Downton Abbey - Series 1 [DVD]

I was looking forward to watching this again but on watching it realised Amazon are using the PBS version edited for the USA , it is cut to pieces with storylines cut , linking scenes removed which at times makes one wonder how you got form A to B. It was mentioned when the show was airing on Tv that PBS edited it for the USA audience , two hours was cut from Series 1 alone and then the other series are butchered. The cuts were confirmed when they aired Series 1"𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐜𝐚 𝐄𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐁𝐒 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 - 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 - 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 '𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝' 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬. 𝐀𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭, 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐓𝐕, 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬"A shame Amazon has chosen to show the US version in the UK as it was a good series

Downton Abbey Series I confirms that there is nothing that comes close to a British made Period drama, especially this one and 'Cranford'and 'Lard Rise to Candleford'. In fact, in spite of the fact that Downton Abbey took the Emmy Award for 2011, i personally thought that the latter two were the better films and this is due to the fact that the plot in Downton Abbey sometimes stretches the line of credibility.Having said the above, this sumptious costume drama set in England in the years leading up to the First World War about the complicated community of Downton Abbey makes rivetting television viewing. It is about the lives of the Crawley family that have owned Downton Abbey for generations and the lives of the servants of this prestigious family.I will not elaborate on the plot, other than to say the servants know the secrets of the family while the family know so few of theirs.The acting from the whole cast is impeccable and while Maggie Smith has been singled out, they all give magnificent performances. Needless to say the cinemtography is outstanding and the attention to detail brilliant. Just one small thing in the opening to the film, the camera follows telephone lines, multiple ones, that would not have been in place at that time(I'm being picky!!!).An excellent TV series worthy of place in your film collection.

I hate ironing but I got through a backlog of ironing without noticing! This is a very entertaining and gripping story, wonderfully acted and the settings and sumptuous costumes are a pleasure to the eye. The only downside is the format of the video which presents each episode as a separate section and I would have thought that it would be an easy matter to stream all the episodes into one continuous viewing. At the end of each episode you have to select the next which can be a bit confusing. There are 3 discs. That aside it is a wonderful rainy winter's afternoon's entertainment not to be missed and I cannot wait for series 2 due out in September!You will relish the exchanges between Maggie Smith (who has always been a wonderful actress - I don't understand why she has not been made a Dame yes) and Elizabeth McGovern, full of propriety, pinched acidity but eventually tolerating each other in agreement. The entire cast provides superb acting and the narrative is rich in information, plots and subplots, understairs politics, greed and redemption. You can see the passing of a century and people's lives changing over time. What makes this better than Uptstairs Downstairs is the cast and the superb acting. Not to be missed. You will enjoy every minute of it.

It is very rare that I find a television show that is so well-done and such a pure unadulterated joy to watch that there isn't a single thing I would change --- "Downton Abbey" is such a show!I was intrigued right from the beginning of episode 1, and for me there was not a dull moment in the entire series. The story follows the daily lives of both the residing family and the staff of the house, and I found both to be utterly fascinating.Every character is lovingly drawn, every actor's performance absolutely spot-on, and every scene is done with incredible attention to detail. All of this --- along with the great writing and directing and the beautiful cinematography --- adds up to a series that is simply pitch-perfect!If there is one complaint I have then it is that this first season was much too short! Only 7 episodes --- that really isn't much. I wish there had been more episodes, but from what I hear they are filming season 2 right now so I can look forward to that ... :o)

This is one of those series that got everyone talking and I had missed out on. When the hype about it simply did not cease I guessed it was about time I did something about it and, rather than waiting for Series 1 to come around on Blighty, Gold, Yesterday or whatever I took the plunge and bought the DVD. Disappointed? I think not! 'Upstairs Downstairs' is brilliant and whilst 'Downtown' is set during the same years it's on a different scale - certainly a more sweeping epic than that wonderful homely drama (well, the 70s version, anyway!). After an initial period of adjustment, getting the characters sorted out and so on, the series quickly grew on me and had me exclaiming at the screen (pointless exercise!); so much so that now I've reached the end of the set (Episode 7) I shall have to fork out again to continue the tale and find out what happened to the Granthams, Mr. Bates, Anna, Thomas, Miss O'Brien and so on as WWI draws the household, and the country, into its turmoil. If, like me, you've missed out and you can spare the odd evening or two to watch one of those truly great dramas that British TV is so consummately brilliant at making, then don't dilly dally any longer ... Get It!