It's Sunday night at 9:00 PM and I am not thinking about reverse total shoulder arthroplasty surgery. I am one of the 120 million people worldwide who is glued to PBS television during the "season" to watch Downton Abbey, the period series set in the early decades of the twentieth century. Renowned for its attention to detail, the series follows the titled family and their staff through love, marriage, death, births, the Titanic, WWI, economic crashes, successes, rebellion and upheaval. I read that the director is so dedicated to authenticity that there is a ban on soft drinks and associated containers after a soda can showed up on a mantle in a publicity photo.
So that's why I can't get over the Mrs. Patmore predicament.
In Season 1 episode 7 Lord Grantham sent Mrs. Patmore off to London to have cataract surgery. It was successful and she returned to Downton Abbey to cook another day. Things came out so well that she doesn't even wear reading glasses, let alone glasses for distance. While that might be possible today, it just wasn't the way it worked in that era. Where is the ophthalmic consultant on set? Where are the letters to the writers demanding accuracy?
In the first half of the 20th century cataract surgery was done, that's true. The cloudy lens (the cataract) was removed and light and color flooded into the eye again. But without the lens the image was totally unfocused, completely blurred. Hence, those coke bottle bottom glasses-think Claude Monet or George Burns. The next advance post WWII was contact lenses which were cosmetically and functionally a huge improvement. It wasn't until the late 1970's- early 1980s intraocular implants came along, putting the lens inside the eye rather than outside. But in the post WWI era, cataract
glasses were the only choice.
So, where are Mrs. Patnore's glasses? Good heavens, she's not even wearing a pince nez.
Okay, I admit it, I am a bit obsessed.
So that's why I can't get over the Mrs. Patmore predicament.
In Season 1 episode 7 Lord Grantham sent Mrs. Patmore off to London to have cataract surgery. It was successful and she returned to Downton Abbey to cook another day. Things came out so well that she doesn't even wear reading glasses, let alone glasses for distance. While that might be possible today, it just wasn't the way it worked in that era. Where is the ophthalmic consultant on set? Where are the letters to the writers demanding accuracy?
In the first half of the 20th century cataract surgery was done, that's true. The cloudy lens (the cataract) was removed and light and color flooded into the eye again. But without the lens the image was totally unfocused, completely blurred. Hence, those coke bottle bottom glasses-think Claude Monet or George Burns. The next advance post WWII was contact lenses which were cosmetically and functionally a huge improvement. It wasn't until the late 1970's- early 1980s intraocular implants came along, putting the lens inside the eye rather than outside. But in the post WWI era, cataract
glasses were the only choice.
So, where are Mrs. Patnore's glasses? Good heavens, she's not even wearing a pince nez.
Okay, I admit it, I am a bit obsessed.
This is a brilliant observation! You ought to write to the show!
ReplyDeleteNow I am upset because I realize we have missed the last two
Sundays of Downton. One for SuperBowl and one for the Grammys.
OH NO! And we forgot to record it. What to do?
I think you can go on-line and see past episodes of Downton Abbey. Try the PBS website. I DVD the episodes in case I fall asleep in the middle..which often happens.
ReplyDelete