It's 1912, and life in the Edwardian country house of Downton Abbey is idyllic and bustling for the Crawley family, aided by their cadre of servants. Robert, Earl of Grantham, his American heiress wife Cora, and their three daughters, along with Robert's mother Violet, have lived largely uncomplicated lives. But the sinking of the Titanic hits home in an unexpected and dramatic way — Lord Grantham's heir, James Crawley, and his son Patrick have perished. It's personally agonizing (momentarily) for daughter Mary who was supposed to marry Patrick. On a grander scale, suddenly all the predictable succession plans have gone terribly awry, and unheard of questions now loom large — Who will be the new heir to the earldom? And what will happen to this distinguished estate, now in jeopardy?I love a good costume drama, and this one ranks right up there with many other BBC produced gems, like Pride and Prejudice, Cranford, and Little Dorrit, to name a few.
My favorite character in Downton Abbey is the Dowager Countess Violet Grantham, played by Maggie Smith. It is such a treat to watch such a master of her craft, sprinkling her peppery lines on what might otherwise be a bland scene. Watch her here in action and enjoy!
Chalk me down as a fellow Downton lover!
ReplyDeletesounds like something my husband would love. might have to try it.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait until the next season comes down under wonder how long they will make us wait.
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you, thank you....Maggie Smith and a period drama! Why have I missed this? maybe because I lack a TV without satellite reception and my husband hogs the remote ;-) I am off to find some more on the internet and hopefully maybe even a DVD of the first series?? My Grandma worked in a house like this around 1917-1920, she had some great stories to tell about 'The Family' too! I think i just watched your video clips about 10 times :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan as well, of Downton Abbey, Little Dorrit, Cranford, Lark Rise to Candleford, the Dickens series on DVD, all of the Jane Austen adaptations...LOVE them all!
ReplyDeleteWell, I've been missing out. I adore the hats!
ReplyDelete"Do you promise?" OMG, I'm still laughing over that one! I love Maggie Smith (or Professor McGonagall, if you want her real name!) and I'll have to check out this show.....
ReplyDeleteI am patiently waiting for the complete season to come out on DVD. Waiting from week to week is too suspenseful for me. I even enjoy the "spoilers" I read, because then there is not too much suspense even watching them.
ReplyDeleteI'm a complete Downton Abbey fan as well. The first series aired here late last year and I was so disappointed when it finished.
ReplyDeleteIm just waiting for the new series to start so my Sunday nights can become complete again.
I love the costumes in the show. Apparently the costume budget is HUGE!
Oh my gosh! This looks great! I'm going to have to check this show out. I loved the little snippets you posted. I wanted to keep watching! Thanks for sharing such a great favorite things.
ReplyDeleteOh, this looks looks amazing! I mean, really AMZING! I'm going to see if I can find season 1 and hopefully catch up on Season two. Setting my DVR, now.
ReplyDeleteMaggie Smith is amazing.
Thank you for the awesome tip!
xo -E
Wohoo! Netflix has it so you can watch it on-line or through a wi-fi device on your TV. Mr. Bug got us a swanky new Blu-Ray player with wi-fi for Christmas (at a really great price, I might add) and it just happens to stream Netflix.
ReplyDeleteI'm so going to watch while I sew tonight! Thanks!
xo -E
Haven't actually seen it yet !! I know shameful might have to get it on dvd....
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen this one, but I do really enjoy Dame Maggie Smith.
ReplyDeleteSounds intriguing. I'll admit, I don't make much time for TV. I think one of my very most favorite English shows of all time was "All Creatures Great and Small." I hadn't thought of it in a long time as it's been off the air awhile, but something in your post sparked the memory.
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