesshopefulromantic1791
    @hopelesshopefulromantic1791 Рік тому +91

    "Do you think any of them know what the others are playing?"
    I think my favorite part of that is Evelyn making a face as he listens, wondering if she's right. Underrated duo.

  • @lanisnts
    @lanisnts 11 місяців тому +28

    1:50 I feel that the actress who plays Edith is desperately trying not to laugh in the telephone scene.

    • @silent_javalier5170
      @silent_javalier5170 8 місяців тому +11

      She actually said in an interview that she was corpsing in that scene but the director decided to keep it in there because Edith herself might actually find it funny 😆

  • @RobSchellinger
    @RobSchellinger Рік тому +34

    Always love Carson's expressions in the background. That's totally me.

  • @Susan.1958
    @Susan.1958 Рік тому +31

    I love maggie smith she’s a fantastic actress I love Downton please bring on more series to tv 👍👍👍👍

  • @colestock9980
    @colestock9980 Рік тому +17

    Laura Silently losing it when maggie is fighting with the phone 🤣🤣

  • @Edmonton-of2ec
    @Edmonton-of2ec 7 місяців тому +11

    Having used headsets at work that have equivalent audio quality to a 1920s telephone, I can confirm on the Dowager Countess’s behalf that they are an instrument of torture

  • @twobearshomestead
    @twobearshomestead 10 місяців тому +17

    "Why does every day involve a fight with an American." Clasic.

  • @cameronleepowerrangersands5519
    @cameronleepowerrangersands5519 11 місяців тому +6

    Dowager Countess is truly wonderful to see and value for even PBS Kids fans at times both young and adult sometimes

  • @Robert08010
    @Robert08010 Рік тому +17

    @2:06 "Hello. Lady of the house speaking!"

    • @nlpnt
      @nlpnt 11 місяців тому +4

      Not a white slimline telephone though.

    • @Robert08010
      @Robert08010 11 місяців тому +3

      Very good!!! I seriously need a dose of Hyacinth right now! @@nlpnt

  • @victoriazurbrugg8605
    @victoriazurbrugg8605 3 місяці тому +4

    Rip dame Maggie. What a talent. I’m glad we can remember her here

  • @SN-sz7kw
    @SN-sz7kw 3 місяці тому +2

    Katherine Hepburn was the idol of my youth. And Dame Maggie’s final characters (including The Lady in the Van) are a glorious inspiration for my twilight years. I am blessed. 💗💗💗

  • @AndrePereira-im6uc
    @AndrePereira-im6uc 3 місяці тому +3

    I was just seeing this video when I got the notification of Dame Smith passing 💔.
    May She Rest in Peace. ✨

  • @jlshel42
    @jlshel42 11 місяців тому +25

    “In Essex? Isn’t it terribly damp?”

  • @alking7655
    @alking7655 Рік тому +14

    "Is this an instrument of communication or torture." I particularly agree when you are put on hold to government departments and wait for hours.

  • @danyrochon1194
    @danyrochon1194 8 місяців тому +3

    This woman had me bursting into tears 🤣🤣🤣 1:50

  • @teddyslibrary
    @teddyslibrary Рік тому +25

    Baby when she swiveled in that chair!!! I SCREAMED

  • @SO_DIGITAL
    @SO_DIGITAL 11 місяців тому +2

    1:05 She's like Sophia. The thoughts just POP out. Marvellous.

  • @Shazzadut1
    @Shazzadut1 11 місяців тому +10

    I love these lines, and in the hands of a lesser actress perhaps they wouldn’t be as funny. ‘In my day I wore the crinoline, the bustle and the leg of mutton sleeves, I’m not in a strong position to criticise…’ 😂😂😂

  • @ivaveljovic9386
    @ivaveljovic9386 3 місяці тому +5

    RIP Maggie Smith🥺🕊️

  • @rickster100100
    @rickster100100 3 місяці тому +3

    Dame Maggie Smith. RIP 💐💐

  • @jessicasager72
    @jessicasager72 6 місяців тому +1

    The scene with her on the phone is one of brilliance.

  • @Keniadiolinda
    @Keniadiolinda 4 місяці тому +1

    “Is this an instrument of communication or torture” finished me 😂😂😂

  • @beyondview
    @beyondview 3 місяці тому +2

    1:10 I thought she was having a medical episode😂😂😂😂

  • @DragonHeir92
    @DragonHeir92 10 місяців тому +11

    It's interesting that Violet isn't concerned about nudity itself, but instead being in Essex while doing such a thing.

  • @tytn9978
    @tytn9978 2 місяці тому

    Every time I look at one of the Downton Abbey vignettes. I am reminded of the treasure that was the actress, Maggie Smith! There's a song I recall an Ian Thomas song with the lyric about fanous aactors: "they're all alive in old movies"! Thank Goodness for that!!!

  • @CaseyMorris-du7qv
    @CaseyMorris-du7qv 11 місяців тому +6

    Maggie Smith❤

    • @RoyBryant-zj3ym
      @RoyBryant-zj3ym 11 місяців тому

      Hello 👋 , Good afternoon how are you doing

  • @senguptasayn
    @senguptasayn Рік тому +9

    Now imagine Violet ordering food to Mrs.Patmore over the telephone.

  • @utkrishtvermaxi-drollno3185
    @utkrishtvermaxi-drollno3185 3 місяці тому +1

    Rip maggie smith. You live in our hearts forever😢😭

  • @jeremyengalla6133
    @jeremyengalla6133 Рік тому +10

    “Such a gLaYyyyaaiireee” 😂

    • @Robert08010
      @Robert08010 Рік тому +1

      Yes, I love how some people can add many extra syllables to a simple phrase.

  • @joycalabrese4349
    @joycalabrese4349 Рік тому +5

    Love her!!!

    • @RoyBryant-zj3ym
      @RoyBryant-zj3ym 11 місяців тому

      Hello 👋 , Good afternoon how are you doing

  • @Daniel-xg3ul
    @Daniel-xg3ul 10 місяців тому +4

    It's funny seeing the BTS clips where they pull their smartphones out of their pockets between scenes. Or riding a golf car to a set. Really throws you off.

  • @michaeljohndennis2231
    @michaeljohndennis2231 Рік тому +20

    Given what we now know in 2024, it shows that this wonderful lady is correct, as are those of earlier generations - I’m only 53 now, but I have come to deeply respect the wise words of my grandparents generation in my teens in the 1980’s re modernity, even if our parents generation did not do so at the time and we were simply left confused - once we were no longer teenagers and passed into our 30’s we started to realise that our grandparents were correct all along, as given their lived life experiences, they saw the dangers that no one else could see

    • @scorpioninpink
      @scorpioninpink 11 місяців тому +2

      Like I do use a smartphone but most of the time it leaves me confused about the other functions this phone has. My nephews know how to tinker it though so if I have a question I just call them and I am 31 this year.

    • @MP-dn4bs
      @MP-dn4bs 11 місяців тому +1

      your great great great great great great great great great great grandparent called, he says he knew this enlightenment renaissance thing was a mistake, we should have stuck to the old, upstanding moral traditions of feudalism, lest we fall into depravity 500 years later
      your 500th great grandparent called, he said he knew this agriculture thing was mistake, we should have stuck to the old, upstanding moral traditions of a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, lest we fall into depravity 10,000 years later
      your 500-millionth great grandparent called, he says he knew this newfangled multicellular life thing was a mistake, we should have stuck to the old, upstanding moral traditions of independence and asexual reproduction, lest we fall into depravity 600 million years later

  • @m.layfette6249
    @m.layfette6249 Рік тому +15

    "Preferably only on their days off."

  • @DDSizeBra
    @DDSizeBra 12 днів тому

    1:54 You can see the actress (Laura Carmichael) playing Edith, trying to stifle her laugh (including fidgeting with her hands to help control herself from bursting out laughing). I remembered during an interview that the actress admitted that it was extremely difficult to stop herself laughing when commenting about Maggie Smith's extraordinary acting skills and her personality off stage. 😂

  • @KarthiKeyan-zu2bx
    @KarthiKeyan-zu2bx Рік тому +35

    You must have control over your feelings before they take control of you
    - The Dowager

  • @Robert08010
    @Robert08010 Рік тому +2

    Bravo! Always excellent.

  • @EH23831
    @EH23831 Рік тому +5

    She really did have the best lines…😂

  • @fernando-qv2pu
    @fernando-qv2pu 10 місяців тому +1

    La amo. Que triste que ya no estará en la nueva película :(
    o sí???

  • @enthusedtosing9655
    @enthusedtosing9655 11 місяців тому +5

    _"Such a glaaaaah!.."_

  • @tina5601
    @tina5601 8 місяців тому +3

    MAGGIE SMITH IS A LEGEND ❤

  • @RonRicho
    @RonRicho 2 місяці тому

    So wonderful to see this but so sad to think she's gone.

  • @m.layfette6249
    @m.layfette6249 Рік тому +7

    "Exactly."

  • @WalentinaRomanaSacconi_nigoro1
    @WalentinaRomanaSacconi_nigoro1 11 місяців тому +1

    Maggi Smith 🥰🥰❤️

  • @SN-sz7kw
    @SN-sz7kw 3 місяці тому

    I confess I’ve sometimes had the same question about jazz. 😂 I’ve since learned that sometimes the answer is no, & that’s the point. In her own way, Violet wasn’t far off. 😂😂😂

  • @msalas5963
    @msalas5963 10 місяців тому +2

    It would be fun to see Dame Maggie Smith holding a smartphone while wearing a costume for Downton Abbey!!!

  • @qqing-yq5nr
    @qqing-yq5nr 7 місяців тому

    Matthew is really smart and has a sense of humor.🎞️⚖️🎖️

  • @grogery1570
    @grogery1570 11 місяців тому +3

    My Dad to me (circa 1970) : I got my first job, then saved for 3 months to buy a bicycle so I didn't have to walk to work, so you should be happy with the one you got for Christmas.
    My son to me (circa 2000): I don't want a bicycle, you and mum can drive me.

  • @kellicoffman8440
    @kellicoffman8440 Рік тому

    Exactly that’s part of what makes the scene so funny still

  • @MilotheShrike
    @MilotheShrike 6 місяців тому +1

    "In Essex, isn't it terribly damp" omg

  • @7MatthewJames
    @7MatthewJames 3 місяці тому +2

    RIP Dame Maggie

  • @SO_DIGITAL
    @SO_DIGITAL 6 днів тому

    1:18 his eyes

  • @jamesdrynan
    @jamesdrynan 3 місяці тому

    Through the Potter series and Downton Abbey, Dame Maggie won over legions of new fans. Most didn't realize that she had led a highly successful career prior to these programs. Like Alec Guiness in Star Wars, Maggie Smith had an astonishing career revitalization.

  • @davideboos
    @davideboos Рік тому +2

    About the telephone, it's a little bit of both … especially 100 years from then.

  • @JJSparxx
    @JJSparxx Рік тому +4

    Great Compilation! I would have also added "Edith, you're a lady. Not Toad of Toad Hall."

  • @atticusmcfly
    @atticusmcfly Рік тому +3

    I want to see Violet try to post an Instagram Story!

  • @xr6lad
    @xr6lad 10 місяців тому +2

    NO ONE is commenting on Robert stating that he didn’t see any point in installing it in the kitchens??? He’s tightfisted. It will only cost him more later.

  • @m.layfette6249
    @m.layfette6249 Рік тому +24

    "Is this an instrument of communication or torture?"

    • @hopelesshopefulromantic1791
      @hopelesshopefulromantic1791 Рік тому +1

      I saw the image in the thumbnail and came for that

    • @kellicoffman8440
      @kellicoffman8440 Рік тому +3

      My favorite line we are still asking that question

    • @DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER
      @DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER Рік тому +1

      I either say or DEFINITELY think that phrase or its equivalent at least ten times a day with regard to my so-called "smartphone". 😂

  • @ralucadudescu
    @ralucadudescu 4 дні тому

    Honestly, sometimes I have the same feelings related to the smartphone!

  • @andrewe360
    @andrewe360 Рік тому

    jolly good

  • @ithikithik
    @ithikithik 11 місяців тому +1

    Where's the scene when they all hear King's speech via radio?

  • @argonunya8751
    @argonunya8751 6 місяців тому

    2:00 - As true now as it was then.

  • @Faye-Jane
    @Faye-Jane 11 місяців тому +7

    I would love to see her reaction to nowadays technology.

  • @cynthiachengmintz672
    @cynthiachengmintz672 Рік тому +2

    Well, Violet is right - phones can be a bit crazy. Until they install reception in all elevators, I wouldn’t say they’re perfect. Lol

  • @RobertMartens-c5r
    @RobertMartens-c5r 11 місяців тому

    Such a glare

  • @NihilIslands
    @NihilIslands 11 місяців тому +2

    Nobles in the World Unite!

  • @NakedSnake1836
    @NakedSnake1836 Рік тому +10

    I don’t understand why the swivel chair would qualify as modern when as Matthew pointed out, it was invented by Thomas Jefferson which was back in the 18th century.

    • @lim4275
      @lim4275 Рік тому +22

      She lamented the modernity of the chair BEFORE learning that it had been invented by Jefferson. Then she commented that it seemed as if every day involved a “fight with an American”. Throughout the series, she often casts aspersions on America and Americans - mainly because they don’t respect traditions in the same way the English do. It is the main reason for all of her sparring with Martha Levinson, Cora’s American mother. She also occasionally has words with Cora over her more modern views.

  • @matthew8153
    @matthew8153 11 місяців тому +4

    “Is this an instrument of communication or torture?”
    CNN: “Yes”

  • @omercoeckelberghs2116
    @omercoeckelberghs2116 9 місяців тому

    2:49

  • @harringt100
    @harringt100 Рік тому +8

    How is the comment on Rosamund's French, or Violet's defending Rose's choice of fashion, or the opinion that going naked in a damp place sounds unpleasant a "battle against modernity?"

    • @peterrraklliproductions2020
      @peterrraklliproductions2020 11 місяців тому +3

      I don’t think it was referring to just technology, but also modern societal values, what is unacceptable and not in modern times.

  • @victorvg139
    @victorvg139 День тому

    "How many marquess of Flintshire are out there?"

  • @hpavalferr7201
    @hpavalferr7201 Рік тому +1

    🙂 💯 💙

  • @GevEdgar
    @GevEdgar Рік тому +2

    😇🥰😍🤩😘

  • @xr6lad
    @xr6lad 10 місяців тому

    Weird as electricity would have been well and truely in place by the late war/early 1920’s. Violet would hardly have been a stranger to it. It’s not like it’s 1900.

  • @yiman7370
    @yiman7370 11 місяців тому +4

    Shame the british lost all this class and ethics

  • @brockreynolds870
    @brockreynolds870 6 місяців тому

    "She did wonder about the kitchens, but I couldn't see the point". Typical privileged opinion

  • @Patrick3183
    @Patrick3183 11 місяців тому

    1:19 that actors hair is ludicrously long. This show has so many errors

  • @heyheytaytay
    @heyheytaytay Рік тому +2

    So sad Maggie Smith is going to die this year. RIP.

    • @DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER
      @DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER Рік тому

      You are reported to UA-cam for violent hate speech, and grotesque and blatant disinformation.

    • @husseinmuhammed828
      @husseinmuhammed828 Рік тому +3

      No she won’t

    • @DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER
      @DUCKDUCKGOISMUCHBETTER Рік тому

      @@husseinmuhammed828 Report him to UA-cam for spamming violent hate speech and grotesque disinformation, like I did. And let him know you did it. That's how you deal with these trolls.

    • @alking7655
      @alking7655 Рік тому +13

      Don't you dare speak of our dear Dame in that fashion. We accept she will have to go at some point, but unless you know her health personally, don't wish that on someone.

    • @morganborthwick9812
      @morganborthwick9812 11 місяців тому

      Wtf - get fucked. Why would you even think such a thing?