Downton Abbey

I want a riding gown like Lady Mary's. To wear to the grocery store, of course.

I don't usually watch TV.  I don't follow any series.  I have a record for not turning the TV on for over 2 months.  

But last year Downton Abbey season 1 got me hooked.  Now I get to turn on my TV once a week.  

Wasn't a spoiler. Same byline on PBS.org. Not to mention that it was in the previews aired for the last week.

I haven't owned a tv in about 5 years. I love getting PBS shows online.

Doc Martin starts next month!

I bought a bell but nobody comes to my bedside with tea when I ring it.

Wow, lots of surprises tonight. Quite a lot.

Love this show.

After every episode, I tell mrs gearboy that I need a valet. And maybe a maid. Possible a cook as well. 

Basically, I think we could solve the employment crisis by going to back to servants in the Edwardian fashion. Sadly, mrs gearboy routinely tells me no.

This is still a common practice in parts of Asia.  Not only for the wealthy people.  My parents hire a domestic helper and a valet. 

I love Maggie Smith!! 

I actually already have the second season on DVD; Amazon shipped it out last week.    I've shown great restraint in not watching it yet, although the 'restraint' is really more a function of having two small children and thus the inability to be uninterrupted for 30 seconds at a time. 

Mrs. gearboy will not allow us to move anyplace with endemic malaria (she specializes in hematopathology, and keeps up with this kind of thing). Which leaves out most of South and Central America as well, where I could also have my manservants.

Hong Kong is a Westernized city.  You don't get endemic malaria from there.  You might get the bird/swine flu there though.  ;p

Apparently being domestic helpers in HK can make far more money than working an office job in some SE Asian countries.  Many Filipino / Indonesian women would rather apply for a working visa to work in HK as live-in maids than to stay in their own countries.  

We are a very average family but grew up with live-in maid and a driver. 

HAH! About time she dumped the cold and mannerless mogul.

Sir Richard: I'm leaving in the morning, Lady Grantham. I doubt we'll meet again

Lady Grantham: Do you promise?

I saw that Shirley MacLaine is joining the show for Season 3 as Cora's mother.

Some of my friends on Facebook have made comments about it.  I saw that the first season was on Netflix streaming, so out of curiosity, the wife and I watched the entire first season one snowy Saturday.  Maggie Smith's one-liners are classic.  The girl who plays Mary Crawley was on "The View" and they said that Shirley MacLaine will play Lady Grantham's mother.  It's in the Wikipedia entry too so it's not much of a spoiler.  

We missed the first part of today's show.  I'll have to catch it on the "On Demand" channel.  Some of my friends were bummed out that Lady Sybil wasn't on this show, she's a hottie.   

That is classic.  I laughed out loud at that line. 

Saw the "Making of Downton" at the end of last night's episode, where they were fliming the battle scenes.  The guys commented "Maggie Smith sould be in this scene".

Suffering from Downton withdrawal. 

The Dowager was on fire last night! And how sweet was the talk between Daisy and Mr. Mason? I was kind of hoping that we would get to see "Lady Mary and Anna take New York" but of course, what happened is a better resolution for Anna/Mr. Bates. I liked this Christmas special a lot more than last week's season finale, which I thought was too soap opera-y. The Christmas special had the right amount of drama while still having good pacing.

Spoiler alert!

Maybe someone can explain the entail/title inheritance to me in more detail: If Sybil is pregnant and has a boy, why wouldn't the title/inheritance/etc. of Lord Grantham go to Sybil's child (bc that would be Lord Grantham's grandchild) instead of Matthew (a distant cousin). Wouldn't the grandchild have a more direct line/claim to the title?

Fair point, but no.  If Sybil were married to the one who inherited the title, then her son would be the next heir. 

I adore Maggie Smith.  <3

Would anyone on this thread think less of me if I offered up that over the last weekend (Friday - Sunday), I watched the ENTIRE first two seasons?   Every episode, back to back, for the first time?

Darn, I thought we were going downtown with Abbey. 

I had my water and something to eat all set up by my computer screen and settled in for a nice view.  And all I got was soap opera stuff.  Very dissappointing.  Guess I'll have to go to BT girls posting for my fix.

"If you're from where I'm from then you call it Downton/In the house like Lord Grantham/That's the damn anthem/Live the high life in the abbey we run/And we sip Earl Grey when the day is done."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-WoF9jPHZo