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    Downton Abbey's Star Superfan

    Downton Abbey's superstar fan: Lyle Lovett explains his love for hit PBS show

    Clifford Pugh
    Jan 2, 2016 | 11:30 am

    Singer Lyle Lovett is such a big fan ofDownton Abbey that he was itching to be a guest on Manor of Speaking, the Houston Public Media-produced show that dissects every episode of the PBS hit series.

    "I always watch Manor of Speaking, so I just hit Ernie up. I said, 'Hey, let me come on the show,' " Lovett told CultureMap.

    "That's not even how he did it," Manor of Speaking host Ernie Manouse said with a laugh. "He said, 'If it wouldn't be a problem." And I said, 'Be on the show.' And he said, 'Well, I wouldn't want to hurt it at all. If you really don't mind.' He was so kind about it and it was just so sweet. And he did it."

    "I thought it was fun and I might get to see one of the episodes," Lovett explained. "My real motivation was if Ernie has me on the show, I'll get to see it sooner."

    Lovett got his wish.

    He joined a group of Houston-area fans for a sneak peek of the first episode of the final season before it airs Sunday at 8 pm on Houston Public Media TV 8. Afterwards, he remained as the special guest for a taping of this season's first episode of Manor of Speaking, which will be broadcast at 9:15 pm Sunday.

    During the taping, Lovett told the audience that he has become Instagram friends with Kevin Doyle, who plays Mr. Molesley on the series. "We've swapped messages and he was kind enough to send me some pictures from his phone from the last couple of days of shooting. It felt really good to get an inside glimpse," Lovett said.

    "I heard an inside story, too, that they were playing one of your songs on the set and they were dancing around," Manouse said.

    "That would be too cool," Lovett said to laughter and applause.

    In an interview with CultureMap, Lovett explained why he is a big fan of the series, which is in its sixth and final season.

    "It's a show about us, isn't it? As Ernie was pointing out on the set, it's a period piece but thematically it has to do with our lives today. And the characters, no matter how grand they are, or no matter how seemingly small their part might be in the kitchen, they're all relevant. They're all flawed, so they remind us, the viewer, of ourselves."

    Favorite character? "Oh gosh, I like em all," Lovett said. "Maggie Smith is just great as the Dowager Countess. I always look forward to hearing her one-liners."

    We promised not to reveal any of the plot points about the first episode, but Lovett discussed it with the audience during the taping. "It's so full of foreshadowing. And what's curious to me is that every story line is set up to possibly have a very happy outcome for each of the characters, which is just too good to be true," he said.

    Lovett is used to being in front of crowds, so what was it like to participate in the Manor of Speaking taping?

    "Ernie said that watching the episode with an audience would be a different experience and it certainly was. People laughed in places that I wouldn't have thought they might and it highlighted some of the acting in a way that I hadn't thought about it as I watched the episode at home alone. So I really enjoyed that," Lovett said.

    "But to meet the people who came here to Channel 8 to be part of the audience and to see them in their period dress is really something. It made me feel a little more normal in my love for the show."

    Lyle Lovett, right, poses with Manor of Speaking's Mr. Rodgers and a Downton Abbey fan.

    Mr. Rogers, Lyle Lovett Dowton Abbey Manor of Speaking
      
    Photo courtesy of Houston Public Media
    Lyle Lovett, right, poses with Manor of Speaking's Mr. Rodgers and a Downton Abbey fan.
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    Movie Review

    Tom Cruise goes all out in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

    Alex Bentley
    May 22, 2025 | 3:30 pm
    Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, and Hayley Atwell in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
    Photo courtesy of
    Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, and Hayley Atwell in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning.

    Over the course of 30 years and eight films, the Mission: Impossible series has proven to be the most reliable of any action movie franchise. Not all of them are equally good, but with Tom Cruise in the lead as Ethan Hunt, they can be counted on for at least a couple of mind-blowing stunt sequences per film, enough to keep fans clamoring for more.

    Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning has the feel of being the last film in the series, and not just because the 62-year-old Cruise is getting up there in age. Following up closely on the events of 2023’s Dead Reckoning Part One (Part Two changed to The Final Reckoning for unknown reasons), the film has Hunt trying to stop an A.I. villain known as The Entity from taking over the world’s collective stash of nuclear weapons.

    To do so, Hunt and his cobbled-together team — Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg), Grace (Hayley Atwell), and Paris (Pom Klementieff) — must hopscotch around the world, tracking villain Gabriel (Esai Morales) and trying to figure out a way to get The Entity’s source code, which is located on a sunken Russian submarine. Oh, and they also have to evade capture by a disgruntled U.S. government, led by now-President Erika Sloane (Angela Bassett).

    Written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie and co-written by Erik Jendresen, the film might just be the most convoluted one in the series so far. The filmmakers layer on tons of exposition, with lots of flashbacks to previous events in the series to explicate the events of the present, as well as providing unexpected connections to previous films. The plan for stopping The Entity and the references to the past are so dense that the first half of the film is relatively boring.

    Things pick up in the final 90 minutes of the three-hour film, mostly because that’s when the majority of the action takes place. More than other entries in the series, the film considers the geopolitical implications of Hunt’s actions, and he has to negotiate with a variety of high-powered people to do what he deems best. While his efforts are somewhat preposterous, even by the standards of the series, they lead to a bunch of fun sequences that provide levity among the world-changing drama.

    Ultimately, what makes the film succeed are its action scenes. Cruise has done stunts on planes/helicopters before in the series, but what he does during a biplane sequence toward the end of the film is almost beyond belief. Yes, he’s attached to the plane with harnesses that are digitally erased, but he’s still doing it hundreds of feet in the air at great bodily risk considering. While the series has always featured spectacular stunt sequences, this one deserves to be near the top of the list.

    The flashbacks to scenes from throughout the series underscore just how much Cruise has changed in the past 30 years, but also emphasize how amazing it is that he’s still willing to sacrifice his body as much as does to make these films. No other actor goes as far as he does to entertain the masses, and the events of the story even give him opportunities to show off his dramatic acting skills.

    The supporting cast is more packed than usual, and all of them enhance the film. In addition to Hunt’s team, the President has a group of advisers that includes actors like Henry Czerny, Holt McCallany, Nick Offerman, and Janet McTeer. Other recognizable faces like Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso), Trammell Tillman (Severance), and Katy O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding) show up for impactful roles.

    Whether or not this is the last film in the current incarnation of the series, The Final Reckoning has a lot to offer longtime fans, with action set pieces that remains some of the best Hollywood has to offer. The story may be completely baffling, but with Cruise and other appealing actors leading the way, there’s more than enough great entertainment to go around.

    ---

    Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning opens in theaters on May 23.

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