Masterpiece: Downton Abbey Season 1, Ep. 1 "Downton Abbey: Episode 1"

 

Masterpiece: Downton Abbey Season 1, Ep. 1 "Downton Abbey: Episode 1"

 

Product Details

• Episode 1, "Downton Abbey: Episode 1"
• Synopsis: The lives of the Crawley family and Downton Abbey's servants are changed for ever when the sinking of the Titanic leaves the estate without its heir and his son.
• Original air date: September 26, 2010
• Runtime: 1 hour 7 minutes
• ASIN: B004KAQQ5E

Price : $22.99

Item Description

The lives of the Crawley household and Downton Abbey's servants are changed for ever when the sinking of the Titanic leaves the estate with out its heir and his son.

• Runtime: 1 hour 7 minutes
• Original air date: September 26, 2010
• Network: PBS

Customer Reviews

A transporting miniseries from PBS, the crisp and delightful "Downton Abbey" is easily my favorite Masterpiece Theater presentation since the impeccable "Bleak House." Perhaps not as austere as you might expect, "Downton Abbey" combines an "Upstairs, Downstairs" drama with some rather soapy plot points and a healthy dose of scathing British wit. While many of the recent successful Masterpiece Theater productions have benefited from a distinguished literary pedigree, this original creation was whipped up with considerable verve by Julian Fellowes--who mined similar territory and won an Oscar for the screenplay of "Gosford Park." Aired on U.S. television stations in four longer parts, this set appropriately reconfigures the program into seven distinct episodes as they were originally intended.
Simply put, "Downton Abbey" tells the story of one English estate consisting of the Crawley family and their household staff in the years preceding World War I. Fellowes does an incredible job introducing his massive cast. Sometimes when dozens of characters are thrown at you immediately, it takes a while to sort everyone out--but no such problem here. Within the first half hour, I had everything I needed to know about the house dynamic and the role everyone played in it. There are many plot strands threaded throughout the production, but the main drama stems from the fact that the apparent heirs for Downton Abbey are killed on the Titanic. Unable to appoint a female inheritor (the Crawleys have three daughters), a distant and middle-class relative is next in line. When this city lawyer and his mother arrive to become acquainted with the property, the drama starts to unfold.
There is a LOT going on in this house--both in the servants quarters and in the master chambers! Some of the plotting is remarkably textured, some a bit far fetched--but there wasn't one moment of "Downton Abbey" that wasn't thoroughly entertaining. There is romance, cover-ups, villainy, manipulation, politics, and everything under the sun. Deftly handled by the well balanced screenplay, stories are juggled with dexterity. And almost everyone in the cast gets their moment to shine. Headlined by the terrifically understated Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern, there are far too many great performances to highlight in this brief format. Maggie Smith is, as usual, curmudgeonly perfection! Her battle of wills with Penelope Wilton are pure comic delight. Michelle Dockery, as the eldest daughter, and Dan Stevens, as the new heir apparent, carry much of the story and both are appealing even when they're not very likable (Dockery, in particular, is quite a brat but has the largest character arc). And among the servants, I particularly enjoyed the oily menace of Rob James-Collier who created trouble for the sake of his own amusement.
While "Downton Abbey" is not without imperfections, I loved it simply in terms of sheer entertainment value. I cared about the characters and wanted to see their stories progress. The series ends rather abruptly (but Season Two is fast on its way) and, in our household, we were sorry to have to say goodbye for now. A grand and funny showcase for some of the year's best performances, this one is a winner! KGHarris, 2/11.

I actually came across this show on Netflix I thought I would at least watch one episode to see how it would be. I ended watching the whole season that DAY! i couldn't stop watching! I can not wait til season 2 to come out. I highly recommend this show to everyone.

 

Masterpiece: Downton Abbey Season 1, Ep. 1 "Downton Abbey: Episode 1"

 

Rating: 4.5