Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey Season 1 (2011)

There appears to be two (2) editions of Downton Abbey....in watching the past 3 episodes as presented on my PBS station, I have become increasingly aware that the editing was very "jumpy"....short short sequences to a meaningful story line.....then, I discovered that there is an edition, UK edition, that is full length....meaning there are 7 episodes in total....the edition being shown on my local PBS station, is all of 4 episodes....and the shifty scenes that I am observing on the Sunday night presentation have been edited for USA viewers.

To me, this is ruinous to a finely produced English landscape, pre-world war I.

Just be more alert to this. I am not aware of any information from my PBS station to this effect, that I am indeed viewing a condensed version of Downton Abbey....

I have just purchased DVD, UK edition of Downton Abbey to view in my home....this should be a more in-depth story, without the shifting of scenes that add up to being difficult to the entire story line.

EDIT: I am revising my post and giving this 5 Stars instead of one as PartlyCloudy has kindly pointed out that my review of the PBS version has ended up under the "UK version". There is much confusion out there since the infamous Daily Mail article claimed that a full two hours of the original ITV series had been cut by PBS. Many claim the cuts are minor and unnoticeable. I'd venture to guess that about 35 minutes were edited out of the original, but more importantly, it was a hack job and many scenes do not play out as intended. Below is my slightly revised review of the PBS version which you should avoid at all costs:

Do not buy the so-called "dumbed down" PBS version of the outstanding British ITV series Downton Abbey. We watched the entire series with great joy while in the UK last year, and after excitedly telling our American friends to watch Downton Abbey on PBS, my husband and I looked at each other in horror and confusion as we watched one butchered scene after another. Don't be misled by those who recalculate the running time to account for the removal of commercials (from the ITV version) or the reformatting to shorten the series by increasing episode length (7 episodes in the UK, 4 longer episodes in the US). The fact is, SCENES WERE OMITTED AND OR TRUNCATED because as PBS Executive Producer Rebecca Eaton shamefully admitted, "American audiences demand a `different speed' to their shows." She also claimed that American audiences would have trouble understanding the complicated inheritance issues. Wow. This is an extraordinary admission from a PBS executive. Don't people turn to PBS for an intelligent alternative to the idiocy of American commercial television? I submit it is Rebecca Eaton who is dumb, not the PBS viewership.

There is apparently a Region 2 version of the unedited ITV series on Amazon (EDIT: and now we see there is an "unedited UK" version provided by PBS though I have not seen it and cannot attest that it's the actual ITV version), so just check your tech specs before buying or search elsewhere. And for the much anticipated season two of Downton Abbey when it premieres later this year, get a UK VPN and stream it from the ITV Player. Each episode remains available for streaming for several weeks after it airs. Note: Many inadvertently refer to this as a BBC series. It is in fact an ITV production.

Shame, shame, shame on Rebecca Eaton and PBS.

Buy Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey Season 1 (2011) Now

Julian Fellowes has mined his script for Gosford Park, and took a few cues from the beloved 1970s series Upstairs, Downstairs Collector's Edition Megaset (The Complete Series plus Thomas and Sarah), to create Downton Abbey, a stunning and colorful drama set around the aristocratic Crawley family and the staff which serves them. Set between 1912 and 1914, Downton Abbey chronicles the conflict of class, gender, and politics, and serves it up with a refreshing dollop of sizzle and scandal. Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, and Dame Maggie Smith (as Robert, Earl of Grantham, Cora, Countess of Grantham, and Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham, respectively) are knock outs, but the rest of the cast are no slouches either, with the stunning Michelle Dockery at the forefront as Lady Mary Crawley, who is the selfish, proud, and vindictive eldest daughter you can't help but like. The actors and the stunning interiors of Highclere Castle, home to the Earls of Carnarvon, give Downton Abbey a glossy, sophisticated sheen, even when the script's twists and turns can be a bit of a let-down. Nevertheless, the drama is engrossing and invigorating, and a worthy addition to the collection of any period drama aficionado--and anyone who likes good drama, period!

Read Best Reviews of Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey Season 1 (2011) Here

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.

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It says right on the DVD that this is the original UK version. Masterpiece apparently did make very slight changes to this one for the US market. Don't get fooled by some stupid journalist from the UK saying that they had cut out 2 hours. Those were 2 hours of commercials that they cut out as this aired on commercial ITV in the UK, not on public BBC!!!!

By the way, this has one same sex kiss in it, so if you are SO conservative that you cannot stand to view that, then do not purchase this.

However, I adored this and everyone I recommended it to loved it as well. Lots of gorgeous costumes and the filming location, Highclere Castle is absolutely breathtaking. Maggie Smith is at her best with her haughty and opinionated Dowager Countess and the rest of the cast is spot on as well.

Thank-you ITV and Masterpiece for giving us another wonderful miniseries. So much better than most of the drivel or violence on television today. Loved, loved, loved it!!!!!!!!!Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey

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