SummarySeason two begins in 1916, with heir Matthew Crawley fighting in the Battle of the Somme while the staff at Downton tries to keep things as they were before the war, even as the estate serves as a military rehab center.
SummarySeason two begins in 1916, with heir Matthew Crawley fighting in the Battle of the Somme while the staff at Downton tries to keep things as they were before the war, even as the estate serves as a military rehab center.
Downton Abbey, which premieres Sunday, is this generation's "Upstairs, Downstairs," both in theme--the daily dramas of a titled British family and their many servants--and in stature.
Watching Downton Abbey is like curling up with a really satisfying book, and I can't think of a better way to get through one of the crueler months of winter. This is one of those shows that after finishing it, I immediately began to envy those who had yet to experience the pleasure.
This show blew me away, I began watching it much later than everyone else (right around when season five came out) I have nothing bad to say about this show, it was simply amazing. While I never cried, there were many moments that were tear-jerkers. This show really makes you care for the characters so you always feel there pain. The finale of the whole show, the last episode of season six, was brilliantly done and brought closure to the story. This is one of the only shows I have ever seen to end stronger than it started. Unlike many shows and movie series, this one just got better and better as it progressed. A combination of amazing actors, great attention to detail, historical accuracy, beautiful sets, stunning costumes, and a truly dazzling story makes Downton Abbey one of if not the best show to ever air.
Layers of people in the embodiment of British stately.. classical drama wonderful and expressive, and the emergence of a well-meaning aristocracy in all its aspects ", especially between floors"
Snobs may sneer that the series could more accurately be called "Remains of the Gosford/Upstairs/Brideshead Revisited Park." But there are times when a sincere imitation is not only better than nothing--it's nearly as good.
For every Mrs. Patmore, the cook who wants nothing more than to stay in service the remainder of her life, there is a housemaid such as Gwen (Rose Leslie), who dreams of becoming a secretary in a modern office. It's these dichotomies, and the way they exist within both the Abbey itself (half the rooms have electricity and half don't) and its multifaceted inhabitants that make Downton Abbey not only the best soap opera currently on television, but one of the most relevant as well.
Now, I wouldn't say I loved it. Parts of it I didn't even like. I became quite engaged with what was going on downstairs with the servants, while I found virtually everything having to do with the Granthams (at least the parts unrelated to how they dealt with the staff) a chore to get through.
Whenever BBC production is on, there is no doubt it would be successful. Downton Abbey is the most sophisticated, intelligent, heartwarming series on TV nowadays. Personally I'm getting tired and repulsed by the shows involving so much blood, sex scenes and slang. Finally these series stand up to all those non-sense the viewer watches. Julian Fellowes is a brilliant writer. He even has an Academy Award to prove it. It also takes a skillful cast to create a masterpiece. The acting of Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Dan Stevens, Allen Leech, Jim Carter, Penelope Wilton and the unbelievable Dame Maggie Smith complete the high quality of the series. If you are a connoisseur of art, in this case - the cinema, you'll enjoy and look forward to every episode of Downton Abbey.
After over a decade I decided to give this series a go. I get why it's popular, it's very comforting and safe. But for anyone who likes real depth, complexity and edge to their media, I don't think it will hit the spot.
I have given up after 4.5 episodes. The back-breaking straw was the music. It would just. Not. Stop. Also, the characters kept giving very soapy "meaningful" looks that are just not true to life. They are there for the audience, but I don't need such obvious signals to imagine what characters are feeling.
There's another reason I'm less sure about, but I find it more concerning. That is, the sort of glamourisation of rigid class divide. The show doesn't explicitly celebrate the hierarchy, but makes it seem quaint and harmless. I suspect it doesn't do enough to reflect the dismal reality for many servants. The idealism of so many characters simply did not ring true for me.
Downton delivers an imagined version of the past for the comfort of modern nostalgics. A better, truer show would be nastier, but more human.
Not really into this television. It is really slow and nothing ever really happens. Plus the fans can't take reality. Thank God they are stopping the show after this season. downton abbey season 6
Although the sets, the costumes, the music, and the direction all work to create a captivating world, the writing is sloppy and is more in the realm of a soap opera or a cartoon than an intelligent drama. Instead of showing the lives of convincing characters, the people of Downton Abbey are often one-dimensional and far too repetitive. The show's villains are entirely without motivation, worse than the moustache-twirling villains from Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons. The plots, somehow, are both predictable and absurd, and the characters complain, for years, about problems that are far too easy to resolve.
If you like or miss soap operas this is a good choice, it is well written, acted and the characters are likable or even lovable. But I don't like soap operas