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

1. Good to know. Thanks.

 

Spoiler

I can't believe they killed off the one character that appears in the opening credits!

 

Funny, I just saw the season 5 episode that I think was being referred to originally (it was broadcast in US this week). He does this with some weird gadget that he definitely did not use before. Weird & neat.

 

Dangit! I just clicked on a spoiler tag without thinking about this! At least it didn't have all of the details so I am still in for a surprise.

 

What has always caught my attention is that he always goes outside for a smoke break. I worked in a restaurant as a teen and people didn't do that even then. I thought it was a more common trend due to not being allowed to smoke indoors.

 

It was a pretty interesting contraption. I liked how you could gradually tip the bottle as it poured out - he didn't just dump it all into cheesecloth at once.

Details here:

http://www.wineloverspage.com/port/decant.phtml

 

Wow, Lord Grantham (literally) laid the smack down in last night's episode! He certainly has been neglecting Cora, but Mr. Bricker(?) still had it coming, the way he disrespected Robert in his own home, in his own bedroom of all places!

 

Love the show, a great cast portraying very interesting characters with a great story line what's not to like. Costco currently has Season 5 available just got done watching it last night with my wife.

 

It's being reported that season six will be the show's last.

That's part of why I skipped buying this season on BD. Figure I'll just wait for the complete series boxset at this point.

 

I'll repeat the comment of a cheeky writer and suggest that the inevitable spinoff needs to be Violet and Isobel travelling around the country solving murders.

 

On a serious note, wasn't there talk of a prequel spin-off series?

I also remember reading something about Julian Fellowes writing/producing an American show about the Gilded Age.

 

That's what I'd heard of (the American series). Never heard about a prequel.

I expect that the series will end with Violet's death (not a spoiler, just speculation). I'll be disappointed if it ends on the 6th season, there just seems to be too many compelling stories to wrap up in just one short season.

 

I'm glad to see it ending while it is still on top and not dragging it out. It's a perfect series to revisit every few years due to never appearing dated, and the limited number of episodes make it easy to consume.

 

I wonder which Lord Grantham would like less, Lady Rose dating a black man or a Jewish man?

Chad

 

I thought the season wrapped up pretty well, though there are several long-standing story lines that I hope we never hear about again. Overall an improvement over season 4.

 

I hadn't realized it was the end of the season.

Lot's of loose endings. I though Branson would take off with Bunting.

 

The name of the series is going to be "Better Call Violet".

Chad

 

There are still 4 more episodes of this season. The season ends March 1.

 

Many of us already have copies of the DVD set or streaming, which all wrapped up last week. Now we spend a month waiting for everyone else to catch up.

Spoiler

I was pleasantly surprised when Miss Bunting disappeared several episodes before the finale.

 

So, everyone all caught up now?

I feel like it's becoming a bit stale.

Anna getting arrested and being in prison felt like a possible "jump the shark" moment. Why do they keep returning to that same stupid storyline?

We met Mary's season six suitor in this season's finale, of course. Yawn.

Carson and Mrs. Hughes getting engaged is kind of nice, but a bit sappy.

I'm sorry to see Tom Branson go.

I don't know, though... I look back on this season and feel like all of the storylines were needlessly dragged out and in the end not a whole lot happened. Assuming season six is the final season, I hope that really kicks the show into high gear, plot-wise.

 

I don't think that the lingering suspicion over Anna is the "jump the shark" moment, rather I think that Bates writing the confession, skipping to Ireland and then being able to return is perhaps more "jump the shark." I do believe that the death of Green would continue to hang a cloud over the lives of the Bates', but I doubt that Mr. Bates would have been able to return so easily after having submitted a confession and then escaping arrest. The alibi seems credible but I still think that his flight would have significant consequences.

We may be sick of the Anna/Bates/Green story, but in real life they would still be dealing with it until the death of Mr. Green was solidly explained.

A true "jump the shark" moment would be Tom hooking up with Mary, but I would have welcomed it all the same because Tom's an interesting and stouthearted character, and all of Mary's suitors have been varying degrees of crap!

 

Really, in 1924, the London police had nothing better to do than to hunt for years for the killer of a valet? Whose employer didn't even seem to care about the crime anymore? Who was discovered to be a sexual predator? And make constant trips to Yorkshire?

 

I dunno about the state of police affairs in 1924, but I figure all it would take is one dogged detective who wasn't willing to let a murder go unsolved to create that situation. Policemen, then and now, make their careers by solving crimes. Sure, it's also likely that the detective might have said, "Who cares about this low-class twit", but it seems likely that a detective might continue to pursue the case if there was something to go on.

 

Personally I found it pretty implausible. And really there wasn't much to go on, making it all the more ridiculous.

 

Don't assume the storyline is over just because Bates came back (though I wish it was). We haven't seen what the consequences are for him on his return, nor has Anna been cleared of the crime.

It was odd to me that Molesley and Baxter were doggedly finding Bates an alibi when he clearly wanted the crime to be pinned on him.