Downton Abbey: Archived Chats with Hugh Bonneville and Dan Stevens

Masterpiece is giving you exclusive access to the stars of Downton Abbey! Read the complete transcripts of the January, 2011 chats with actors Hugh Bonneville and Dan Stevens at this link.

Hugh Bonneville
Downton Abbey's Lord Grantham, portrayed by Hugh Bonneville, interacted with Masterpiece fans about researching his role, the talented and young cast, which actors he'd like more scenes with and what may be ahead for his character. Chat with Hugh Bonneville on Twitter @hughbon.

Dan Stevens
Dan Stevens, the actor who portrays Matthew Crawley onDownton Abbey, chatted with Masterpiece fans about the hardest parts of period drama, working with Maggie Smith and the rest of the cast, his roles in Sense and Sensibility andDownton Abbey, and what's ahead for him and the next series of Downton Abbey .Follow Dan Stevens on Twitter at @thatdanstevens.

The Real Downton Abbey (Highclere Castle) Needs a Facelift

Sad to say, Sunday night PBS will air the last installment of Downton Abbey. Many of us will be left waiting for the second series to air. Meanwhile, we have another 90 minutes to look forward to.

The library in Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey)

Suppose the Earl of Grantham had not married his American heiress with her pot of money? How might his beautiful estate have fared with his diminished resources? The Earl of Carnarvon, owner of Highclere Castle, is facing just such a dilemma these days. While the library and entrance hall are still stunning, many rooms are crumbling and in a state of disrepair. While publicity from the filming of Downton Abbey has helped increase visitors to his house, the costs of maintenance are enormous.

The Crawley daughters exit the drawing room.

Damage to one of the bedrooms

Read more about the current situation here: Can Highclere Castle Be Saved?
Also: Highclere Castle is Not for Sale

Jane Austen's World: Bampton, Location of the Town in Downton Abbey and The Jane Austen Connection to Downton Abbey and Egypt

Downton Abbey: Lady Sybil and Her Harem Pants

The chauffeurm Branson (Allan Leech) admires Sybil's new frock

Jessica Brown-Findlay as Lady Sybil

Inquiring Readers:

During the Twitter party as the group watched Episode Three of Downton Abbey, Evangeline from Edwardian Promenade noted that the harem pants worn by Lady Sybil were made by Paul Poiret.

Who was he, I wondered? Reader, Patty, from Brandy Parfums, answered my question and alerted me to this wiki:

The harem pants in Downton Abbey in Episode Three were a copy of Paul Poiret.

As Wiki says -

"In 1909, he was so famous that H. H. Asquith invited him to show his designs at 10 Downing Street.[1] The cheapest garment at the exhibition was 30 guineas, double the annual salary of a scullery maid"

Poiret worked for Worth who made more conservative dresses so he left to be more "Oriental" among other trends. Not in most write ups about him is he revolutionized women's undergarments. He got rid of corsets that are so bitterly complained about in Downton Abbey. That was also part of his shocking style.

Lady Sybil has fun with fashion

Peggy Guggenheim championed him and that led to many customers who then shunned Worth. It was fine to be a tall elegant THIN women for Poiret but it didn't work if you were heavy - then the Worth style was better. So the reason today we go for thin in fashion may be traced back to Poiret and Guggenheim."

The harem pants shocked the family, but this did not detract from Sybil's joy.

Be that as it may, Jessica Brown-Findlay has become my favorite sister. She rocked that outfit. Wouldn't you agree?

The family's reaction to Sybil's pants was priceless. Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, and Dan Stevens.

Watch Downton Abbey online through February 22, 2011.

Twitter Chat About Downton Abbey on Sunday Night

The third episode of Downton Abbey will be aired by PBS Masterpiece Classic at 9 PM on Sunday. You can join in a twitter discussion as the episode airs by using PBS's TweetGrid, which will automatically add the hashtag, #DowntonPBS.

Sybil and her new dress

The discussion will begin from 9 PM EST through 10:30 PM PT. Others who might join in at various times are the following Twitterers:

• @pbs; @masterpiecepbs; 
• Evangeline Holland of Edwardian Promenade (@edwardian_era); 
• Cheryl LeBrun of Enchanted Serenity of Period films (@charleybrown77); 

(This week neither Vic Sanborn of Jane Austen’s World nor Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose will be able to join in.)

If you want to read previous Downton Abbey tweets go to Twitter and go to the hashtag: #DowntonPBS

Links to articles about the series:

Jane Austen's World: 

• "Would You Care for Strong Tea of Weak Tea?" How the Dowager Countess of Grantham Served Tea to Her Guests.
• Bampton, Location of the Town in Downton Abbey
• The Fox Hunt: From Downton Abbey Back to Its Origins
• Everything You Wanted to Know About the Entail in Downton Abbey and More
• Watch Downton Abbey Online
• Entertaining visitors in an English country house, such as Downton Abbey
• Downton Abbey's Recycled Costumes
• Downstairs in Downton Abbey: The Servants
• Upstairs in Downton Abbey: The Three Crawley Sisters
• The Jane Austen Connection to Downton Abbey and Egypt

Edwardian Promenade:

• Downton Abbey, Episode Two - pages and pages of screencaps
• Addressing Titled Persons
• Downton Abbey, Episode One
• Introduction to Downton Abbey, Pt 1
• Introduction to Downton Abbey, Pt 2

Enchanted Serenity of Period Films:

• Superheroes of Downton Abbey
• Downton Abbey: A Milliner's Dream?
• Familiar Faces of Period Drama: Downton Abbey
• Downton Abbey Has not Been Dumbed Down for American Audiences

Austenprose:

• A Downton Abbey Primer: How to Meet the Earl of Grantham and Other Forms of Address
• Downton Abbey, Review and Recap of Episode Two
• Downton Abbey, Review and Recap of Episode One
• Preview of Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey, Episode Two: Twitter Party and Blog Round-Up

The second episode of Downton Abbey will be aired by PBS Masterpiece Classic at 9 PM on Sunday. PBS will be hosting a second Twitter party in honor of the event, and yours truly will be there once again as an unofficial host! @janeaustenworld.

Start of the hunt, Downton Abey

The event will begin from 9 PM EST through 10:30 PM PT. Including Vic, the other bloggers who will be hosting are:

• @pbs; @masterpiecepbs; 
• Evangeline Holland of Edwardian Promenade (@edwardian_era); 
• Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose (@Austenprose); 
• Cheryl LeBrun of Enchanted Serenity of Period films (@charleybrown77); 
• Vic Sanborno of Jane Austen’s World (@janeaustenworld) 

If you plan on joining, make sure to tag.your posts with the hashtag #DowntonPBS or use PBS's TweetGrid, which will automatically add the hashtag.

If you want to read our tweets go to Twitter and type: #DowntonPBS

Links to articles about the series:

Jane Austen's World: 

• Everything You Wanted to Know About the Entail in Downton Abbey and More
• Watch Downton Abbey Online
• Entertaining visitors in an English country house, such as Downton Abbey
• Downton Abbey's Recycled Costumes
• Downstairs in Downton Abbey: The Servants
• Upstairs in Downton Abbey: The Three Crawley Sisters
• The Jane Austen Connection to Downton Abbey and Egypt

Edwardian Promenade:

• Addressing Titled Persons
• Downton Abbey, Episode One

Enchanted Serenity of Period Films:

• Downton Abbey: A Milliner's Dream?
• Familiar Faces of Period Drama: Downton Abbey

Austenprose:

• Downton Abbey, Review and Recap of Episode One
• Preview of Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey Poll: First Episode of this PBS Masterpiece Classic

The Earl (Hugh Bonneville) and Countess (Elizabeth McGovern) of Grantham

Downton Abbey Poll: 1st Episode
	I loved it
	I liked it
	It was ok
	I didn't like it
	Hated it
	Didn't see it
pollcode.com free polls

Join the Downton Abbey PBS Masterpiece Classic Twitter Party on Sundays in January

The first episode of Downton Abbey will be aired by PBS Masterpiece Classic at 9 PM tonight. At the same time, PBS will be hosting a Twitter party, and yours truly intends to be there as an unofficial host! @janeaustenworld.

Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey

The event will begin from 9 PM EST through 10:30 PM PT. Including Vic, the other bloggers who will be hosting are:

• @pbs; @masterpiecepbs; 
• Evangeline Holland of Edwardian Promenade (@edwardian_era); 
• Laurel Ann Nattress of Austenprose (@Austenprose); 
• Cheryl LeBrun of Enchanted Serenity of Period films (@charleybrown77); 
• Vic Sanborno of Jane Austen’s World (@janeaustenworld) 

If you plan on joining, make sure to tag.your posts with the hashtag #DowntonPBS and then visit the TweetGrid.

Remember to use the hashtag: #DowntonPBS

Links to articles about the series:

Jane Austen's World: 

• Entertaining visitors in an English country house, such as Downton Abbey
• Downton Abbey's Recycled Costumes
• Downstairs in Downton Abbey: The Servants
• Upstairs in Downton Abbey: The Three Crawley Sisters
• The Jane Austen Connection to Downton Abbey and Egypt

Edwardian Promenade: Introduction to Downton Abbey

Enchanted Serenity of Period Films: Familiar Faces of Period Drama: Downton Abbey

Austenprose: Preview of Downton Abbey

Jane Austen Question Throwdown

Dear Readers: Downton Abbey will be shown on PBS Masterpiece Classic for 6 hours instead of the 8 hours shown on ITV. Here are some of the reasons for the downsizing, as written in the Daily Mail: Downton Downsized

Lady Sybil, Lady Mary, and Lady Edith

'Unsurprisingly, the lavish period drama has now been snapped up by an American network - although it seems the beautifully nuanced portrait of pre-First World War upper-class life could prove just a little too complex for the trans­atlantic audience.

For in the land of the notoriously short attention span, TV executives have taken a knife to the artfully crafted series, slashing its running time and simplifying the plotline for fear viewers will be left baffled.'

HUH!!!!? Show us the full 8 hours, I say. We who view PBS not only have the stamina to view long shows, but the background and historical knowledge to understand the nuances of British primogeniture and inheritance laws.

Rebecca Eaton, an executive producer for the PBS network - which will be airing it from next week - admits that American audiences demand a 'different speed' to their shows.

As a result, Downton, which ran for eight hours on ITV, has been slashed to six for the States, while the story­line about the inheritance of the Abbey has been downplayed.

Read more about this topic at the Daily Mail

Are we in the U.S. truly such short attention-spanned viewers? Please vote if you are interested in seeing the longer version of Downton Abbey (or not). We need to let PBS know our position.

UPDATE: Gentle readers, reader CharleyBrown left the following comment, which disputes the Daily Mail's article:

Vic, unfortunately the Daily Mail reporter chose to ignore, when it was explained to him by an American tv reviewer, that the running time in Britain is ALSO 6 hours once you take away the commercials. I have the British episodes and can attest to that.


Speaking to someone who has seen the new edited version, she told me that some NEW scenes have been added and the scenes that had been cut were only of repetitious dialogue, etc. and she indicated that she liked the changes.

And with regards to Ms. Eaton mentioning the appearance of Matthew Crawley in the first episode, that would happen with the new format. In UK, the first episode was 65 minutes, so with the 90 minute episode for PBS we would see the arrival of Downton's heir sooner.


It's a pity that the Daily Mail chose to greatly exaggerate the edits.

I am interested in seeing the
	8 hour version of Downton Abbey
	6 hour version on PBS as planned
	program any way I can
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