The Gilded Age (2022)

Watchseries; My Review -The Gilded Age pilot. My Rating 10/10. Streaming in Australia on Paramount

First a little history lesson as it sets the scene for The Gilded Age a historical drama television series created by Julian Fellowes or to use his correct title Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford the British actor, producer, novelist, and screenwriter best known for creating the television series Downton Abbey .

I'm only reviewing the 90 minute Pilot episode and will review the whole series when we finish the 10th instalment but if the standard keeps up this series will be as good as Downtown Abbey I'm sure.

A memory of mine from those days when we could travel freely was a visit to The Breakers a "Gilded Age "mansion at Newport, Rhode Island, US. Built between 1893 and 1895 as a summer residence for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, and thinking while wandering through the luxurious rooms and gazing out from the terraces to the Atlantic Ocean what fantastic tales these walls could tell. Then later visiting The Henry Clay Frick House now a museum of art treasures which was the residence of the industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick in New York City.

Unfortunately, the distinguished society of the time, didn't approve of the Vanderbilt or Frick fortune because it was "new" money. The Vanderbilts were not invited to any of the balls and functions of the wealthy families of New York.

Frick who was also new money began building and operating coke ovens in 1870, and the following year he organized Frick and Company. Taking advantage of the difficult times following the financial panic of 1873 and acquired extensive coal deposits and supplied Pittsburgh with the coke required for its steel and iron industry.

Cornelius Vanderbilt made his millions by controlling two burgeoning industries: the steamboat industry and the railroad industry. When he died, Vanderbilt's estate was estimated to be worth $100,000,000. ... In today's dollars, that would be approximately $2.3 billion, making him the richest man in America at that time.

The Gilded Age ten part series follows Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson), a 19th century woman who moves to New York to live with her old money aunts after the death of her father who squandered his fortune and left her penniless. The Old Money a term used to describe families like the Van Rhijn and Astor families was typically associated with White Anglo-Saxon Protestant ("WASP") status. "Old money" applies to those of the upper class whose wealth separates them from lower social classes.

With the robber barons and railroad tycoons trying to break into high society, Marian the niece of Agnes Van Rhijn (Christine Baranski ) and Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon) finds herself stuck in a social war between her traditional aunts and their new money neighbours George (Morgan Spector) and Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon).

Filming took place on Long Island, but that there were also sets based in Queens and key outdoor scenes were shot on location in New York City.

Some key scenes not shot in New York City or Long Island? Parts of the The Russells' mansion come from interiors in several mansions in Rhode Island, including their ballroom, which is actually located in The Breakers.

I had fun spotting the Tony Award winners and nominees from the Broadway stage in this great ensemble cast at the center of the action are a pair of two-time Tony winners - Christine Baran

My Review -The Gilded Age pilot. My Rating 10/10. Streaming in Australia on Paramount

First a little history lesson as it sets the scene for The Gilded Age a historical drama television series created by Julian Fellowes or to use his correct title Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford the British actor, producer, novelist, and screenwriter best known for creating the television series Downton Abbey .

I'm only reviewing the 90 minute Pilot episode and will review the whole series when we finish the 10th instalment but if the standard keeps up this series will be as good as Downtown Abbey I'm sure.

A memory of mine from those days when we could travel freely was a visit to The Breakers a "Gilded Age "mansion at Newport, Rhode Island, US. Built between 1893 and 1895 as a summer residence for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, and thinking while wandering through the luxurious rooms and gazing out from the terraces to the Atlantic Ocean what fantastic tales these walls could tell. Then later visiting The Henry Clay Frick House now a museum of art treasures which was the residence of the industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick in New York City.

Unfortunately, the distinguished society of the time, didn't approve of the Vanderbilt or Frick fortune because it was "new" money. The Vanderbilts were not invited to any of the balls and functions of the wealthy families of New York.

Frick who was also new money began building and operating coke ovens in 1870, and the following year he organized Frick and Company. Taking advantage of the difficult times following the financial panic of 1873 and acquired extensive coal deposits and supplied Pittsburgh with the coke required for its steel and iron industry.

Cornelius Vanderbilt made his millions by controlling two burgeoning industries: the steamboat industry and the railroad industry. When he died, Vanderbilt's estate was estimated to be worth $100,000,000. ... In today's dollars, that would be approximately $2.3 billion, making him the richest man in America at that time.

The Gilded Age ten part series follows Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson), a 19th century woman who moves to New York to live with her old money aunts after the death of her father who squandered his fortune and left her penniless. The Old Money a term used to describe families like the Van Rhijn and Astor families was typically associated with White Anglo-Saxon Protestant ("WASP") status. "Old money" applies to those of the upper class whose wealth separates them from lower social classes.

With the robber barons and railroad tycoons trying to break into high society, Marian the niece of Agnes Van Rhijn (Christine Baranski ) and Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon) finds herself stuck in a social war between her traditional aunts and their new money neighbours George (Morgan Spector) and Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon).

Filming took place on Long Island, but that there were also sets based in Queens and key outdoor scenes were shot on location in New York City.

Some key scenes not shot in New York City or Long Island? Parts of the The Russells' mansion come from interiors in several mansions in Rhode Island, including their ballroom, which is actually located in The Breakers.

I had fun spotting the Tony Award winners and nominees from the Broadway stage in this great ensemble cast at the center of the action are a pair of two-time Tony winners - Christine Baran

The Gilded Age watchseries. Scenography and cosmography- couldn't be better. Everything else- not worth mentioning. Ok, I can mention only one thing- Downton Abbey copy-pasted into old New York.

Masters and servants over and over again. Yawn!

If you have any particular interest in servants but wanna watch something worthy- then watch "You Rang, M' Lord?"

Reading some of these reviews is almost as entertaining as the show itself. Some proclaim to love Downton Abbey (which by the way also raised sensitive issues such as class, heritage and sexuality) but when it makes a small subplot in an American show - the trolls emerge proclaiming "no, no 'woke' stuff."

Anyway: The first episode is long but it does a good job of setting the stage. Love Baranski, Nixon did a fine job, Farmiga was not the right choice. Although I adore Coon as an actress (I'll never forget her performance in Leftovers), she didn't get to really flex in this role, yet.

I eagerly await the continuation and will update my rating as the season moves on. Which it will as I am sure irritates quite a few but gives the majority of us no reason for concern.

I have read about how the new rich tried to infiltrate the ranks of the old rich in 19th New York. I am also reading a book by British author Anne de Coursey, "Husband Hunter's", about the young American heiresses who married into, mostly, British aristocracy and invigorated it with their money. Actually, it was mainly the mother's who made that happen.

This series has a promising start. You cannot beat Christine Baranski in ANYTHING that she is in. The woman is a chameleon. I even like Cynthia Nixon in this and I don't normally care for her, especially, in her other HBOMax series, "And Just Like That" where she plays Miranda Hobbes. Her character of Ada, the spinster sister of Baranski's character is full of sympathy. I think that Carrie Coons as Bertha Russell is and will continue to be a force to reckon with. I'm sure that Julien Fellows based her on a real life or multiple life figures. The costumes are stunning and realistic as far as the old New York. The newly rich characters are more the the gauche over the top style. I'm sure that was also realistic. The sets are well done. I do admit that I would not care to live in the cold marble halls of the Russell's newly build bemouth.

I plan to watch all 10 episodes. I am more interested in the social climbing plots than I am about the racial or homosexual plots.

I adored Downton Abbey and was so excited for this show but very disappointing. Downton has such appealing characters and drew me in right away. I could not even make it through episode one of this! The characters are monotone and boring - no one stood out. Not likable at all in my opinion. The acting seemed very scripted as if they were just reading lines, it did not seem natural like Downton. Not a fan.

When you consider all of the money and talent that went into this show it makes no sense whatsoever that it is so excruciatingly bad - the writing is flat, the directing turgid, and most of all, surprisingly, the acting is terrible. Louisa Jacobson is incapable of carrying any scene and projects all the charisma of wet towel, and frankly no one else does much better. The only exception is Cynthia Nixon who somehow manages to shine in her role. All in all, an abysmal, totally surprising, flop.