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Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 3:37 PM
Was anyone else counting down the days to the premiere of Downton Abbey, Season 2 this past Sunday? What is it that makes this show so irresistible?
Last year, we stumbled across the weekly drama on PBS one evening, and I was hooked. I had been seeing little comments here and there about the show, but never paid much attention. Then I watched five minutes and I am now a devoted fan. Oh Lord Grantham, you’re such a good man!
The show begins right after the sinking of the Titanic, and it’s fascinating how fictional characters and real history are woven together. I have loved learning more about that time in England but also the rest of the world as well, and looking at the relationships between the elite and their servants—and how interconnected they actually are.
For other fans, here are a few thoughts, and I’d love for you to add your own!
1. Okay, I’ll admit I was more into the Bates/Anna thing when they couldn’t be together. And then, all the sudden, the sappy scene in the kitchen eating area and I found myself feeling like “well, there goes all that tension.” And then just like that, poof. He’s gone. I guess that helps us keep the interest fire lit?
2. Oh Thomas, you giant pain in the behind. One minute we hate you. Then you get likable, only to be a jerk again 30 seconds later. Who are you man? What’s the deal?
3. I’m interested in the new maids outfits. Mrs. Hughes and O’Brien look so different without the Peter Pan collar.
4. Mary, just say what’s on your mind already!
5. Mr. Molesley, please don’t end up being sleazy. You were so nice and good last season!
6. Paul and I couldn’t remember if that was the same farmer from last season, and I was feeling a little happy for Edith to be finding someone to love. And then, oops. It is the same farmer. And that isn’t his sister. It’s his WIFE.
Alright, enough from me. What do you think?
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I love Downton Abbey!!! And was thrilled when the new season started here in the US on sunday. Last.night dh watched the first two episodes of the first season and is now also hooked. He lamented ” we have nothing close to this good here, it’s all reality tv and crime shows.” Dd has already seen the 2nd season, stinker. 
thanks to you and Jennifer Fulwiler, I turned it on Sunday night as I was falling asleep. I was up for a bit longer than planned and I am scouring local Barnes and Noble stores to buy the first season to catch up!!!! What a great show!
Jill,
PBS is offerring free viewing of Season 1 through January 17th here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/index.htm
Maybe you can find a few hours to catch up for free?
Season 1 is also available at Netflix - disk or streaming.
Hey Rachel, 1 - 6….yes. Though I think Bates shouldn’t have talked marriage with Anna until, at least, he had papers in hand.
Love, love, love Maggie Smith in this role. I’m looking forward to more scathing one-liners from her in this season.
And….my husband also gave me a bit of hard time about “all of these British shows”. My challenge to him? Find me something this good on American TV. *crickets*
And Thomas? Isn’t it interesting to be reminded that bullies are usually cowards?
- I totally agree about Mr. Molesley!
- Love Maggie Smith and her character!
- Wish I had a nice uncle like Lord Grantham!
- Wish there was more about Matthew and Lavinia’s relationship to make it more believable!
- Given how mean Mary can be to Edith, I’m surprised at how not very mean she is to Lavinia!
- Love the tension between Sybil and Branson! Sybil’s my favorite!
- Wish Thomas hadn’t come back, O’Brien can cause enough trouble on her own!
- The new maid annoys me!
- I wish I didn’t have to wait a whole week between each episode!
- Downton Abbey is awesome! So is Julian Fellowes!
Ditto to your list, Rachel. I loved the more deliberative religious nuances during Episode 1 of Season 2 (Matthew’s “God Bless You, Mary,” Mary’s praying, the reaction and conversation about the miscarried baby, etc.). I learned from a friend on Twitter that writer/creator Julian Fellowes is VP of the Catholic Association of Performing Arts and mentioned that Catholicism would enter the storyline at some point in the future. More here:
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=19523
So that wasn’t the farmer’s sister! You answered my question. But, I was surprised that in those times neither seemed at all embarrassed to be so forward with each other in near site of Mrs. Drake.
There’s something snooty, very Ivy League about Masterpiece. It somehow makes me feel very polished, very well-educated when I watch it, even when I’m just being sucked into a love story.
I haven’t seen it and am undecided whether to bother with it because from the comments here it sounds like a period soap opera and I hate soap operas. If I am wrong and there is something deeper going on then who is in love with whom then I hope someone will let me know.
There is far more than who is in love with whom. It takes place during a time of great change in Great Britain and the world (1912 through WWI) The story revolves around one aristocratic family and their servants and there are many story lines being told at once, they all have to do with relationships but those relationships range from servant-lord to friends to sisters to two strong willed matrons and more. The costumes and setting http://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/EFE7324E-C024-4A48-85D7-1EB4AD039309/0/highclere.jpg alone make it worth watching, at least once.
I love Downton Abbey! My husband and I are watching it with our older teen daughters and enjoy it very much. I just wanted to add for those who are not famliar with the show that it is not appropriate for younger viewers. There is one particular story line from the first season that was rather sordid. I do highly recommend it for adults, however!
Did anyone else have a problem with how unrealistic it was to show Edith helping the farmer day after day? I thought it was completely unrealistic for her to go there so often to do the nitty gritty farm work with the neighbor farmer. And why the heck wouldn’t she simply have taught him to drive the tractor, anyway? : )
Thanks for the tip re: NOT for younger viewers, Irene.
Wish you’d mentioned that in your original post, Rachel.
I watched Season 1, episode 1 based on your excitement and my love of British dramas. Unfortunately, I watched it in my kitchen while making supper and was stunned, flustered & stumbling to turn it off as the two male characters were kissing when my children came in to set the table. UGH!
I’ll keep chocolate as my guilty pleasure as I fear there’s an agenda there I’d rather not support and chocolate is much easier to sneak 
Rene: I am SO sorry about that! That was what made me prohibit my boys from watching with us this time, until it became obvious there wasn’t anything like that going on. I am very sorry about that; I found that scene to be equally disconcerting. I didn’t think to mention here.
Well now I’m going to have to check this out! I have heard of the show, but that’s it. I love the BBC Emma (and the old A&E Pride & Prejudice), and so think I might enjoy a British TV show. Especially if you are all saying it is better than American TV (which we have totally stopped watching).
I absolutely love Downton Abbey. And I agree with all your comments, Rachel. I also love reading all the posters comments! Unfortunately, I missed the Twitter party with other Downton lovers on Sunday night so I posted my Downton twitter feed on my blog. You can see my comments there. 
Also, I just added this to my post. If you were not aware, there is also a Downton Abbey Christmas special (already aired in the UK) that wraps up many of Season 2’s conflicts. And there is a Season 3 is scheduled as well. Yay!
Oh, I am so happy to see the love for Downton! I have been hooked since last year and was waiting breathlessly for Season Two. I wasn’t at all disappointed! I had a hunch that the writer was Catholic even though there (so far) hasn’t been any Catholic story lines. I wrote a blog post about the way each character is handled with dignity and nuance—and while each one is broken, there is always hope for redemption. Very Catholic, indeed.
Were there only 4 episodes in the first season? That’s all I’m finding on PBS and I was just wondering if that’s complete. Thanks for the recommendation.
FWIW, PBS online packages the 7 separate episodes into 4 streaming videos. You will not miss anything if you watch the videos labeled 1-4 on their website.
Oh, you’d better believe I’m a fan. This series is catnip for an Anglophile like me. And even my husband, who normally goes glassy-eyed when I start watching something involving women in corsets, is hooked too.
I think that new maid will stir things up. She seems like a real pepperpot.
I kind of liked how they made Thomas show his sensitive side with the blind soldier in the hospital. It gives him and the series more depth. I also love how the war is clearly shaking up the class system, which of course happened in real life, too. “Why is one life worth more than another?” becomes a big question when people are dying for their country.
Side note: if you like “Downton,” check out the PBS series “Manor House.” It’s reality TV where real people live in a British manor house, as aristocracy and servants. It taught me so much about the details of the Edwardian class system and it’s darn fun, too.
I can’t read anymore!!! We just discovered it and are watching season one on Netflix. I think we are in episode two or something. Wish I could participate but I don’t want to read anything that hasn’t happened yet. Drat!
Haven’t seen it but I would like to. However, I have 9:00 p.m adoration on Sunday evenings. Thanks for the info about netflix and the free PBS showings. When newly married 25 years ago, my husband and I watched many years of Masterpiece theater together. This sounds like something at least I would enjoy!
My DH stumbled on a PBS re-run from Season 1, then found it on Amazon Prime and then discovered it was on Netflix. He suggested I watch it with him and then we were both hooked.We were THRILLED to finish Season 1 on Friday and learn we only had to wait until Sunday nite to begin Season 2. It was my DD’s 4th birthday so we made sure all guests were gone in time for getting the kids to bed so we could watch!
I miss seeing it via Netflix though so you can pause to get laundry out of the dryer or replay a line you missed.
I really think Edith and Lady Grantham should be given more depth. Lady G appears much smarter than to have kept O’Brien around so long. But I do love that O’Brien seems to have softened a bit in Season 2.
Too much to share! Thanks for bringing this up, Rachel!
How do I love Downton? Let me count the ways:
1. I am happy, happy, happy to be watching again. Maggie Smith is a delight in every single scene. And she *owns* her scenes. Love. Her. To. Death.
2. Mr. Bates and Anna — at first, I thought, “Oh, my! Resolved so quickly? They’ll be *happy* this season after a season full of missed chances, miscommunication, and missed moments? Be still, my heart!” But, I knew it couldn’t last.
Ooooh, that awful Vera! We will love to hate her. My heart simply broke for Anna and for Bates (shall we call him John now?)
3. Mary is certainly much more sympathetic this season—It took everything in her to *not* tell Matthew — you could see how torn she was, but she was selfless for a change, and I like the character’s growth, though I’m sad for her and for Matthew.
I also think it’s interesting to watch the ripple effect of Mary’s decision to spend the night with Pamuk — the consequences are now so far-reaching. Her past is now costing Bates and Anna tremendously, too.
4. I love the way small moments make enormous points in this show — when Lord Grantham said something along the lines of, “Well, there is a war on … we all have to make sacrifices,” and he was referring using the maids in the dining room instead of the butlers … oh, my. Talk about painting a powerful picture of the lives of the idle rich.
5. Edith — oh, my, Edith. Really? Is this all coming from being a middle child?
6. Yes, felt some sympathy for Thomas, but grrrr on the cowardly way of getting wounded.
7. O’Brien? Nice to see her feel some sympathy for Lang. Surprised me.
8. The new maid, Ethel — poor thing! Had to chuckle at the practical jokes, though.
9. And what about poor William? Daisy didn’t know what her flirtatious kiss was getting her into.
10. I do love Carson. Loved when he told Cora how he feels about surprises (“I don’t like surprises in the best of times…”)
11. And loved Mrs. Hughes offering the tea room for the purpose of listening in on Bates and Vera.
12. Very interested in where the Carlisle/Lavinia thing goes.
13. Loved Sybil’s new work, and *loved* the moment when Cora was watching her in the kitchen. Very touching.
Reason #Trumps All: I love Downton because it’s extremely well-written, well-acted, witty, and intelligent, and my husband and I can enjoy it together. And sometimes I just need some entertainment. It fits the bill as beautifully as one of those gorgeous Edwardian gowns.
Thanks for the chance to share my gushing, Rachel.
Obviously I could do this I day. But I shan’t.
Regarding your #12: YES, YES, YES!!!! And how she corrected his reference to his friendship with his uncle as not being friends but merely aquaintances. I am mostly looking forward to where this story line goes.
Karen - too funny about the question of Edith’s drama stemming from middle-child-syndrome. My husband and I are both middles, and we’ve had good laughs over her! (We can relate in some regard!). Your write-up here is great. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Oops—that should say, “I could do this ALL day,” not “I day.”
Downton-Gushing makes me messy.
1. Maggie Smith just plain rocks.
2. Mrs. Pattmore, the cook, is just as witty.
Wouldn’t it be fun to write dialogue like that?
I love Downton Abbey as well. With Netflix I have found myself watching a great deal of British TV, including the ones who are set in the modern times. The first season I found on Netflix, but the second season has not appeared there yet. However, I caught it on pbs.org and was delighted to be able to catch up when I missed it on Sunday night.
One of the things which I like is the way that they portray family/servant relationships and also the ways in which the nobility are seeking to fit into a changing world. The girls are discontent being ornaments only, and this restlessness is put to good use as they seek to learn ways in which they can help the war effort and spread their wings. I am definitely looking forward to enjoying the rest of the season.
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