“War has a way of distinguishing between the things that matter and the things that don’t.” (Matthew) Well, we’re back. The year is 1916 and we’re in the middle of the first World War. The stakes are high but still everything has […]

“Sometimes I feel as if I were living in an H.G. Wells novel.” (Violet) For an episode spending so much time on introducing a telephone and with a very predictable cliffhanger, I was surprised to not see two and two put together. […]

“Sybil is entitled to her opinions.” “No. She isn’t until she is married, then her husband will tell her what her opinions are.” (Lady Crawley and Violet) For an upstairs-downstairs type show, this episode of Downton Abbey spent a lot of time […]

 “She thinks when you put a toy down it will still be sitting there when you want to play with it again.” (Robert) In its fifth week, Downton Abbey either starts working on wrapping things up or on opening them up even […]

“If she’s got a boyfriend, I’m a giraffe.” (O’Brian) Now who doesn’t like the fair? I sure as hell don’t – today fairs are synonym for teenage kids drinking breezers and barfing on the bumper carts. But back when life was different, […]

“I’m not being ridiculous. No Englishman would *dream* of dying in someone else’s house – especially somebody they didn’t even know.” (Violet) Well that was surely strange. Who would have ever thought people would die in a British costume drama? And that […]

“What’s a weekend?” (Violet) This week focused on a battle that’s been as old as the industrial revolution: city versus country. As Matthew, the rightful heir to the fortune, arrived at the abbey, this conflict was unfolded in a typical – but […]

“No one wants to kiss a girl in black.” (Violet) I’m always hesitant to try a period piece. While they might be nice to look at, there’s usually an overflow of dialogue and not nearly enough action to keep things going. I […]