Oh Jeez...

Whenever I’m looking forward to watching a certain movie or TV show, no matter how much I’d like to watch it with my mom, I always know it’s a bad idea. Not only does she talk to the screen during crucial you-better-hear-this-or-nothing-will-make-sense moments, but she also calls out the plot before they’ve ever shown it. I GET that most things are predictable, but I do not need to hear, “SHE KILLED HIM! SHE WAS THE ONE!” when I’m so fully captivated by the action on the screen.

Oh, and if there’s a climatic romantic moment that is the culmination of two hours (or two seasons) of sexual tension, my mom will ruin it EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. While I’m holding back tears, imagining myself in place of the female heroine and watching the movie with the intensity of a thousand suns, this will be my mom: 

“Okay, okay, just kiss her already Darcy! You’ve stringed me along long enough!”

“FINALLY! They have been dragging this out for two seasons!”

I cannot even begin to describe HOW MUCH THIS INFURIATES ME! MOM, SHUT UP! I’m trying to watch and I’m so fully invested and YES THIS IS MORE THAN JUST A MAKE BELIEVE STORY TO ME AND WHY DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND ME! 

So, as the resident period piece lover of my office, I was made to write the below post for the company blog, because believe-you-me, I don’t really blog about PR in my spare time. 

But since it is Downtonian and since I did take all that time to Photoshop the beautiful image accompanying this post, I shall put it up here. 

P.S. My boss thought that Downton was misspelled and tried to catch me out. “You have a typo in this. Isn’t it supposed to be Downtown?” me: -___- AMATEUR. 

P.P.S. Don’t feel bad if your Photoshop skills are not up to par with mine. Not everyone is blessed with such amazing talent.

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It has been well-documented that I am obsessed quite fond of British period drama, “Downton Abbey.” As much at it provides me an escape, a glimpse back at the Edwardian Era and costume envy material for life, “Downton” is also must-see TV for PR pros out there. Here’s why (WARNING - SPOILER ALERT):

Get your facts straight: So much of the action in Downton is set into motion by the downstairs staff, who gleans information by eavesdropping or overhearing private conversations. Because they work in such close proximity to the aristocratic family they serve, it’s understandable that there would be occasions when staff would be in the middle of a family scuffle or interaction. However, in the case of Lady Grantham’s maid Sarah O’Brien, missing a few key sentences of a conversation not only led to a pre-meditated plot to injure her employer, but also the unforeseen repercussion of killing the Lady’s unborn baby and heir to the Grantham estate!

This could have all been avoided if O’Brien had a PR-minded confidant among the downstairs staff to vent to. What self-respecting publicist would ever suggest distributing a press release or sending a pitch without confirming facts?

Don’t burn bridges: As members of the PR industry, we all know that dissing a writer from www.ibloginmymom’sbasement.com for a bad review is a huge no-no. Why? Because nine times out of ten, that same writer will be on your media list as reviews editor at the Los Angeles Times in three years and will want nothing to do with you. Wish some wise publicist would have shared that anecdote with eldest daughter Lady Mary Crawley when she turned down an offer of marriage from Matthew Crawley, the love of her life, when it looked like he’d no longer be rolling in the dough as heir of Downton Abbey. Inevitably, things do work out in Matthew’s favor and he does remain the heir, but guess what? He doesn’t want anything to do with Mary anymore.

Exclusives, first-breaks and world premiers: Mega-powerful journalist tycoons are second only to the CIA or FBI in terms of knowing top secret information and having a chokehold on the pulse of politics. When the sinister Vera Bates - wife of well-meaning valet to Lord Grantham – threatened to engulf the Crawley family in some serious handsome-dead-dignitary-in-eldest-daughter’s-bed scandal, there was only one person who could set things right. In exchange for her salacious story, newspaper magnate Sir Richard Carlisle offers Vera a great sum of money, but not without making her sign an ironclad agreement that she will not go to any other outlet with the news. Of course, what Vera doesn’t know is that Sir Richard is engaged to Lady Mary, and has absolutely no intention of running the story, as it will do some severe damage to his fiancé’s honor. Believe you me, I would never want to cold call a journalist like Sir Richard, but you’ve got to admit, the man knows how to lock in an exclusive. 

My official 2012 Downton Abbey calendar!! 

It is now hanging regally in my cube: 

I can honestly say that now counting down the days of the year is so much more pleasurable. 

And for my next Downtonian purchase, the gorgeous “Tea with the Granthams” set! Behold:

I’m sure Mrs. Patmore could bake up some delicious scones to go with the tea.

I realize that I’m obsessed. I don’t care. In fact, I’m systematically making sure that all my friends, family and even coworkers are watching. If loving you is wrong Downton, I don’t wanna be right. 

And I love it.