I received a whole bunch of replies to yesterday’s quick post about what might be behind the success of “Downton Abbey,” but the most common response was a flat-out rejection of my implied argument that we’re all just looking for some sort of period piece to tide us over until the end of March, when “Mad Men” mercifully returns.

So, then, it seems that Americans either love sneaky butlers more than I would have imagined or else a certain percentage of Americans has always loved “Masterpiece Theatre” and I’d just never met any of them before.

I have to admit, “Downton Abbey” just doesn’t speak to me. It feels sluggish and the whole class/station conceit has already been done very well in a whole bunch of movies and television shows. By comparison, “Mad Men” is positively a whirlwind of activity and excitement when I’d always thought of it as a sort of slow burn. Maybe I’m missing something about the show — and so people who love it should feel free to correct me — but I’m defintely not surprised that people who really like “Downton” don’t much care for “Mad Men.” The idea of my original post, after all, was that people who love “Mad Men” were just talking themselves into “Downton” while they waited. But if the audiences are really different, then perhaps both AMC and PBS can have their own flagship period pieces, benefit from increased viewership, and make some money.

In other words, I won’t begrudge any of you your Titanic-related funerals and scullery maid shenanigans … especially once all the corporate nihilism of the swingin’ ’60s is back on at my house in a couple of months.