Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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Upstairs, Meet Downstairs The master-servant relationship evolves in Downton Abbey TV by DEAN ROBBINS Masterpiece has worked hard to expand its range, but the success of Downton Abbey — rave reviews, Emmy awards, high ratings — proves that people really just want to see an- other variation on the old Upstairs Downstairs theme. And why not? Nobody can tease out the nuances of the master-servant relationship like the Brits, and few periods inspire British film- makers more than the Edwardian 1910s. In that decade, the upper classes still had their sense of entitlement, plus all the el- egant clothes and table settings that went along with it. But the age-old walls between the high- and low-born were starting to crumble, with a big assist from World War I. The second season of Downton Abbey (Sunday, 9 p.m., PBS) masterfully exploits these tensions. It cuts back and forth from the serene estate in Yorkshire, where all the old rules apply, to the chaotic battlefield of the Somme, where none of them do. Matthew (Dan Stevens) returns to Downton from the front with his new fiancée, Lavinia (Zoe Boyle), piercing the heart of former flame Mary (Michelle Dockery). The countess (Maggie Smith) treats Lavinia with exquisitely polite condescension upon learning that her father is merely a solicitor. "My, my, you're very well placed if you're ever in trouble with the law." Little does the countess realize that the snobs' days are numbered. Down in the basement, new servant Ethel (Amy Nuttall) causes a stir by refusing to accept her station. "I want the best and I'm not ashamed to admit it," she proclaims. Everybody laughs at her, but we, of course, know that the rest of the century be- longed to Ethel, not the countess. The Bachelor Monday, 8 pm (ABC) The new season features the usual manly-yet-sensitive dude, Ben Flajnik, who earnestly searches for his soul mate among a group of women chosen by the ABC casting department. This installment piles on the signifiers of fairytale romance: walks on a moonlit beach, evenings in a cozy hot tub and treks up a picturesque mountain. It all looks so misty and enchanting that you feel kind of bad to see Ben's pool of potential true lovers filled with basket cases and psychos, determined to destroy each other. Sample dialogue, spoken by women with angry tears and blotchy skin: "She makes me sick!" "I'm going to kill whoever comes through that door!" "I just want to rip her head off!" Nothing spoils a fairytale romance like decapitation. Who's Still Standing? Monday, 8 pm (NBC) The eternal search for a new game-show gimmick contin- ues. Who's Still Standing? places contestants on top of trap doors and fires trivia questions at them. If they answer incor- rectly, the trap door opens and — WAAAaaa! The trap doors, along with the flashing lights, pounding music and roaring audi- ence, can't disguise the fact that this is just another trivia show with ho-hum ques- tions: "This fast-food chain uses a secret blend of 11 herbs and spices." If Who's Still Standing? doesn't catch on, you just know that NBC will open a trap door under the programming executive who thought it up. WAAAaaa! Celebrity Wife Swap Tuesday, 9 pm (ABC) On Monday nights, ABC's The Bachelor tries to make the institution of marriage sound romantic and charming. On Tuesday nights, the network's Celebrity Wife Swap shows how icky and perverse it can be, at least when the likes of Dee Snider, Ted Haggard, Flavor Flav and Gary Busey are involved. These marginal celebrities agree to swap wives for a week so that, according to ABC, "couples can rediscover why they love each other and decided to get together in the first place." Read: They need money and attention, badly. Lunch 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Tues. - Sat. Dinner 5 p.m. - 9 p.m., Tues. - Thur. 5 p.m. - 10 p.m., Fri. - Sat. Sunday Brunch 10:30 a..m. - 2:30 p.m. Closed Monday Sit down and enjoy award winning cuisine in our elegant dining rooms set in a historic home built in 1908. Compliment your entree with a selection from our extensive wine list. Reach for a glass or bottle of wine from the 74 page wine list, featuring an extensive collection of worldly wines hand selected by certi ed Sommelier Kristine Miller. Experience our higher standards and excellence with our catering services. 1240 Fort Bragg Road • Fayetteville, NC • 910.484.6699 www.hilltophousenc.com WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM JANUARY 4-10, 2012 UCW 19 y Uuhx` s ivrv ! R