Until tonight, I was a Downton Abbey virgin.

14 years ago

But I'm a Downton Abbey virgin no more! What a marvelous, seductive show--I'm hooked after just one episode. Elizabeth McGovern (Cora) reminds me somewhat of Jennie Jerome, Winston Churchill's mother. She, too, was a New York heiress. I suppose the similarity is intentional.

I love her husband (Cora's, not Jennie's . . . although I suppose I might love him, too, if I could remember what he looked like). LOL

Thanks to all who recommended the show! Between Downton Abbey, Midsomer Murders, Rosemary & Thyme, and Kingdom, I figure it won't be long before my accent changes.

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Comments (12)

joann23456
14 years ago
I just started watching this season, and joined Amazon Prime just to get the first season. Romance, history, class divisions, house porn ... What a wonderful show!
maire_cate
14 years ago
I almost envy you because now you can watch both seasons without experiencing the agonizing wait in between. Should I hope for a nice little snowfall so that you can stay inside and revel in British drama all day?

As for accents - I think you ought to try for some of the muddled pronunciations of the Downstairs housemaids. Sometimes I need to stop and replay just to catch what they're saying- Daisy can be very hard to understand.
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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.
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Marie cate I'm an hour and half away. I'm waiting for someone to get back to me to confirm which date she's available to go but I want to go soon. We went to see the Grace Kelly exhibit (in Doylestown) last January and the weather was a nightmare. I want to go sooner versus later so we don't repeat that. The Xmas decor will be up after the 22nd, I think. Kswl, I still longingly recall a plaid coat Mary wore in a hunting scene, the first year I believe. It would be great if that is included in the exhibit, I'd love to see it up close. Something about the tailoring on that just really grabbed me. Of course I'm not built anything like her. I'd look like a fire plug wrapped in a plaid blanket.
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Eliz. McGovern showed up -- live -- Sunday at the local TV studio during a break. She looked younger than she does in the show, and better -- no weird thick, down-drawn eyebrows! And she doesn't speak in a stilted manner like she does on the show, either ... a real improvement. My favourite characters -- Maggie Smith - a real hoot ... love some of the lines she comes out with and the Way She Says Them and how She Looks when she's saying them. There's a scene in which people at the Abbey are talking at once and in loud voices. MS walks into the room and says (something like this) - "No one converses like this -- except in New York!" Being from New York City I totally "got" this remark. O'Brian - the Lady's Maid -- Another "baddie." She provides some vinegar to the goody-goody atmosphere, along w/good old Maggie. Lady Sybil (youngest daughter volunteers as Red Cross nurse) - She's gung-ho about whatever passion she's in the wake of. Love her enthusiasm for Life! Anna & Bates - Good acting, and pretty good character development, I think. Seems as if the writer took more pains w/ them. Basically I think this is just a fancy-dress period soap opera. It's some of the acting, the costumes, the lush sets, grand buildings, and the beeeeautiful scenery I love.
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No you can access everything----any internet sites, any television channels online, etc.. Also, your regular services like Netflix and Amazon prime will have completely different offerings when you are "traveling." You first sign out of the netflix app or service, sign into the VPN, and then sign back into to Netflix or whatever. When you sign into. VPN all that does is reroute your internet signal into a server in a different country, so it looks digitally or electronically that you are in that country instead of the U.S. I think Tunnel Bear has twelve or so "profiles" you can choose from, that cloak your American IP address with one from Canada, Japan, Denmark, Germany, Australia, etc. If you speak another language it would be easy to watch shows or visit sites through search results normally only available to persons in a particular country or region.
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monica_pa Grieves
14 years ago
I got hooked on Downtown Abby when it first came along. Love this show.
bee0hio
14 years ago
Welcome to the "non-virgins" club! LOL
ghoghunter
14 years ago
I'm also a huge fan of the show and got both season DVD's for valentine's Day from my DH!
Caran79
14 years ago
I was just hooked this year -- missed some, but,
now I am worrying about Mr. Bates - (Brandan Coyle). LOL I liked
him in Larkspur to Candleford before he was on
this one.
dedtired
14 years ago
I adore Downton Abbey but the wait between seasons is unbearable. Can;t wait to see how Shirley MacLaine as Cora's mother is worked into the story.

Maire Cate, I turned on the closed captioning for the last episode. I was losing too much to the British accents.
sjerin
14 years ago
I eagerly await Sunday nights and will feel bereft when it is over. Hubby heads to the other room to watch something else as he has noooo interest in the show. I'm glad you found it, Susan. Now, tell me how you keep yourself from watching episode after episode without a break?? I wouldn't have the willpower!
donnakt_gw
14 years ago
I have the DVD of #1 and #2. I'll watch it over and over waiting for the 3rd to come in January 2013. Sad that it will be so long but it will be worth the wait.
Fun2BHere
14 years ago
I watched both seasons in the space of a week just recently. As you said, I was captivated from the first episode. Thank you to the KT member who recommended the show! I'm sorry that I don't remember who it was.
alisande
Original Author
14 years ago
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.
phyllis__mn
14 years ago
I swiped this site fsrom the Readers Paradise forum....quite interesting, I thought.

Here is a link that might be useful: The real Downton Abbey

Until tonight, I was a Downton Abbey virgin.

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Until tonight, I was a Downton Abbey virgin.

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