Downton Abbey, Not Just Another Soap Opera

Downton Abbey has quickly became one of my favorite shows in the past year. I came across it last year on PBS Masterpiece Classics. I thought I was just a movie, in which I really enjoyed. Yet to my amazement, thank goodness it is a series in which I can enjoy year after year! I love anything that is period movies and British, so this was the perfect combo!  

The series is set in the fictional Downton Abbey, the Yorkshire country house of the Earl and Countess of Grantham, and follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants during the reign of King George V. The first series spans the two years before the Great War, World War I, beginning with news of the sinking of the Titanic, which sets the story in motion. The second series covers the years 1916 to 1919, and the 2011 Christmas Special December covers the 1919 Christmas period, ending in early 1920.

Highclere Castle in Hampshire was used for exterior shots of Downton Abbey and most of the interior filming. The servants' living areas were constructed and filmed at Ealing Studios. The village of Bampton in Oxfordshire was used for filming outdoor scenes, most notably St Mary's Church and the library, which serves as the entrance to the cottage hospital. The North Yorkshire towns of Easingwold, Kirkby, Kirkbymoorside, Malton. Middlesbrough, Ripon, Richmond, Thirsk and York have been mentioned by characters in the series.

My two favorite characters are Anna, a maid; and Mr. Bates, a valet that work/live at Downton. They are madly in love with each other, but Mr. Bates is in the middle of a separation/divorce from his cheating wife. I love the way the little glances and every now and then a touch of a hand between them happens. It's so romantic and I can not wait to see where their relationship goes! Here is a photo of the couple!

 So if you are looking for a new show to watch this summer, Downton Abbey would be the one I would recommend for everyone!