Saturday, January 8, 2011

Downton Abbey




The ever so popular British period drama series, Downton Abbey, premieres Sunday night in the US as part of the Masterpiece Classic series on PBS. It was when the series was actually winding down in England, that I began to hear over and over again what a magnificent drama it was, and so I began to watch to see if it would be broadcast again, perhaps even in the US. I was excited to hear that it will be shown on  4 Sunday nights in January beginning this week. The ratings were so high in England that a second season this upcoming fall will air.

The show is centered around the fictional Downton Abbey, the stately home of Earl of Grantham, and it centers around the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants just prior to World War I during the reign of King George V. I hear that Dame Maggie Smith is incredible in her role of Violet Crawley.  Hope you'll join me in this journey and let me know what you think!

Photo from The Spectator

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for letting me know! I love Masterpiece Theatre anyway...it always has quality showings. This will be doubly interesting with your recommendation!

    PS...love your Jordan's C-U-T-E photo here!!

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  2. it looks intriguing as do all british dramas!

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  3. I'd love to know what you think since I've read that it has been somewhat shortened and changed to suit US audiences...maybe you could re-watch the UK version somehow when you're back here to compare them. Should be interesting. Wishing you a great week ahead, Love from (South of the River) London xo

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  4. Hello Debi! Thank you and yes, I already have the DVR ready to catch each moment. I told Anna (our oldest) earlier today that we had a new Masterpiece to look forward to tonight and she shouted "YES!"...what fun. M. Poirot: I wondered about this too and didn't realize there was a scuttlebutt about the possibles "changes" to DA, as if it had been cut and "simplified" for US audiences. Then I read that they did not cut anything from the series, but instead the series was "reorganized" from 7 installments aired in the UK with commercials to 4 longer commercial-free segments in the US on PBS. Wow, I probably know more about this than I need to know. I guess I am a little excited.

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  5. I loved it! I am completely hooked, but it left so many things just hanging. How will I ever wait for the next season?

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