Downton Abbey: Season 4

I was worried that, at this point, the series would have gone stale. It's so hard for a TV series to remain fresh year after year. It's even harder when it's a series that is constrained by a certain time period. If you think about it, the Abbey is somewhat of a prison, as most of the action takes place there. They are also limited by what happened in history, rather than creating what is or what could be now.However, I was delighted to find that the series was still interesting and yes, fun. And some of what I'm going to say may contain spoilers if you haven't watched the third season, and then I am going to discuss some of the plot from this season, so...SPOILER ALERT! Dame Maggie Smith was in her element and stole the show in every scene in which she participated. She's just so GOOD in this role. I admire actors who can take on a character who would be so easily hated and make them lovable (such as Alan Rickman with Snape in the Harry Potter movies.) I loved how kind she was to Lady Edith and to Isobel.I also enjoyed Penelope Wilton's Isobel, as she beautifully took us through the grieving of her son. And the interactions between Maggie Smith and her were quite wonderful.Michelle Dockery continues to amaze me with her restrained performance of Lady Mary. Every trouble in the world is laid at her feet, and then people wonder why she can be hard as nails? Can't imagine why! She also did a great job in conveying her grief over the loss of Matthew.Finally, Joanne Froggat did a beautiful job in such a difficult performance. The emotions she portrayed, the way they showed in her face, even the way she held herself...she's truly talented.If I had some complaints, it would be these (SPOILER ALERT):1. Can there be no happiness for long for Mr. and Mrs. Bates? First he's in jail, now she's raped. I'm not saying it's not realistic - life can be very hard - but can they have SOME joy?2. I'm dying to know Baxter's background. I can't believe it was not revealed at all.3. I couldn't remember what Daisy and Ivy were fighting about and honestly, it was just way too much for too long.4. The whole Prince of Wales letter debacle was just, well, stupid. Felt completely out of place.Still, great job by the whole cast and the storylines were mostly interesting and enjoyable.Highly recommend.

One part period production, two parts soap-opera = a guilty pleasure

Note: The extras on the DVD were good behind-the-scenes items, but I would have also liked the after-show presentations they had on PBS. I was really looking forward to those, and that's the only reason I rated this a 4 instead of a 5.)WHEW! a lot happened in Season 4, didn't it?!? (As far as I can tell, those who said there was no character development hadn't watched past the first couple of shows.)SPOILERS (as I address others' comments)-- Regarding Edna, and why `clueless Cora' hired her: first, obnoxious Rose stepped in (AGAIN) where she was not invited. And remember, in Season 3 Edna was the clean-up-committee. She was rarely in a room with the family and she was at Downtown a very brief time. That's why Cora only vaguely remembered her, which is believable.-- Someone mentioned they don't know where the Edith's baby storyline came from. It came from the episode where she spent the night with Michael just before he left for Germany. There, he was set upon by some of Hitler's "brown shirts" and even his newspaper isn't sure what's happened to him. We watched Edith grow stronger as she makes company decisions for Michael (using her power-of-attorney privileges) and she does all of this while working through a way to hide her pregnancy (Aunt Rosamund to the rescue). Good to have a show go the adoption route rather than abortion. Nice touch.-- I DO hope Rose isn't a big factor in Season 5. O'Brien, Thomas, and Rose are the "Barney Fife" characters in this series, for me. They become tedious to watch and you wish they'd just go away (which, thankfully, O'Brien did). Newsflash to Julien, BBC, PBS, etc.: the younger crowd was watching Downton before you added an obnoxious teenager. If you keep Rose, could you please make her grow up q-u-i-c-k-l-y and keep the sweet parts of her character? Othewise, she tiring.-- To a totally different ... and tragic ... topic, they would have lost me if they hadn't come to a fulfilling conclusion after the rape. An American production would have dragged that on a couple of years. Dragging in on for a couple of episodes was bad enough. Once John knew what was going on, we all could relax a bit (instead of the constant "Tell him!" tension.)-- EXCELLENT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IN SEASON 4.Joseph Molesley (we discover his first name) becomes much stronger, and Cora's new lady's maid - Miss Baxter - finally tells off Thomas. I hope they continue the Molesley/Baxter storyline, because they deserve each other in a nice way :->. Edith is heading to Germany, which has me a little nervous. "Levinson" is often from a German/Jewish background. Not sure if that's going to play a part in Edith's safety, going into a bad situation. Do any historians out there know when the Nazis began looking to the nth degree on ancestry for an excuse to kill people? If Edith stays, she may be in danger.-- Excited for Alfred as he finally makes it to underchef at the Ritz. His dream-come-true is on its way. Will he send for Daisy after all (as he once did for Ivy), or will she take up her former father-in-law's offer to take a place at his farm (her inheritance)? The Daisy/Ivy loggerhead was nicely solved with Ivy heading to America with the Levinsons. Hoping we'll see more of the Harold/Madeleine relationship. Julian left it open.-- Good Mrs. Patmore/Daisy moments throughout the season, which were nice to see. We discover Carson's long-lost-love. Julian has given us an impossible choice when it comes to Mary's suitors. All three are good candidates, but I'm rooting for Tony :->. I'm hoping his honesty about Charles - when it was to Tony's detriment - gives him some extra points - ha!

シリーズ３を観終わってすぐに４を観ようとしている方へ。その前にDownton Abbey: A Journey to the Highlandsというタイトルのクリスマススペシャル版を観ることをおすすめします。シリーズの３と４との間に大きな人事異動があったようで、重要人物が突然いなくなったり、新しく鍵をにぎる登場人物が突然現れたりします。 A Journey to the Highlandsにその辺のドラマ的いきさつが描かれているので、観ていないと混乱します。と、いうわけで、私はやっとシリーズ４を観始めました。観終わったら改めて評価をし直したいと思います。楽しみです。

特典のメイキングを見て、恐ろしいほどの手間、費用がかかっていることが良くわかりました。映像のクオリティは相変わらず高く、他に類を見ないドラマであることには変わりありません。シリーズ3および2012クリスマススペシャル（A Journey to the Highlands）まで見ていて、続編を楽しみに待っていたなら買いだと思います。なお、2013クリスマススペシャル（London season）は含まれていません。　やむを得ないことですが、Matthewがいなくなった穴はやはり大きく、それを埋めるためにやや無理をしてストーリーを展開している印象はありました。ただ、ストーリーの多少の不自然さは目をつむって、「上質、高級な昼ドラ」と割り切って楽しむのであれば問題ないでしょう。恋愛、相続以外に、貴族には逆流となる時代の流れもテーマだと思いますが、その点でも進展があって、興味深かったです。　今まではイギリスのアマゾンから直接購入していましたが、これに関してはUKのアマゾン価格が割高だったため、出品者さんから購入しました。10日あまりで、海外から直送されました。UK版DVDのため、音声、字幕とも英語のみです。リージョンコードは日本と同一で問題ありませんが、PAL対応再生機かパソコンでの鑑賞になります。

As I expected, very good!Cannot wait for next season to come!

Watched it and it was great. Now in Australia with family catching up with it. They have just received it and are keeping it for Christmas Night.

I bought this for my mother in law, she loves the series of downtown abbey. She missed a few of the last series, but she can watch them as much as she wants now. Thank you. Will recommend this seller.