I wondered why no one was discussing this show over here!! :) I LOVE it! So much that I think I may need to be medicated to be able to tolerate the looooooong wait to next season. I love how artful language was in those days. I love everything about this show. Still mourning the loss of Sybil. Can't believe the cliffhanger for next season, though, Pam, I knew, too, when he was driving that car....so what about what the naysayers say about his storyline...his gorgeous eyes and that smoooooth voice. One of my faves. :( I love the meals, too! The kitchen fascinates me. My china is the one they use when the ladies are served breakfast in bed! It used to be the breakfast china in the dining room, too, but a different china seems to be used this season. I'm not one of those gals that can quote movie lines like the guys can...but when it comes to THIS show, there are so many brilliant lines...I can fire off quite a few! (Tired of James, though...and Alfred)

As mentioned above, Season 1 is available for streaming at pbs.org, at least for a little while longer. It is also available streaming on Netflix. As an aside, why is it that all the shows we like in our household are on Sunday night? I can only Tivo two at one time, and Downton unfortunately didn't make the cut. I'll have to see if I can find another time that it is shown.

I've read the plot hints and I will be SO disappointed if Matthew and Mary don't get hitched. I just loved the last two episodes of season two. "It was Lust!" Dumbfounded look.... As to who won't be back, well, I haven't read the very latest, but I did read Sybil, the actress, has a big movie coming out (w/Daniel Craig) and she may have moved on to other/bigger things. Dies in childbirth perhaps? Bates, ehh, I'm not into him that much, but from what I understand the actor is enormously popular so I don't think they'll kill him off (yet). Thomas, I hope he gets what he deserves, but maybe he did in a little way last season. So slimy. I would love for Edith to get married but not to a grandpa-although he has a nice house and it's better than being an old maid. The teeny tiny hints seemed like possibly Strallan's son may come into play, who knows. Please don't bring back whiny Patrick.

Season 3 in 2013?? Why these long waits? Maire, I was talking about this just last night with my friend Christine, who's from Cornwall. I told her I had no problem understanding most of the British accents, but the Downton Abbey kitchen conversations had me rewinding. Now, tell me how you keep yourself from watching episode after episode without a break?? I wouldn't have the willpower! Well, my TV watching habits are probably a bit odd by most standards. For one thing, I enjoy anticipation and like to savor things and make them last. I have a lot of good shows on my Netflix Instant Queue, and some of them have a relatively small number of episodes. I'm careful to space them out so I can enjoy them over a longer period of time. (That's why I posted recently about whether or not Netflix will pull some of these shows unexpectedly.) The other thing is my rather limited attention span. I think it's probably the result of watching no TV at all for many years. Now that I have it (and love it!), I'm not comfortable watching for long stretches. After about 20 minutes I feel the need to get up and do something. I will come back to the show, but it stretches out the time it takes to watch the whole thing. Midsomer Murders is my longest show at 100 minutes. I have to start early in the evening if I want to watch that one. As for a movie, forget it . . . it takes several days. LOL (But I'm not exaggerating.) If I'm doing rug hooking with the TV on, that's different. But I do that only with shows like Law & Order or (sometimes) Brothers & Sisters, where I'm familiar with all the voices and actually look at the screen only occasionally. With a show like Downton Abbey, I'd want to pay attention and take it all in.