[Julian.]

Originally Posted by Imperfect Angel

Where do you watch?

I downloaded the torrent. Just like all the other TV shows I watch.

[WonderfulLee]

Maggie Smith stole all the scenes she is in it. No wonder she won Emmys for this role. she is too good! my fave line from her is ' what is weekend?' and all of her scenes with mrs crawley.

[Anthony.]

Just a reminder, Americans haven't seen season 2 yet unless they downloaded them.

Season One was one of the greatest miniseries ever. Season Two was a bit disappointing. Gorgeous scenery all around though, and I love period pieces like this.
And lets be real...Dowager Countess is the HBIC here.

My personal favorite:

[Xepher]

Just finished watching series 1 final episode. What a way things turned out just in an hour what a way to finish a tremendous series.

[Sam L]

Cora, Countess of Grantham [Elizabeth McGovern]: I might send her to New York.

Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham [Maggie Smith]: I don’t think we’re that desperate

[WonderfulLee]

‘What Is a Weekend?’ and the Best Maggie Smith Quotes From Downton Abbey

* By Amanda Dobbins


It's been a special month for Masterpiece Theater devotees, as PBS has recently started airing the wildly successful British mini-series Downton Abbey for American audiences. The Edwardian drama, directed by Julian Fellowes and owing more than a small debt to Upstairs, Downstairs, delivers all the goodies we've come to expect from a period piece: questions of inheritance, ambitious servants, impossibly fancy headgear, hunting parties, late-night trysts, and Earls aplenty. (Even better, it will be back, for a second season.) But the highlight of Downton is indisputably Maggie Smith, who plays the delightfully snobby Lady Grantham, Dowager Countess. Smith uses her imperious stare to great effect, especially when discussing electricity and/or Americans — but really, she just gets the best lines. Below, a compilation of Maggie's zingers, for your enjoyment and personal use. Remember: Weekends are beneath you.

• Cora: "Are we to be friends then?"
Lady Grantham: "We are allies, my dear, which can be a good deal more effective."

• "I couldn't have electricity in the house, I wouldn't sleep a wink. All those vapors floating about."

• Cora: "I hope I don't hear sounds of a disagreement."
Lady Grantham: "Is that what they call discussion in New York?"

• "No one wants to kiss a girl in black."

• "What is a weekend?"

• "Last night! He looked so well. Of course it would happen to a foreigner. No Englishman would dream of dying in someone else's house."

• Cora: "I might send her over to visit my aunt.She could get to know New York."
Lady Grantham: "Oh, I don't think things are quite that desperate."

• "One can't go to pieces at the death of every foreigner. We'd all be in a constant state of collapse whenever we opened a newspaper."

• Cora: "I hate to go behind Robert's back."
Lady Grantham: "That is a scruple no successful wife can afford."

• Lady Grantham: "Why would you want to go to a real school? You're not a doctor's daughter."
Sybil: "Nobody learns anything from a governess, apart from French and how to curtsy."
Lady Grantham: "What else do you need? Are you thinking of a career in banking?"
Cora: "Things are different in America."
Lady Grantham: "I know. They live in wigwams."

• Doctor: "Mrs. Crawley tells me she has recommended nitrate of silver and tincture of steel."
Lady Grantham: "Why, is she making a suit of armor?"

• Lord Grantham: "We better go in soon or it isn't fair to Mrs. Padmore."
Lady Grantham: "Oh, is her cooking so precisely timed? You couldn't tell."

• Lady Grantham: "You are quite wonderful the way you see room for improvement wherever you look. I never knew such reforming zeal."
Mrs. Crawley: "I take that as a compliment."
Lady Grantham: "I must've said it wrong."

source

[AdeyC]

Originally Posted by Alfarshear

There's a christmas special on Christmas Day

ITV have put this on at 9pm opposite Eastenders, the most watched UK soap.
This should split the audience and nicely allow Doctor Who to get the No 1 Christmas viewing slot.

They were talking about this on the radio earlier and the third series will be hour long episodes.

[Xepher]

^Can I watch it on Iplayer for free?


Just finished 2 eps of series two One storyline almost had me in tears
But I agree - season 1 is better

[AdeyC]

Originally Posted by Alfarshear

^Can I watch it on Iplayer for free?

It's not a BBC programme - it's ITV - http://www.itv.com/

no idea if it works outside the UK though

[Sam L]

Has anyone seen Upstairs, Downstairs? I think it was on Australian TV the other day. I missed it. Some people who've seen both say it's better than Downton or the original Downton.

I might check it out.

I don't download anything. So I'll have to wait for the second season to be on TV. This is going to be a long wait.

[Sam L]

This is a comedy sketch of Downton from BBC comic relief night. I thought it was funny.

[Sam L]

Part two

[Xepher]

Originally Posted by AdeyC

It's not a BBC programme - it's ITV - http://www.itv.com/

no idea if it works outside the UK though

I mean Itv player oops

if it works in the UK I should be fine

I have no TV in the house

[AdeyC]

Originally Posted by Sam L

Has anyone seen Upstairs, Downstairs? I think it was on Australian TV the other day. I missed it. Some people who've seen both say it's better than Downton or the original Downton.

I might check it out.

Yes, it was first on in the 70's and is always repeated on tv here. It's seen by many as one of the best British shows ever, which it probably was. Downton is very good, but U-D is the best of the two.

[Xepher]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pym3UoN-dbk

finished series two yesterday
this scene is so well made (I won't spoil it here)

Tomorrow is Christmas day, the special is coming!!!