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

Traditionally, you decant port through cheesecloth. This is because aged vintage ports will "throw" a lot of sediment.

 

BTW, last week PBS aired a very entertaining "making of Downton Abbey" special titled The Manners of Downton Abbey, and they had extensive interviews and footage of the historical expert who advises the writers, director, and actors on the set exactly how to sit, stand, eat, and converse in a way that gibes with the 1910s and 1920s aristocracy. Absolutely amazing show -- who knew there were so many different types of forks? This incredible attention to detail makes the show very real to me.

 

Joanne Froggatt just won for Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globe Awards for her role as Anna Bates, Season 4 of Downton Abbey. Other nominees in her category included Uzo Aduba, Kathy Bates, Allison Janney and Michelle Monaghan.

 

Carson sure seems to be speaking up a lot more this season, and even voicing disagreement with Lord Grantham.

I don't like that Lord Grantham's being a jerk to Tom again. I can see him being driven away soon, so that the actor can move on (he was already in The Imitation Game).

Must have been quite something to hear the "wireless" (radio) for the first time. Kinda funny how they all stood out of respect when the King spoke, as if he were actually in the room.

 

I enjoy the show as soap opera but can't Julian Fellowes ever let the audience read between the lines and figure things out for themselves? The writing becomes more sledgehammer-like with every season. Every week someone has to say something like "Our old way of life is changing and the rug is being pulled out from under us!"

 

BTW, I apologize to whoever previously said the picture quality of the show is terrible. The episode I saw yesterday from KOCE via DirecTV was soft as hell, really grungy. I dunno what they're doing to it but it looked like half a step about VHS. Somebody is screwing the show up royally (no pun intended).

 

I watched a minute of the show streaming on the PBS app via Apple TV and I think picture quality there is slightly better than over-the-air. I may wait until Monday and watch the next episode that way.

 

I've never watched the show when broadcast until this season. I saw all previous seasons on blu-ray. The poor picture quality is quite a shock now.

 

I've been watching it on AppleTV via a subscription and the picture quality is great. I don't know how that compares to the PBS app.

I liked the last episode, though I find the stories involving the servants much more interesting than Lady Mary and her birth control or Lady Edith and her child. Glad to see that Mr. Bates may be back in the clutches of the law, though the circumstances of why he did the deed could cause some drama. Also interesting that Thomas may be growing a conscience.

 

I wonder if the local PBS affiliates have to pay extra for HD, and choose not to? I agree that streaming has better picture quality than what my PBS station is airing.

 

It's still HD, but it's crap HD. It's either very compressed, or they're doing some awful processing to it that's making it very soft, milky, and noisy. Awful.

 

Season 4 was kind of ho-hum to me. Season 5 seems like it is going to be much more interesting by what I've seen so far!

 

The picture as shown on Comcast in the Bay Area on Sunday nights is crisp and detailed with crushed blacks. I tried watching an episode awhile ago On Demand on Comcast and it was as you described- milky and terribly washed out .Weird.

 

Looks like Bates is in **** again.

 

The picture quality and the sound are terrible on Georgia Public Broadcasting (WGTV-DT 8 in Atlanta). They're broadcasting in DD 5.1, but the audio sounds like Duophonic stereo. And no, it's not my equipment.

 

When has this not been the case?

 

I'm home with the flu at the same time that Apple dumped the rest of the season on AppleTV and have spent the morning jumping ahead. Several interesting story resolutions. Overall I like this season better than last.

 

I didn't realize it until reading discussions later, but it appears as though Barrow is trying some sort of "cure" for homosexuality. That was the "choose your own path" advertisement in the magazine.

 

The original advert was very vague, but I suppose they would have to be back then.

 

That was my guess too.

 

One or two things bug me - smoking would have been pretty common in that time, yet I think only Barrows gets to smoke.

I suspect there would have been a much larger religious element to their aristocratic lives, even if only to help keep the peasants in line.

 

I agree on both points. I think if the show were made by AMC or HBO there'd be tons more smoking.

They'd also likely be much more involved with their local Church of England parish. They had the priest over for dinner once and have had a couple of weddings, but that's about it.

 

I hope we've almost seen the last of Miss Bunting. Funny thing is, I actually agree with most of what she (and Tom) says/believes, but she keeps being completely rude and tactless about it. How did she keep getting invited back so many times? And why did she keep accepting? What an annoying character.

 

She's an interesting character, but it's clear to me that she and Tom are going to hook up, which will create all kinds of distress when Tom elects to take the kid (the Downton grandson) away with him. What a mess it would be if he married her and moved her into the castle...

I agree, there's a way to have a civil debate with somebody even when you have major political issues. But at some point, you have to say, "eh, we're never going to agree, so let's just drop the matter and talk about something else."

 

Season five came out on DVD/BD/digital yesterday. Those of you who purchased and watched it, please use spoiler tags in this thread for anything that hasn't aired on PBS yet.