(The creator Julian Fellowes)Downton Abbey started here last Sunday on PBS and we were not disappointed. The second of four episodes will show tonight on PBS Masterpiece and I just can't wait. Set in a typically gorgeous English country estate, it opens in 1912 in a world that will soon be gone forever. The lives of the English upper classes and their servants are depicted with the drama unfolding at both ends of the spectrum. The wonderful writer Julian Fellowes (who brought us Gosford Park) has written a masterpiece - a terrific period drama with an exceptional cast.
Last week in the first episode Maggie Smith playing a sharp witted dowager countess (at least so far) asks - "What's a weekend?". The talented Hugh Bonneville plays the lord of the manor and it's wonderful to see Elizabeth McGovern as his wife. It looks like there's a lot to look forward to in the next three episodes as the plot unfolds (this is no staid costume drama - there's some illicit sex and the hint of treachery going on here).......and I just read that Julian Fellowes is following up with more episodes at a future date ........the drama will continue.
