Downton Abbey - Series 5

Enjoying this series more than I expected to. Maggie Smith as ever the top draw- her every remark a delight. Although references to Britain's first 'Socialist government' a bit wide of the mark- Ramsey McDonald formed a minority Labour government in 1924 which lasted for a year before being swept out of office by Stanley Baldwin's Conservatives and pursued on the whole fairly moderate 'left wing' policies (they had to). I do not think it proposed to nationalise land held by hereditary peers and on tax was less radical than Lloyd George had been as Liberal prime minister with Conservative support during and immediately after WWI. One small but important criticism. I agree with the reviewer who said that Downton Abbey is generally very well historically-researched. But in series 5 just ending on TV there is one major error- admittedly over quite a small thing but it is a vital part of the plot! This is to do with Bates' non-visit to London from York. He bought a train ticket in York and intended to go to London and confront Anna's rapist, Green, but changed his mind. In an earlier series, the ticket had been discovered in his old coat pocket and eventually Mary had disposed of it with the aim of helping Bates. But in the latest series we learnt that the ticket would be crucial in proving Bates' innocence in the face of renewed police probing into his movements on the day Green was killed in London. The crucial thing was that as the ticket was not used for travel it was "untorn". So if Bates could produce the untorn ticket it would refute any claim he must have been in London, as if he had actually uised the ticket to travel to London it would have been "torn". Some faulty research here..train tickets then were not like bus tickets! Even in the 1950s and 1960s railway tickets were still the classic Edmonson type- tickets made of small rectangular cardboard that was quite stiff (I have a few). I know it might seem a bit train spotter-ish but no train ticket in the 1920s would ever have been torn! (Actually quite difficult to do to a small cardboard oblong). It would have been CLIPPED by the on board train ticket collector not torn. I know as I said a small point perhaps but its a pity when things like this are wrong because many viewers take their historical information from TV series like Downton. Somebody didn't do their research or as I have found often with railway matters (use of British Rail-era 1950s locos in a series set pre-WWII etc) they are regarded as not that important. But every detail counts in the authenticity of a high-quality mass-viewed TV drama series.

After catching glimpses of season 3 while my wife was watching it, I became hooked on Downton Abbey. Like most Americans I found myself entranced by the lifestyle of the British aristocracy and its anachronistic desire to never give in to social change and the demotion of their class. It plays like a soap opera but with such quality actors and scripts that it assumes the mantel of an epic. I proceeded to "binge watch" all 4 seasons. When the final episode concluded I felt abandoned, so many situations left hanging, too many familiar faces I'd grown to love or hate suspended in a limbo controlled by the whims of commoners who hold sway on schedules and production and editing. I could not accept that I would be held hostage until the season 5 began to show here in the former colony in January of 2015. I concluded that to feed my fix I should go to the motherland's sources for my dose of Downton. I ordered it from Amazon UK and had it in a week. I spent another decent sum to get a multi- region bluray DVD player just for this set. By Christmas my wife and I had relished every episode and all the extras. But you crafty British folk knew my Achiles heel and left me even more unsettled mysteries to ponder. And the final blow was the preview of season 6. Now all I can do is check this site every week in 2015 until I see that my drug of choice, season 6 of the best show I have ever viewed, is available to pull me back into its web.

Ok

Enjoyed watching

This is such a good show, I love Downton despite its faults and I'm looking forward to the DVD release. I hope there will be some good extras. I do think though that series 5 should be the final one, nobody has aged very much at all not even the Dowager and there is a danger now of having too much of a good thing. I would not usually comment until having seen the DVD but decided to add my views on the show in general as this seems to be acceptable today. Just finished watching the 3 DVD's (November 2014) and it's brilliant with great extras. Looking forward to the Christmas special and can now see the possibilities for a series 6. Still a danger though of having too much of a good thing! To those posting low star reviews: please stick to the programme or the DVD. The review option is not, as far as I understand, a platform for comments unrelated to the product on sale. Please find the appropriate forum to air your personal views, thank you.

Even after five seasons, Downton remains as entertaining and engaging as ever. The actors do such a brilliant job bringing the characters to life that we can forgive the obvious soapishness of the series. What I find harder to forgive, particularly given the extensive research and fact-checking that Julian Fellowes is known to do, is his lack of attention to linguistic anachronisms. OK, we accept that the general style of speech is somewhat modernized, to make it easier on the ear. But there are limits. Earlier series treated us to such expressions as "on a steep learning curve" (spoken by Matthew -- twice), a piece of late-20th-century officespeak derived from the first use of the term "learning curve" in 1936. Series 5 treats us to "parallel universe", a term from the 1950s later popularized in Star Trek and other sci-fi stories. In spite of these slips, I continue to be a Downton addict. I am ordering this DVD without hesitation and I am looking forward to the Christmas Special.

This is for US residents who use Amazon UK: I live in California and have used Amazon UK for years to get an early look at your publications (i.e. Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Downton Abbey.) I received the fifth series of Downton Abbey and sat down with a drink to enjoy the first few episodes a few months before the US release. The disk would not play. After searching the internet, I found, a bit late, that most movie and TV producers have placed codes into the Bulray disks (and many other items) that prevent play or use in another zone/ region. There are six zones. If you have an older Bluray player, the UK zoned disks will work here, or you can find ways to make them play posted. However, if you update your Firmware, they will not play. Merry Christmas... The alternative is to order a new Bluray player that has been physically altered to accept all disks. I just bought a new Samsung, altered to play all disks, that sold for about $40. US more than the zoned model. Just my small shout in the dark from a "Silicon Valley" resident. Ps I rated five stars as I like the series and I could not post without a rating...

My wife is a Downton Abbey fan and I must say I like to watch it too. Have not been disappointed by any of the series to date, Season 5 being no exception. It obviously has some somewhat hard to believe plots that do not take away the overall good quality that underlines this show. We all need villains and heroes for a good story. Thomas would have been history some time ago in real life. I am by no means a prude but what makes Downton even better for me is the lack of unnecessary profane language and nudity that so often these day is required. Great series... keep it up. Look forward to number six