《唐頓莊園》即將終結 劇中人物命運難測

The servants’ bells at “Downton Abbey” will soon ring for their last time, the dowager countess will dispense her final piece of tart-tongued advice, and the story of the changing fortunes of the Crawley family will come to a conclusion.

《唐頓莊園》(Downton Abbey)召喚僕人的鈴鐺很快就要搖最後一次了，老伯爵夫人將再提出她最後一條尖酸刻薄的建議，克勞利家族多舛的命運也將有一個最終的定論。

On Thursday, the makers of “Downton Abbey,” the lavishly costumed and circuitously written period drama about an aristocratic British household and its domestic staff in the early 20th century, confirmed rumors that its coming sixth season will be its last.

有着華麗服飾和曲折情節的年代劇《唐頓莊園》，講述了20世紀初一個英國貴族家庭和他們的僕人們的故事。本週四，《唐頓莊園》的製片方證實了傳聞，表示即將到來的第六季將是《唐頓莊園》的最後一季。

The announcement is a bittersweet moment for the worldwide audience that has followed this serialized drama from its debut in 2010. Its narrative was full of heartbreaking twists and turns, juxtaposing births, marriages, affairs, divorces, rape and sudden deaths with historical events like the sinking of the Titanic and the waging of World War I.

這個聲明，對於從2010年《唐頓莊園》首登屏幕起就追隨它的全球觀衆來說，是一個五味雜陳的時刻。這部戲充滿了令人心碎、百轉千回的情節，在泰坦尼克號沉沒和“一戰”爆發等歷史事件的背景下，劇中人物出生、結婚、發生婚外情、離婚、遭到強暴和突然死亡。

The end of “Downton Abbey” is also a significant loss for PBS, which has shown it since 2011 on its “Masterpiece” series, where it has become one of the network’s most popular programs ever. Replacing it will be a challenge.

對於從2011年開始就在“名著”系列中播放《唐頓莊園》，並使其成爲該臺最受歡迎劇目之一的公共廣播公司(PBS)來說，它的終結也會是一個巨大的損失。尋找新的劇目來替換《唐頓莊園》，對該電視網將是一大挑戰。

Even so, “you can’t expect anything to go on indefinitely,” Julian Fellowes, the creator and writer of the program, said in a telephone interview. “That’s not what being a human being is about.”

儘管如此，“天下沒有不散的宴席，”該劇的劇創和編劇朱利安·費洛斯(Julian Fellowes)在電話採訪中說道。“這是人世間的規律。”

Gareth Neame, the managing director of the British studio Carnival Films and an executive producer of “Downton Abbey,” said in a telephone interview that several factors contributed to the decision to end the series. (This final season, now in production, will be shown on PBS next year.)

英國嘉年華電影公司常務董事、《唐頓莊園》的執行製片加雷思·尼姆(Gareth Neame)在電話採訪中，他們做出這個決定，是基於好幾個原因（正在製作中的最後一季，將於明年在PBS播映）。

If “Downton Abbey” continued, Mr. Neame said, its viewership would eventually decline and it would surely lose prominent cast members like Maggie Smith, who plays the acerbic dowager countess, and Michelle Dockery, who plays the intrepid Lady Mary.

尼姆說，如果《唐頓莊園》繼續拍下去，它的觀衆人數只會越來越少，並且肯定會失去劇中的那些大牌演員，如飾演尖刻的伯爵夫人的瑪吉·史密斯(Maggie Smith)，和飾演勇敢無畏的瑪麗小姐的米歇爾·多克里(Michelle Dockery)。

While “Downton Abbey” has drawn criticism for its languid pace and drawn-out storytelling, Mr. Neame said he and his colleagues did not want to “make the mistake that so much television content does, which is to have a hit and then just keep knocking it out until it’s exhausted.”

儘管有人批評《唐頓莊園》節奏緩慢、故事冗長，尼姆說他和同事不想“犯許多電視節目都會犯的那種錯誤——風靡一時之後不知見好就收，慘淡收場”。

Despite everything, the show’s ratings in the United States remained strong. Its fifth season, which ended on March 1, drew an average weekly audience of 12.9 million viewers, PBS said, down slightly from its fourth season, which drew 13.2 million. Its Season 5 premiere averaged 15 million viewers, making it the most watched drama in PBS’s history.

不管怎麼說，該劇在美國的收視率任然保持強勁。PBS稱，3月1日收尾的第五季，每週平均有1290萬觀衆收看，比第四季的1320萬人稍有下降。第五季首播吸引了1500萬觀衆，成爲PBS歷史上首播收視最高的劇目。

Rebecca Eaton, the executive producer of “Masterpiece,” said in a telephone interview that “Downton Abbey” had been “a giant shot of vitamin B-12” for her franchise, increasing its prestige and spurring PBS to add more “Masterpiece” content to its lineup in 2015.

“名著”系列的執行製片人麗貝卡·伊頓(Rebecca Eaton)在電話採訪中說，《唐頓莊園》對她的欄目來說等於是“注入了大劑量的維生素B12”，增進了它的聲望，並促使PBS在2015年的節目陣容更重視“名著”系列。

Pointing to other British period dramas like “Wolf Hall” (adapted from Hilary Mantel’s novels), “Poldark” and “Indian Summers,” Ms. Eaton said “Downton Abbey” had provided “the opportunity to stand on the shoulders of a giant.”

對於其他的英國年代劇，比如《狼廳》[Wolf Hall，改編自希拉里·曼特爾(Hilary Mantel)的小說]，《波爾達克》(Poldark)和《印度之夏》(Indian Summers)，伊頓認爲《唐頓莊園》提供了“站在巨人肩膀上的機會”。

“ ‘Oh, my God, what are you going to do now, after “Downton,” ’ is the question,” Ms. Eaton said. “But how great to be in the position of heightened visibility that we are. We’ve seen this coming.”

“‘哦，天吶，《唐頓莊園》要播完了，你們怎麼辦’成了大家都關心的問題，”伊頓說，“但紅成這樣也很好啊。我們早就知道會紅的。”

Mr. Neame said that while the idea of a “Downton Abbey” movie was appealing, there were no specific plans to pursue this or a television spinoff involving any of its characters. Mr. Fellowes is moving on to another period drama, “The Gilded Age,” which he is creating for NBC.

尼姆說，儘管把《唐頓莊園》搬上大銀幕的想法很吸引人，但目前尚沒有這麼做的計劃，也沒有就劇中某個人物拍攝電視續集的計劃。費洛斯的重心正轉向他爲NBC創作的另一部年代劇《鍍金年代》(The Gilded Age)。

Asked if the “Downton” finale would bring closure for its many characters, Mr. Fellowes responded with a noncommittal “Eeeehhhh.” With a laugh he added: “I think it will be a quite satisfactory ending, in the sense that things will be resolved, either one way or the other. Not that everyone will be happy, but at least a decision will have been made.”

被問到《唐頓莊園》的結局是否會給衆多人物畫下句號時，費洛斯先是支支吾吾，然後笑着說，“不管怎樣事情都會有個結果，從這個意義上，我認爲這是一個相當令人滿意的結局。不是每個人都會快樂，但至少塵埃落定。”