Downton Abbey Season 5 Finale (The UK Christmas Special)

SPOILER ALERT! This post is intended for those who have already viewed Downton Abbey Season 5 Finale- The UK Christmas Special

Well Carson finally did it! It took an admission of poverty from Mrs. Hughes to spur him on, but he finally did it!

Mr. Carson: "I do want to be stuck with you...I'm not marrying anyone else"
Mrs. Hughes: "Of course I'll marry you, you old Booby! I thought you'd never ask!"

Ah, heartwarming stuff from Uncle Julian for Christmas Day in the UK. He learnt his lesson after killing off Matthew a few years ago. Last year we had Carson and Mrs. Hughes wading at the seaside, and this year we were crying over Tom's touching remembrance of Sybil in the nursery. Good tears however! And Carson's proposal!

Isobel and Violet had me laughing out loud a few times tonight although they both had some very touching scenes together and with their respective amours.

Isobel: "Proposals. Propositions. Not what one expects at our age."

I love the addition of Matthew Goode as Mary's new love interest. Please let this be the beginning of lots of Matthew next season. Mary looked pretty darned aroused as he jumped into his sports car and zoomed away. Well done!

The second best looking character in this episode was Brancaster Castle (Alnwick Castle the home of the Duke of Northumberland and his kickass Duchess). We have seen this lovely property standing in for Hogwarts in Harry Potter but it is breathtaking!

Alun Armstrong rather stole the show a few times with his evil butler Stowell, whose permanent expression of distaste is hilarious! A rather fun matching of evil wits between Barrow and Stowell. And the interesting but unlikely personality transplant of Lord Sinderby after Rose's heroics were entertaining. Again, Rose and Atticus are just soooo adorable. I'm going to miss them when they go to America.

Molesley and Baxter were also vying for adorable couple of the night when they spent their days off together pubbing in York...OK, trying to verify Mr. Bates's alibi. And I refuse to say anything more about the ridiculous Bates storyline in protest. End it now Julian Fellowes!

And I will end with Matthew Goode in his fast car. Phwoar!

Mary: "Heavens, what a snappy chariot. Mr. Rogers clearly has hidden depths."
Henry Talbot: "It's mine. But thanks for the compliment!"



Other Best Lines of the Week:

Violet: Lord Sinderby, Branson and Barrow. Not what I call a recipe for a peaceful weeks shooting.
Isobel: Makes you wonder what they'll be shooting at by the end of it!
Violet: Bwahhaha!

Violet: I am sad to say I shall never again receive an immoral proposition from a man. Was I so wrong to savour it?

Mary: Suffice it to say the butler is back in his box.

Branson: You see where I come from there are quite a few Marigolds.

Isobel: And You've never strayed again.
Violet: I've never risked everything again.
Isobel: That's not quite what I asked.
Violet: It's all the answer you'll get.

Sybbie: Donk!

Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 8

SPOILER ALERT! This post is intended for those who have already seen Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 8

Isis is gone and Anna is in the clink. What the heck is wrong with Julian Fellowes??? He has got to be kidding. Just when you think that we are in the clear with Bates, the police inspectors come to the house for the umpteenth time looking for someone short! (sound of hair being torn out by me).

On a lighter note, a wedding is a great way to finish the series (well we still have the Christmas Episode next week). Even if we did have to put up with Mrs. Shrimpy aka "Insane Mother" and Lord Sinderby aka "His Crustiness". Poor Rose and Atticus! They are sooooo adorable and deserve much better. Thank goodness the silly setup photos of Atticus didn't throw Rose off more than momentarily. Mrs. Shrimpy has done her worst now but it looks like Lord Sinderby is going to be trouble in the future.

Thank goodness Daisy didn't bolt in the big metropolis after all. You have a farm to run in Yorkshire my dear! And what was the nonsense with Denker and the new footman about? Is she the new O'Brien come to stir things up? Can't wait to see her lock horns with both Formerly Evil Thomas and Delightfully Snotty Spratt in the future.

Lovely acting from Mrs. Patmore this week. However I am glad the memorial story line is finally finished.

Prince Kuragin certainly gave Dame Maggie some pause for thought. Did he have to refer to wanting to hop into the sack with the Dowager however? Shudder! I hope she will send him on his way. Now Isobel however should really get together with Lord Merton. Fingers crossed for that relationship.

Tom is going to Boston, Mary is being sad instead of being horrible and Lord Grantham is finally in on the Edith and Marigold story. I wondered when the penny would drop now that Marigold is living at Downton.

Well, I will leave you with this lovely full length photo of Lady Rose in her drop dead gorgeous wedding dress. I believe it was a vintage find by the costume department. Bravo!!! Click on the photo to enlarge it for a better look.

Best Lines of the Week 

Lady Mary: Why does she (Edith) have to carry on as if she'd invented motherhood?

Countess Violet: Though love may not conquer all, it can conquer quite a lot.

Prince Kuragin: I wish to spend my final years with you. As a friend. As a lover. I don't seek scandal. Only love.

Daisy: London is full of possibilities. Sometimes I think my life has no possibilities at all. I feel as if I've been down a coal hole and someone's opened a lid and brought me into the sunlight.

Susan Flintshire: Do you find it difficult to get staff?
Lady Sinderby: Not really. But then, we're Jewish. So we pay well. (snap!)

Lord Sinderby: Divorce signifies weakness, degradation, scandal, failure.

Countess Violet: My dear, love is a far more dangerous motive than dislike.

PS Thank-you to my fave character Molesley (and I suppose Julian Fellowes) for making me look up the Wallace Collection. I must see that if I am in London.

Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 7

SPOILER ALERT! This post is intended for those who have already seen Downton Abbey Series 5 Episode 7

Isis!!!!!! I can't see to write this for the tears. It's almost as bad as losing our darling Sybil! I have to say that as corny as Julian Fellowes' writing is at times, I really loved the tender scene at the end of this episode. If we had to lose Isis, at least she got to die with dignity surrounded by love. Cora is right. May we all be so lucky when our time comes.

On a lighter note, the young ladies of Downton are now sorted for a while. Lady Rose is engaged to her Atticus Aldridge. Could we have a happy ending on Downton for a change? Well, perhaps not with Rose's mum the ever spiky Susan appearing back from India.

But the lame "tableau" at the Cinema seemed to have done the trick for Mabel Lane Fox and Tony. By the way, do the Brits really pronounce it Kinema or is that just Charles showing off his Public School Latin pronunciation? And I suppose Charles bogging off to Poland is just another future history lesson on the Nazis from Julian Fellowes? Sigh!

The weirdness with Lady Edith bringing Marigold to Downton was odd even for this show. And can we finally put the Anna/Bates/Mr. Rapist story to rest? No, I suppose not.

I must say I do enjoy the fireworks at every other dinner scene at Downton. Larry Merton is every bit as much fun as the redheaded school teacher.

And Molesley snickering below stairs at Tom Branson's use of the word "bastard" in reference to horrible Larry Merton had me in stitches. I LOVE Molesley! Possibly the best character ever to arrive at Downton Abbey! More Molesley!!!

My next fave is Spratt and his keeping the Dowager Lady Violet from getting too comfortable with her new maid Denker. But again, I adored the tenderness with which Violet admitted to bitchy Mary how much she will miss the company of Isobel when she leaves. Awwwwww. But how sad Isobel looked saying farewell to her Dickie man. Oh dear!

I suppose we have to say goodbye to Lady Rose so she can go and publicize her role as Cinderella (in the live action Disney film with Daisy as one of her evil stepsisters- more on that later next month).

And does Tom Branson have to take Sybbie to Boston? She is so adorable playing Pooh sticks with her papa and throwing hunks of moss into the stream saying "Why...why...?" Why indeed Sybbie.

Best Lines of the Week (mostly Dame Maggie this week):

Countess Violet: He's a man. Men don't have rights. (Snort!)

Countess Violet: My dear, a lack of compassion can be as vulgar as an excess of tears. (only Violet can put Mary in her place like this!)

Countess Violet: I've got used to having a companion. A friend, someone to talk things over with. Isobel and I had a lot in common. I shall miss that.

Spratt: She (Denker) takes after the dachshund. She is quite untrainable.

Lord Grantham: If you ask me, it's absolutely crackers! (for once, he's right)

Mr. Mason: Education is power. Don't forget that. There's no limit to what you can achieve...There are millions out there who could have done so much if they'd only been given an education. (I hope many young viewers watching in many countries take this to heart. Bless "Lord Fellowes" for being a socialist after all. Hurrah!)

Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 6

SPOILER ALERT! This post is intended for those who have already seen Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 6

Great Episode! My goodness a lot happened in this one, and it was all fabulous! Champagne and ice cream for Edith and Marigold, as they have finally broken free from Downton and taken off, likely to run the newspaper in London. I think that was the best possible reaction to the news about Mr. Gregson. Bravo Edith!

And I was very happy that Edith told off Lady Mary before she left. Atticus Aldridge didn't seem put off by the sisterly squabbling: "I'm sorry Mr. Aldridge but you might as well know what we're like."

And Lady Mary is back in the saddle again, bobbed hair and all. I can't wait to see her string Charles Blake along now and try her tricks with him. I think she may find he is not the puppyish follower she is used to. Yeehaw!

Dr. Clarkson says Thomas will have to learn to live with his natural proclivities, and we now are sure that Baxter is a saint! Molesley is a frustrated history teacher and was that a marriage proposal or a business proposition from Carson to Mrs. Hughes? From the smirk on her face I think she assumes the former.

The older set and their romances were simmering away. It seems as though Isobel has decided to accept the proposal from her exalted suitor and Violet seems quite resigned to the fact. These two are getting to be wonderful friends with their cards and their jigsaw puzzles. Lovely!

And one of the steamiest scenes in this episode was between Violet and her Igor. He is one hot Russian silver fox, and if the Dowager Countess could have stopped staring disgustedly at her muddy tea and concentrated on her old flame, her frostiness may have thawed a little. Ah, soon methinks!

Anna and Bates ended up pretty well in this episode too. The happy snuggling is back, now that she knows he didn't off the rapist after all. I hope she sets him straight about Lady Mary's unnamed contraceptive device pretty soon. Does this mean we finally can set this drawn out plot to rest and get down to some "Married Love" between the Bates's? (by the way, does anyone else have an uncontrollable urge to read that Marie Stopes book?

Kudos to Cora for giving it to Lord Grantham about his sanctimonious attitude and telling him to march right back into that marital bed. Man the ladies were hot in this episode!

But Isis is ill? Noooooooo!!!!!!! Just don't let Dr. Clarkson take a look at her. Let's hope it was just a dodgy dead squirrel.

Best Lines of the Week (and they were really good this week!)

French Yorkshireman Hairdresser: At least she can carry it off. Most of them look like bald monkeys.

Dowager Violet to Mary: Oh it is you! I thought it was a man wearing your clothes.

Dowager Violet: All this endless thinking, it's very overrated. I blame the war. Before 1914 no one thought about anything at all.

Lady Edith: I'm just amazed that even you would choose the day after I learn the man I love is dead to try out a new fashion.

Prince Kuragin: I wanted you from the moment I saw you. More than mortal man ever wanted woman.
Countess Violet: That is an historical detail.

Countess Violet: We all pander to Spratt in this house. He rules us with a rod of iron.

Cora: If you can honestly say you have never let a flirtation get out of hand since we married, never given a woman the wrong impression, by all means stay away. Otherwise, I expect you back in my room tonight.

Mabel Lane Fox: Why turn up looking like a cross between a Vogue fashion plate and a crate of dynamite?

Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 5

SPOILER ALERT! This post is intended for those who have already seen Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 5

Well there are nudists in Essex now are there? Very odd to open with this item of news, I thought. How on earth is this relevant? I imagine that Julian Fellowes found this tidbit in his exhaustive research. We should at least have gotten a good Dowager Violet zinger out of it!

Otherwise, there were some great moments in this episode mixed in with rehashed previous stories.

Lady Mary and her next beau Charles cooking up a plan to toss the last beau Tony a bone in the shape of a very prickly but well dressed Mabel Lane Fox. Hmm...In fact, the stars of this episode were the dresses. The brilliant blue number on Lady Mary is divine!

Mrs. Patmore and Mrs. Hughes certainly played Mr. Carson like a violin at the end. "Significant Look" of the week award goes to Carson who shoots a look at Mrs. Hughes like I have never seen before (snigger) when the ladies are trying to break it to him that Mrs. Patmore invested her inheritance as she liked...and then they made him think it was his idea! Brilliant job ladies!

Cora and her randy admirer certainly livened things up when Lord Grantham came back early. I was actually squirming when he hit the front door unexpectedly but Cora stayed composed and cool as a cucumber as usual. It must be the power of those spectacular dresses! Nice to see the Earl get stirred up for a change. But then he throws a silly snit at the cocktail party instead of begging Cora's forgiveness for ignoring her and then tossing her on the bed instead of Mr. Bricker.

Otherwise more of the same. Yawn! Inspectors inspecting. Thomas being a jerk and yet struggling to fit in again. Tom hinting at a big decision again and more nonsense with Lady Edith's bastard child. Ugh!

But Lady Rose and her gorgeous Jewish sweetie! Now there is a story line I can get behind. However, we have seen Rose fall for someone "not of her people" before. First the married guy and then the black jazz singer right? Oh please let this be her Mr. Right!

Best Lines of the Week (and they weren't very good this week)

Countess Violet (to Isobel): Ellen Terry has nothing on you when it comes to stringing out a moment. (NB Ellen Terry was a famous Victorian actress and nobody can string it out like Julian Fellowes!)

Mr. Bates: We'll sit by the fire with all our children around us and I'll keep you safe. (Anyone else find this creepy and weird?)

Isobel (to Violet): You're as infirm as Windsor Castle. (?????)

Rosamund (to Violet): I'm afraid you've read somewhere that rudeness in old age is amusing. And it's quite wrong. (Actually Rosamund, the really good rude zingers are amusing and were missing from this episode!)

Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 4

SPOILER ALERT! This post is intended for those who have already seen Downton Abbey Series 5 Episode 4

The young people's love lives are a disaster and the elderly are Romancing the Abbey! Here is Lady Mary who has been cruelly toying with as many bachelors as she can keep dangling and now she ditches Tony. Well we could see this one coming before the "sketching trip".

I did like the use of some London filming locations like the Peter Pan statue at Kensington Gardens. And the CGI of Anna at Piccadilly Circus was unprecedented for Downton Abbey! If only she didn't have a creepy man following her. Will this Mr. Green sub plot NEVER die?

Poor Lady Edith is finally going to hear what happened to her newspaper man and is now stalking Marigold and the farmer's wife. Egads! At least she is still writing her column...about how the world is changing...actually I would love to read it!

Mr. Bricker aka Richard E Can't, is still sniffing around Cora. Let's hope Robert will soon toss him out in a manner similar to his Miss Bunting blowup in the dining room. I actually rather enjoyed that scene. It sure caused a stir below stairs! Entertainment for Granny and the servants!

And what in heaven's name is going on with Thomas? Is he doing drugs in the attic? The saintly Baxter will find out. And why is Shrimpy back on the scene? We haven't seen him since two Christmas episodes ago, so does what does this mean for Rose? Surely he is not just back to find the wife of Violet's old beau! Extreme foreshadowing of romance for Rose, the blank cheque thing. And that Prince Kuragin is kind of greasy (in a strangely attractive way) but he has livened up the Dowager lately. She is "Imperious. Magnificent." You bet your sweet bippy she is Kuragin!

Lord Merton is my new fave character, since there was no delicious Spratt in this episode. Even matter of fact Isobel Crawley is moved by Lord Merton's heartfelt declaration of love. So she will...think about it. Good grief Isobel! He is adorable, rich and he looooooves you! What the heck?

Isis! More Isis! Look at that adorable face. And wonder of wonders, Lord Grantham finally said something sensible in this episode, wanting to build quality, attractive houses on Pip's Corner. It's about time Robert started talking sense.

The fashion show was kind of fun (or "yummy" as Mary called it). But what is with that hat on Rosamund? And could Julian Fellowes possibly cram more characters into this episode? We have the return of Charles Blake and even Tony's jilted fiancée Mabel Lane Fox. I smell trouble!

Then we have Mrs. Patmore's impassioned plea to Lord Grantham about her shell shocked nephew. Bravo Mrs. Patmore and shame on Carson!

As usual, we can't wait for next week. Cheers!

Best Lines of the Week:

Countess Violet:  Hope is a tease, designed to prevent us from accepting reality.
Isobel:  You only say that to sound clever.
Countess Violet:  I know...you should try it!

Prince Kuragin: Now you are the great lady. Imperious! Magnificent!

Mrs. Patmore (re: Daisy): Mathematics is one thing. She's studying to be a revolutionary now.

Lord Merton: I state freely and proudly Isobel, that I've fallen in love with you. And I want to spend what remains of my life in your company. I believe I could make you happy. I should very much like to try. (Best Downton Abbey line in as long as I can remember!)

Charles Blake: I wish I could work you out.
Lady Mary: I wish I could work me out.

Lord Gillingham: Am I a bad lover? Is that what you are trying to tell me? (Yes Tony, that is exactly what she is trying to tell you!)

Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 3

SPOILER ALERT! This post is intended for those who have already seen Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 3

Well, Lady Mary is on the cutting edge of morality yet again. She seems to have enjoyed the roll in the hay with Tony Gillingham and yet doesn't seem impressed enough to get hitched again. Matthew must be a hard act to follow. I think Mary wants more of a challenge than Tony. He's just too eager!

The Lady Edith and Marigold saga is finally starting to bubble. The poor farmer's wife thought she had abducted Marigold, and I have to admit I was rather thinking that myself. Something is going to give with Lady Edith. I only hope she stays sane.

And good grief! Will we never hear the end of this Mr. Green the rapist valet story? Why can't we have a happy story with the Bates's? Maybe a mini Bates? Never mind...keep going stringing this mystery out of who flung the bastard under the bus, Lord Fellowes. It could have been any number of women in London I would think!

I wonder where Thomas is really going in London? Certainly not to visit his sick father if we know Thomas...and we certainly know Thomas.

Lord Grantham's surprise visit to London backfired big time. And Mr. Bricker is getting pretty cozy with Cora, who seems to be giddy as a school girl with the brazen flattery. But she doesn't seem to have any desire to take it past a flirtation as His Lordship should now be aware!

Daisy is turning into a well educated feminist thanks to the horrid Miss Bunting. By the way, how many times can Miss B come upstairs and make trouble before Lord Grantham sics Isis on her???  I was a little shocked that Daisy had to leave school at age 11 and that she thought education to age 14 would be wonderful. Gosh!

It's lovely that Mrs. Hughes and Carson still seem to be thick as thieves. But even she couldn't change Carson's mind about Mrs. Patmore's nephew. More friction downstairs!

I looooove the appearance of Prince Kuragin, the Russian flirtation of Violet's in the glorious Victorian era. And Lady Mary's sly dig at Granny was perfection! Hurrah! And any guesses whether the Fabergé eggs they were weeping over were real? They look pretty wonderful!

And now Baxter can stay (will the nasty man who forced her to steal show up in a later episode?) and there are plans under consideration to build ugly housing on "Pip's Corner" but Lord Grantham seems horrified even though it would free up some cash for the estate.

"Significant Looks Award" of the week goes to Spratt, Violet's butler and my new favourite character at Downton. Lady Mary's escapades just about popped his eyeballs out. By the way, I just re-watched Julian Fellowes's other masterpiece Gosford Park this weekend and you will find Spratt, Dowager Countess Violet and Mr. Bricker from Downton amongst many other familiar faces from various Period Dramas. I left the closed captioning on this time and caught a few lines I had missed on other viewings. :)

Best Lines of the Week:

Tony Gillingham: I want to acclimate myself with the routines and rituals that will govern the rest of my life. (Ewwwwww! Creepy!)

Lady Mary: I've been tarnished once and I won't be tarnished again.

Isobel: Servants are human beings too.
Violet:  Preferably only on their days off.

Isobel: Hopeless lovers wandering over a desolate moor. If it wasn't Emily Bronte it could be Tolstoy or Gogol.

Countess Violet (to Spratt): What were you imagining? Nothing vulgar, I hope. Nothing beneath the dignity of a butler of this household.

Mrs. Patmore: Sympathy butters no parsnips.

Mrs Hughes: My advice Daisy is to go as far in life as God and luck allow.

Countess Violet: In my day, a lady was incapable of feeling physical attraction before she was instructed to do so by her mama.

Lord Grantham: That an art expert would find your observations on the work of Piero della Francesca impossible to resist, yes, it is hard to believe. (Ouch. You're going to regret that one Robert!)

Lady Mary: Granny has a past!

Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 2

SPOILER ALERT! This post is intended for those who have already seen Season 5 Episode 2

Well, off goes Jimmy into the big world beyond Downton Abbey. I can't help but think it might be a good thing for him. He seems more of a London boy to me. But will Lady Anstruther (Anna Chancellor) return down the road? I certainly hope so. In the meantime, the unlikely friendship between Thomas and Jimmy (Barrow and James) will have to continue through the post.

And the "Significant Looks Award" goes to Anna and Mrs. Hughes for the discovery of the baby photo under Lady Edith's pillow. It reminded me of the Red Nose Day Spoof of Uptown Downstairs Abbey from years ago. And of course there is more of the Lady Edith/Marigold story line. One wonders why Mr. Farmer/Fireman doesn't just tell his wife that Edith is Marigold's mum. Better than having her thinking that there is something between her husband and Edith, surely????

I do like the addition of the Simon Bricker character (played to slimy perfection by Richard E. Grant) who flirts outrageously in front of the ever dense Lord Grantham. Cora deserves a bit of fun now and then and there is much humour in Lord Grantham's jealousy of Mr. Bricker's attention to Isis!

As an aside, apparently Dame Maggie Smith has had an ongoing 20 year long feud with Richard E. Can't as she calls him, which started when they were in a 6 month long stage production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Apparently she lit into him for nodding off during one of the dinner scenes saying "If I can stay awake, you should be able to too". There is more than a bit of the Dowager in Maggie Smith apparently.

Lord Fellowes is definitely setting up a story line for Daisy taking over the farm with her newly found mathematical ability now that the horrid Miss Bunting is teaching her. Go Daisy!!! And said Miss Bunting is so abrasive that she still seems to be driving Branson back upstairs even as she tries to remind him of his revolutionary roots. She is certainly no Lady Sybil. At least she didn't help herself to dinner and then bitch about privilege again. Run Branson, run!!!

The whole war memorial plot is dragging on. Just build the darn memorial on the square already. Sigh. But the sparks are noticeable between Carson and Mrs. Hughes. All of this elder romance is lovely!

Lord Grantham's ongoing cluelessness is highly entertaining. Now it is the wireless that he refuses to embrace. Hugh Bonneville is now getting more comic lines that Dame Maggie! Perhaps Lord G is now finally morphing into his mother?

Lady Mary in Liverpool doing the try before you buy thing with Tony Gillingham seems fairly promising. But I somehow doubt there will be enough fireworks for Mary to commit. If not, she still has Charles Blake from Foyle's War dangling around. I have to say Anna at the chemist was a real hoot. The poor dear couldn't get more embarrassed. But if they don't stop flogging the Mr. Bates investigation I may...well...go on twitter during the program?

Lord Merton's wooing of Isobel (with romantic talk of quarantine and a visit to his lovely home) continues happily, to the Dowager's consternation. Poor Dr. Death looks ever more uncomfortable with the rich dude trying to steal his beloved medical partner.

Lady Rose is going to help the Russian refugee aristos in York. That sounds promising!

And Molesley is still falling for Baxter, despite her known criminal past. Hurrah!

Best Lines of the Week

Anna (to Lady Mary): Honestly my lady, you'd better hope I never write my memoirs!

Mr. Molesley: Do I take it that I am now first footman?
Carson: You are the only footman. You are first, second, third and last. Make what you will of it.

Lord Grantham: I find the whole idea a kind of thief of life, that people should waste hours huddled around a wooden box listening to someone talking at them. It's a fad...it won't last.

Countess Violet: Mrs. Crawley is never happier than when she has a chance to use her guiding hand.

Lord Grantham: I'm not very good at abroad.

Charles Blake: I love Rose's definition of ordinary life. Dancing and shopping and seeing one's friends.

Charles Blake: Plantagenets are as susceptible as housemaids when it comes to sex.

Lord Grantham: I'm not having Sybil's only child snatched from everyone she loves to be brought up by some harpie in an American sewer.

Lord Grantham: Tell your friend Bricker to stop flirting with Isis. There is nothing more ill bred than trying to steal the affections of someone else's dog. (Really Lord G? Nothing?)

Daisy: Why is it called a wireless when it has so many wires?

Cheers until next week! And again for anyone who hasn't yet seen it, the Text Santa Downton spoof with George Clooney aka Lord George Ocean Gravity, the Marquis of Hollywood. Guffaw!
Part 1
Part 2

Congrats to Joanna Froggatt for her Golden Globe win! Very classy speech!

Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 1

SPOILER ALERT! This post is intended for those who have already seen Season 5 Episode 1

Downton Abbey is back! Much as I dislike the fact that we have to wait 4 months later than the Brits for our Downton fix, it does help to brighten the cold dark winter months doesn't it? I keep asking myself why I enjoy this miniseries so much and all I come up with is that the eye candy and the humour keep me going. That and the fact that Julian Fellowes has us truly attached to these characters after all these years and event.

I mean Lady Mary is going all slutty-Season-1 again for us (hurrah!), Thomas (I still can't get used to calling him Barrow) is still doing his evil even without O'Brien egging him on. And the tenderness between good old Molesley and Cora's new ladies maid with the secret is adorable. I just love Molesley! The hair dye thing was a hoot!

Many thanks to Lord Fellowes for writing Anna Chancellor a wonderfully cougarish part as Lady Anstruther, who has to come sniffing around for Jimmy when he doesn't reply to her letters. Bravo!

And Lady Edith's frustration with the whole Michael Gregson/lost to the Nazis/Marigold being raised by the farmer-come-fireman, conveniently gave us the mini-fire plot mover. Edith chucks the book in the fire, Thomas Barrow is saved again and off goes Jimmy to London!

But the whole Miss Sarah Bunting thing is really getting to me I am afraid. What a horrible character. She is enough to keep Branson as toffee-nosed as Lord Grantham would want for the moment. Ugh!

So with Daisy learning Algebra, the tedious war memorial plot, Lord Merton sniffing around Isabel to Dowager Violet's chagrin and Baby Sybbie calling her grandfather Donk, we have a promising start to the new Downton Abbey year!

Now let's just get Lady Rose married off, or at least Lady Mary or Lady Edith. We need a real wedding for a change!

Best Lines of the Week:

Lord Grantham: I couldn't care less if he was the son of Foo Manchu!

Countess Violet: There's nothing simpler than avoiding people you don't like. Avoiding one's friends, that's the real test!

Countess Violet to Lord Grantham: Your father always told the village what they wanted.

Sarah Bunting: The rule of the gong. It sounds like life in a religious order.

Lady Shackleton: A single peer with a good estate won't be lonely long, if he doesn't want to be.
Countess Violet: You sound like Mrs. Bennett!

Lord Grantham: Do people think we're a public house on the great road north?

Lord Grantham: Molesley, you look very Latin all of a sudden. Do you have Italian blood?

Lady Ansthruther: Look at your parents, thirty-four years. I'd never manage it. That's the advantage of an older husband. One gets an early release.

Countess Violet: Principles are like prayers. Noble of course, but awkward at a party.

Happy 2015 and for an extra treat, here is a link to the George Clooney Downton Abbey spoof which was an ITV fundraiser for Text Santa. It's a hoot, especially Maggie Smith literally rolling on the floor laughing after having her hand kissed by George Ocean Gravity, The Marquis of Hollywood!

Lord Hollywood Part 1

Lord Hollywood Part 2