Downton Abbey 3rd Season DVD!

Posted on January 27, 2013 at 8:00 am

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	NA
Profanity:	Mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, smoking
Violence/ Scariness:	Illness and death
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to DVD:	January 28, 2013
Amazon.com ASIN:	B0099Y2MYK

The most popular television show in the world has a gorgeous new DVD/Blu-Ray release this week, Season 3 and some marvelous extras:

– Downton Abbey Behind the Drama
–    Shirley MacLaine at Downton
–    The Men of Downton
–    Downton in 1920
–    Season 3 Christmas Special bonus episode “A Journey to the Highlands”
–    and much more!

The returning cast includes Hugh Bonneville, Dame Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, Dan Stevens, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Penelope Wilton, Joanne Froggatt, Brendan Coyle and a host of others, joined by Shirley MacLaine, who plays Martha Levinson, the very American mother of Cora, Countess of Grantham. Written and created by Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey, Season 3 is a Carnival Films and Masterpiece co-production, in association with NBCUniversal. I have one Blu-Ray to give away! Send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with “Downton” in the subject line and tell me your favorite character in the series. Don’t forget your address! (US addresses only) I will pick a winner at random on February 2. Good luck!
Photo caption: The Great War is over and a long-awaited engagement is on, but all is not tranquil at Downton Abbey as wrenching social changes, romantic intrigues, and personal crises grip the majestic English country estate for a third thrilling season. With the return of its all-star cast plus guest star Academy Award®-winner Shirley MacLaine, Downton Abbey, Season 3 airs over seven Sundays on PBS beginning on January 6, 2013. Shown in the photo from left to right: Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham and Shirley MacLaine as Martha Levinson

Downton Abbey is Back!

Posted on January 5, 2013 at 3:31 pm

The war is over, but intrigue, crisis, romance, and change still grip the beloved estate in the thrilling new season of Downton Abbey. Written and created by Julian Fellowes, with its all-star returning cast and Oscar-winning guest star Shirley MacLaine as the American mother of Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), Downton Abbey, Season 3 premieres tomorrow night on Masterpiece classic!

Years earlier, Cora rescued Downton Abbey with her New World riches by marrying Robert, Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville). Now, New World and Old World are about to clash as Cora’s mother locks horns with Robert’s redoubtable mother, Lady Violet, played by Maggie Smith.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95tjLcrBvmM

Last season closed with the reluctant heir to Downton, Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens), recovered from his war wounds and ready to tie the knot with the eldest of Lord and Lady Grantham’s daughters, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery). Meanwhile, Mary’s youngest sister, Sybil (Jessica Brown-Findlay), has eloped to Ireland with the political-minded chauffeur, Branson (Allen Leech), and is expecting a child.

A tantalizing glimpse ahead: Downton’s impeccable butler, Carson (Jim Carter), breaks in a new footman, who happens to be the nephew of the scheming lady’s maid O’Brien (Siobhan Finneran). Following Matthew and Mary’s engagement, Robert sticks to his duty to maintain Downton more firmly than ever — even as other great houses are crippled psychologically and financially in the wake of World War I.

In this changing landscape nothing is assured, and could it be that even the war-weary Crawleys must fight a new battle to safeguard their beloved Downton? I’m looking forward to the the Maggie Smith/Shirley MacLaine confrontations, of course, and hoping Lady Mary and Matthew will finally get married, but what I am most looking forward to is some good news for Bates!

Refresh your memory with this guide to the characters and a recap of the first two seasons. (Wonder why we see it so much later than the Brits?)

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Contest: Downton Abbey, Seasons 1 and 2

Posted on September 23, 2012 at 1:25 pm

I’m thrilled to have this very special limited edition release to give away to one lucky fan. Downton Abbey Seasons 1 and 2 will be released on Oct 2. While we wait until January for Season 3 (now showing in the UK), you can enjoy Seasons 1 and 2, as the Earl and Countess of Grantham and their three beautiful and headstrong (and impeccably dressed) daughters try to find a way to keep their home despite the laws that require inheritance only by the male relatives. Oscar-winner Shirley MacLaine joins the cast for the third season as the mother of the American-born Lady Grantham played by Elizabeth McGovern.

To enter the contest, send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with Downton in the subject line and tell me your favorite character in the series. Don’t forget your address (US addresses only)! I will pick a winner at random on October 2. Good luck!

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They May Look Like the 20th Century, But They Talk Like Today

Posted on June 19, 2012 at 8:45 am

The producers of “Mad Men” and “Downton Abbey” are justifiably lauded for their meticulous attention to period detail in the clothes, furnishings, and world events of the eras they portray. And audiences love seeing the styles of 1960’s New York and early 20th century England. But there is one area where it would be too difficult for the writers and too jarring for the audience to be true to the period, and that is the language. While they may avoid obvious modern expressions like the use of “okay” in “Snow White and the Huntsman,” an alert grad student has documented the anachronisms in these shows and elsewhere and it makes for an entertaining and most illuminating interview on Slate’s “Lexicon Valley” podcast. What year did we start using the term “put him on hold?” When did we first use the word “wartime?” Did we say “more traditional” in eras where traditions had not changed much in decades? And what two-word phrase you need to use nearly every day was hardly ever used until the 1970’s — and what does its rise as the prior phrase fell out of use tell us about the way we view ourselves?

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Oscar-Winner Joins Downton Abbey for Season Three

Posted on February 1, 2012 at 10:27 am

One of my favorite “Downtown Abbey” characters is Cora, Countess of Grantham, played by Elizabeth McGovern. She is an American heiress whose marriage to a titled but cash-poor nobleman resulted in the most unexpected of romances. The producers announced this week that Season Three will include a visit from Lady Grantham’s American mother — and that she will be played by Oscar-winner Shirley Maclaine. I can already imagine the fun of seeing a strong-willed nouveau riche American going up against the Dowager Countess, played by Oscar-winner Maggie Smith.

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