Internet Meme of the Week: "Downton Abbey" Spin-Offs

While British period drama "Downton Abbey" currently in its second season is at its height as the classiest show on television, a recent wave of Downton-inspired memes has satirized its original intents, or perhaps revealed its true nature. These internet videos infuse familiar plotlines of "Downton Abbey" with raunchy twists. Have you, for instance, ever thoughts Bates was just a bit creepy? "Abbey of Thrones" which exchanges violent, foul-mouthed quotes from "Game of Thrones" with stately dialogue from "Downton Abbey" thinks so, too. One of its memes is a characteristically humble picture of Bates with the line, "He's a drunken little lecher, prone to all manner of perversions," attached. Similarly, "Arrested Downton" juxtaposes the period piece aesthetic of "Downton Abbey" with quotes from "Arrested Development." If you like your Downton humor lewd, you will also love "Telegrams from Downton," which combines "Texts from Last Night" with choice "Downton Abbey" stills. "Telegrams from Downton" is akin to reading a Bored@Baker post, but about stiff-lipped aristocrats and their servants, not Dartmouth students. My personal favorite is "Hey Lady," whose tagline pretty much sums it up: "Because Matthew Crawley is the Ryan Gosling of PBS." It is hard to resist "Downton Abbey" heartthrobs with such cheesy, sometimes historically significant pick-up lines attached.