Downton Abbey

After taking note of the online buzz regarding Downton Abbey (available on Netflix Instant Watch) I decided to give it a whirl. Admittingly, it isn't a show I would normally watch. However my wife is an avid lover of British Literature, the Elizabethan era, and the United Kingdom as a whole. Additionally, our upcoming travel plans include a trip to London, England. My past experience with TV shows is hit or miss. Some shows immediately draw me in (Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Eastbound & Down, etc. etc.) while other shows take a while to steep (Seinfeld, How I Met Your Mother). However there is also a category of TV shows that are very popular, and I feel that I should like them (Ancient Aliens, Madmen, Walking Dead, The Tudors) but it just doesn't pan out.

My first impression was that Downton Abbey would be a dry period piece with too many characters and plot lines that quickly transcend my attention span. However, I made a good faith effort to watch the entire first episode uninterrupted, without picking up my iPhone or going on the internet. Turning on the subtitles was a big help, since the dialect could make it quite difficult to understand at times. As it turns out, the show proved me wrong and captivated me within the first twenty minutes. The variety of characters and the plot was entertaining, and the cinematography is absolutely stunning. With TV series I tend to get oversaturated and grow tired of it if I try to watch too many at once. We have decided to watch the show in moderation and only together, while paying complete attention. PBS has done a stellar job with this show, and I am grateful that Netflix has picked it up. I'm looking forward to the remaining episodes in season 1 and I hope season 2 is a success as well.

If you don't have Netflix and you don't mind watching TV on your computer you can watch the show for free on the PBS website.

100% certainty.

One thing that always intrigues me is cross examination. As a lawyer I can't stand trials. It's not the stress of preparing for trial, because every single case must be assumed to go to litigation. But it's the mental games that you begin to play with yourself. Rather than thinking about everything that I have done, I tend to think about every detail that I haven't thought of yet. I wander if the other side is holding cards that have yet to be dealt. But anyway, enough about my anxieties and back to cross examination. One thing that I personally find as very effective in cross examination is asking the witness if they are 100% certain of X. I think it is rare that anyone can say anything with 100% certainty, so inevitably you can raise at least a modicum of doubt. I think this trick works well in front of a jury, since they are (should) be hanging on every word. A judge has seen it a thousand times over again so he wouldn't be impressed. But I will tell you this with 100% certainty, no one is ever 100% certain of anything:)