Anyone else out there discovering and becoming addicted to "Downton Abbey"?

I'm convinced Maggie Smith has based the physical aspects of her performance in this series on a chicken. Her movements are very bird-like.

 

I've had Downton Abbey on my 'to watch' list for quite some time. I finally started watching it around mid December and, thanks to time off work, managed to watch series one through four. Terrific show, found myself blazing through four episodes a day at times.

I'm looking forward to series 5, hopefully with fewer Rose storylines.

 

Anyone else watch the season five US premiere last night?

I think I'm officially sick of Barrow. I liked that they made him more sympathetic in season three but I feel like in season four they did a complete 180 with his character and turned him back into an arsehole, which seems to continue into season five.

Picture quality on PBS was fairly atrocious. I'm going to see if it looks better streaming via the PBS app on Apple TV.

 

I was a bit surprised at the end with Barrow's quick return to good graces. I hope that just why he was lurking in the corridor comes out eventually and he gets his comeuppance.

He was much more sympathetic when he was running the black market operation.

 

I thought it was hilarious that the guy was on the verge of getting sacked, and then wound up being the big hero for sounding out the alarm on the fire -- because he was watching the hallway for his pal with the duchess (or whatever the hell the woman was).

We watched it off DirecTV and KOCE here in LA, and picture quality looked fine to me. It looked to me like they were going through a 25fps -> 30fps conversion for U.S. HD, but it didn't bother me. I watched the first few seasons of the show on 25fps HD via digital files, and those artifacts actually bothered me worse... but that may have also been compression-related. The streaming app is going to have far less bandwidth than either broadcast HD or satellite HD, but it could go several different ways on cable, depending on how big a pipe your local cable provider is using.

 

Watched tonight and picture quality was typical Downton Bay Area PBS. Crushed blacks but a fair amount of detail as usual. I wish they shot this show on film.

 

As soon as Barrow discovered the fire and sprung into action, I turned to my wife and said, "Well, his job is safe for another season now." It was a little too predictable.

We were watching via OTA broadcast. Our local PBS station has two sub-channels, so that contributes to the wonky picture quality. Although for some reason Downton Abbey seems to look worse than a lot of other shows on that same channel.

 

Yep, I've been saying the same thing for years now: they ought to shoot Downton on film, not digital. For period dramas especially, I think film gives a much better look than digital. See Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire for examples of period dramas shot on film that have great cinematography.

 

I've been watching it with friends. I find it kind of boring, at least compared to the typical long-form HBO series. And the character kill-offs and convenient, sudden appearance of previously unmentioned relatives makes it too soap opera-ish for my tastes.

I don't hate it or anything, but I wouldn't be disappointed if my friends finished it without me.

 

As far as I know, the footmen aren't supposed to be in the upper level, so someone may eventually ask why Barrow was up there in the first place. I suppose he could invent a story that he smelled smoke and went up to investigate.

It all depends on whether or not the Earl lets slip why Jimmy has let go. He's pretty tight lipped and didn't tell Carson why he was terminated, but Carson would be able to figure it out if he knew that both Jimmy and Thomas were on the upper level at the same time.

I would like to see some resolution with Mr. Bates. Is he a villain or isn't he?

 

I lasted through three seasons. The first two were great but I lost interest midway through the third season. Perhaps I will start streaming the episodes, someday.

 

The first season was by far the best for me. I'm only still watching because I like the characters.

 

I think it was a great start to the season. Yes, the show is soap opera-ish, but higher level soap opera. I prefer it to continue focusing on the sort of normal human interactions without getting into further tragedies changing the focus to people overcoming great sorrow and extreme hardship. Enough of that already. So I was very happy that the fire didn't kill anyone and was limited to that one room and didn't burn down the whole damn house.

 

The show is a nice respite from zombies and serial killers.

 

Just watched this latest episode, and found myself enjoying it, tho, with other posters above, am annoyed that Barrows has gained another lease on life! Dammit! Why didn't Baxter tell her Ladyship that Barrows was always leaning on her to dig up dirt on others! If Baxter get fired now, I'll be upset.

 

I like Baxter and am finding Barrow increasingly boring. Perhaps in the last episode of this series, he'll be inspecting the roof flashing with Mr. Bates and have an unfortunate tumble over the parapet.

 

Actually, Mad Men switched to Arri Alexa about two years ago and has been digital all that time. To me, it's all about the lighting and the lenses (plus the post-production), not about the medium per se.

http://www.freshdv.com/2012/08/mad-men-cinematographer.html

 

This question is for anyone who's also seen Series 5, Episode 5.4. No spoilers here.

Mr. Mosley goes into Mr. Carson's office to ask Carson a question. During the scene Carson has a wine bottle titled at a 45 degree angle pouring the wine into a chalice or bottle or something. The wine is pouring through a cloth.

I've never seen that before. Is that some sort of a straining process for the wine?

 

“Downton Abbey, Season 5”on MASTERPIECE
Premieres to Huge Audience

– Highest-Rated Drama in PBS History Starts Fifth Season
Strong With Average Audience of 10.1 Million –

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/20...-delivers-10-1-million-viewers-on-pbs/346555/

 

Carson got cork into the bottle, and since Downton is all about cutting costs these days, salvaged the bottle by straining it though a cloth.

I would imagine it would be serious breach of etiquette if cork were spotted floating in a guests wine glass.

 

Was that from a scene earlier in the episode that I missed? I might have stepped out of the living room for a minute or two during the episode.

Based on Lord Granthan's mood lately, if he'd spotted any cork in a glass of wine, he might have gone postal on the serving staff.

Great stuff. Thanks.

 

Yes, reminded me of why I stopped watching Coronation St. years ago-repugnant, or slimey characters being pushed to the fore over and over again.

 

I actually haven't seen that episode yet, but that would be my guess. I'm pretty sure I saw that in an advice column once, but I generally tell my guests to dig the cork out with their finger if it offends them. I don't think Downton would go for screw caps on their wine.

 

Oh, I love the slimy characters! In fact, I miss the Mrs. O'Brien, who left the show, the one who used to connive with Thomas the butler...


She was right out of Wuthering Heights or something.

 

I haven't seen this episode, but I am pretty sure I have seen him do that in an earlier one.

Found some info here, FWIW: http://www.buzzfeed.com/arielknutson/how-to-throw-a-historically-accurate-downton-abbey#.sk35kmw1B7

- In the photo above Carson is seen straining the wine for sediment. You can do this by using a linen handkerchief or piece of gauze and putting it over the funnel of the decanter and then pouring the wine into the vessel.