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Sunday, June 17, 2012

Small Screen Scenes: Downton Abbey Season One Episode Six Highly Recommended by Whom You Know Available Now From PBS Distribution

We hope you know that really smart people sleep in separate rooms.   And, should women be political?  And should you go for a ride in the open Rolls or a ride on Diamond?  And to stay and be a second footman or go home?  Episode Six has many interesting questions posed early on...and then what happened to the missing wine?  And you'll never guess who loves a really good argument.  Susan Flincher is stirring up the pot, and never uses one word when twenty will do.  We do try to be more succinct, but then again, we live in modern Manhattan.
Here's what we thought of Episode One:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2012/03/small-screen-scenes-downton-abbey.html
& Episode Two:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2012/03/small-screen-scenes-downton-abbey_29.html
& Episode Three:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2012/04/small-screen-scenes-downton-abbey.html
& Episode Four:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2012/04/small-screen-scenes-downton-abbey_10.html
& Episode Five:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2012/06/small-screen-scenes-downton-abbey.html
The excitement never ends!
Persistence is the name of the game in the shared dream of Sybil and Gwen, and the darkness that the two schemers beneath the stairs bring to life gets blacker and blacker.  

"I don't care a thing about rules!"...guess who says that.
And her little sister follows in those footsteps: "Really, Branson, I thought I gave the orders!"
Rules are made to be bended.

And Lady Edith has a suitor?!?!  Guess who has quite the punch when need be...and we know who  is the best nurse around and rises to the occasion.  A real atmosphere is going now says Mrs. Hughes and even Carson feels powerless.  What is the difference between a socialist and a lunatic?  Are you at all political?

And, most importantly, what did they put in those sandwiches!?!?  Sip your own red wine, and put in the disc today!  Though Lady Mary (oh the Dowager Countess says she reads too many novels!) says not to pay attention to the things she says, Peachy wants you to listen to absolutely everything she says and that's where they're different: and Peachy says to watch this!!!
Whom You Know Highly Recommends Downton Abbey Season One Episode Six!
If everything is sunny in the garden, why meddle?  Keep watching.
And, we are pleased to announce we have a star-studded interview and critique on what this series is based on.


Get your own copy, and start watching:




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EPIC BRITISH TV PERIOD DRAMA


“DOWNTON ABBEY”


WRITTEN AND CREATED BY


OSCAR-WINNING JULIAN FELLOWES


AVAILABLE ON DVD FROM PBS DISTRIBUTION THIS JANUARY


Special Extra Features Include “The Making of Downton Abbey” and “A House In History”


Arlington, VA November 1 -- PBS Distribution is pleased to announce the January DVD release of “Downton Abbey,” MASTERPIECE’s lead program for its 40th anniversary celebration. Written and created by Oscar-winning writer Julian Fellowes (“Gosford Park”), “Downton Abbey” is an epic British TV period drama which will air on PBS over four Sunday nights in January and will be released on DVD January 11, 2011. Special bonus features on the DVD include two featurettes:“The Making of Downton Abbey” and “A House In History.” The dealer order date is December 14, 2010.

A smash hit when it aired in the UK, “Downton Abbey” follows in the tradition of the Emmy Award-winning “Upstairs, Downstairs” (a MASTERPIECE THEATRE favorite when it aired in the 1970s), which portrayed the lives of a wealthy aristocratic family and the relationships they had with their servants. “Downton Abbey” features lavish costumes, beautiful cinematography, seamless direction, and impeccably accurate set design. The cast includes Dame Maggie Smith (“Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone”), Hugh Bonneville (“Notting Hill,” “Iris”) and Elizabeth McGovern (“Clash of the Titans,” “The Wings of the Dove”).
Quotes about “Downton Abbey’s” British Premier on ITV
“An impeccably polished stroll back to the past.”
--London’s Metro

“…a sumptuous, instantly riveting glimpse of a world – and family – on the verge of profound change.” 
--London Telegraph

“The whole thing looks divine, and has the distinct advantage of being an original story and so completely unknown to all the viewers.”
--The Yorker
Plot Details
Set in 1912, “Downton Abbey” encompasses all the drama, romance, and politics of this era and is comparable to any lavish period piece on the big screen. Dame Maggie Smith portrays the matriarch of the Crawley family, desperately trying to navigate and strategize so her son (Hugh Bonneville) can hold onto the multi-million dollar inheritance he married into. Elizabeth McGovern gives an outstanding performance as the mother to their four daughters, each dowry-endowed, to attract an appropriate suitor. The eldest, Mary (Michelle Dockery) is as interested in being married through arrangement as she is in socializing with the servants downstairs.

And as all the drama is happening upstairs, downstairs also has its share. The servants are shaken up with the arrival of a new valet, John Bates (Brendan Coyle). Bates arrives at Downton in the first episode to take the position, but the servants are not supportive when they see he is wounded from the war and is lame. The help is as fiercely possessive of their ranks as anyone above and Thomas (Rob James-Collier), the first footman, wants Bates’ job and will do anything to get it – including theft and deceit. Some of the other servants are loyal to the family and are committed to Downton as a way of life, but others are moving through, on the look out for new opportunities, love or just adventure.

Much like blockbuster epic films such as “Young Victoria,” “Sense & Sensibility,” “Gosford Park,” “Howard’s End,” and “A Room With A View,” “Downton Abbey” is an engaging series that fans of period pieces will love. The series is comprised of three discs which have an approximate running time of six hours. 


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“Downton Abbey”
Genre: Drama
Price: $34.99
Running Time: 6 Hours/3 Discs
Street Date: January 11, 2011

Bonus Features


The Making of Downton Abbey (Running Time 13:09)
A House in History (Running Time 9:43)



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