Creating 'Downstairs' at Downton Abbey

It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for behind-the-scenes video pieces. Yes, there have been times that I secretly enjoy the DVD extras far more than the feature presentation. The brilliance of television production is that, if done well, the end result is a vivid suspension of reality. The behind the camera craft of hundreds […]

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Downton Abbey 3 – A First Look at Maggie v. Shirley

As a telly watcher, I love this time of year as you begin to be inundated with all kinds of teasers for upcoming Fall programming. Finally, one of the most anticipated series on either side of the pond, ITV’s Downton Abbey, returns and has entered the arena with a few teaser clips of its own […]

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Its all Downton Abbey 3 during PBS day at TCA

Whether you are new to the series and refer to it as Downton Abbey or you’ve been there from day 1 and simply refer to it as just Downton when you knowingly pass fellow series lovers on the streets, you probably have a countdown calendar on the wall with either September circled if in the […]

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Dowager Countess vs. Shirley MacLaine's Martha – Round One

Insert Michael Buffer here – Let’s Get Ready to Rumble….. With the recent American Film Institute honoring of Shirley MacLaine with their 40th “AFI Life Achievement Award”, a number of celebrity friends paid tribute to the on-screen achievements of MacLaine. Of obvious interest to PBS viewers of that little series we call Downton Abbey was […]

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Downton Abbey drama du jour

With Downton Abbey currently in production on series 3, the Daily Mail headline reads “Drama at Downton Abbey as Dame Maggie Smith looks set to quit the show“. The text reads like a soap opera as it is being ‘reported’ that the Dowager Countess has ‘panicked the bosses’ by not signing a new contract. It’s as […]

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Downton Abbey 3 – a first look

As we close down another BBC Showcase, time to take a quick look back at our time in Liverpool. With over 2500 hours of comedy, drama, natural history and documentary from the BBC catalogue available to view, just over 40 hours of screening were logged over the past 4 days looking for that hidden gem […]

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Rod Stewart's 1971 tribute to the Dowager Countess

It’s that time again for the annual BBC Showcase where myself and about 600 of my closest friends around the globe get the opportunity to screen what that Beeb has in store for the worldwide television landscape in the next couple of years. After 20 years, we leave the lovely (at this time of the […]

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Printable Downton Abbey characters to combat separation anxiety

As Downton Abbey closes its doors this evening on PBS stations across the United States, viewers that have already begun their separation anxiety classes can, at least, cling to the knowledge that series 3 is currently in production with a target transmission date of Fall 2012 in the UK and January 2013 on PBS in […]

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