Downton Abbey Series Five Thread

chrisii2011chrisii2011 Posts: 2,694
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Thought it was about time someone made a thread for series 5
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  • LMLM Posts: 63,327
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    Series 4 was really lackluster last series. Very anti-climatic in a lot of places
    But for me, it showcased perhaps the show's best acting, which were all from Michelle, Joanne, Maggie and Penelope.

    I hope Series 5 is a return to form.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 550
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    thanks for the new thread.

    Season 4 was a disappointment for me, too. Since I watch solely for Tom Branson. His storyline started interesting enough, but ended disappointing as it wasn't resolved and I have to worry about awful Sarah Bunting as a potential love interest for him now. She would be the nail in the coffin for me. I know I can't continue to watch if Tom falls in love with her. I love the show, but I won't watch her making Tom's life a living hell.

    So this overshadows everything for me. The rest of the season was okay. I liked Edith storyline, I don't mind Mary's men, I'm interested in the estate business, I thought the Anna storyline was interesting (at least more interesting than Anna/Bates usually are) and I loved Isobel/Violet, Isobel/Tom, Mary/Tom and Mrs Hughes/Tom. I enjoyed part of Rose's storyline, too. It got repetive after a while, but at least she was vibrant and positive.
    I'm also glad the tiresome Downtairs quadrangle is finally over.

    I'm looking forward to season 5. Hopefully I'll find out that Daisy Lewis is leaving the show after a few episodes. Then I can breathe more easily.
  • ZipgoesamillionZipgoesamillion Posts: 1,215
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    A new quiz on PBS - What job is right for you! I ended up as Isobel?

    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/quizzes/personality-quiz/which-downton-abbey-job-is-right-for-you/
  • chrisii2011chrisii2011 Posts: 2,694
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    I got isobel too
  • LMLM Posts: 63,327
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    I'm Isobel too
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 550
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    Actually I now tried different answers and always came out as Isobel! I think the quiz is not really working! :D:D
  • Lisa_NaylorLisa_Naylor Posts: 827
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    Andorra wrote: »
    Actually I now tried different answers and always came out as Isobel! I think the quiz is not really working! :D:D

    I was also Isobel, so maybe there's a glitch.
  • Swanandduck2Swanandduck2 Posts: 5,502
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    I got Violet!
  • GloriaSnockersGloriaSnockers Posts: 2,932
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    Yikes! I got OBrien!
  • ScoutletScoutlet Posts: 517
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    I got Isobel.

    I thought S4's best acting came from Penelope, Laura and Samantha Bond.

    I don't count Violet. She is just a snark machine, basically. Always good but no dramatic arc.

    S5 is overshadowed by that horrible repellant teacher. If she's going to be Sybil's replacement (which, seriously?) I'm out. Nail in the coffin for me too.

    Mary's storyline would have been a lot better if she hadn't gotten everything on a silver platter by 4.03: All the money, a proposal, etc. She is more interesting when she is pining for something. Not nicer or more sympathetic, but more interesting.

    But I do prefer her when she is a nasty piece of work, so in that sense it was a good season for her character IMO.

    Favorite new character? Madeline Allsop. I am praying for her to return in S5. For Tom and Tom only.

    Rose needs to mature in S5. She's been a wild thing long enough now. I don't want her spark and spirit to diminish, but it would be nice to see her grow as a person.

    Hated the Bates' storyline. Hated it. I would like nothing better than for them to disappear in S5. Too bad that will never happen.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 550
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    Hated the Bates' storyline. Hated it. I would like nothing better than for them to disappear in S5. Too bad that will never happen.

    I watched season 1 with my mom last week and I was surprised that Bates even got on my nerves in season 1, LOL. I thought it only started in season 2. But he really was annoying in S1, too, playing the martyr all the time!! Suffering in silence, never telling anyone anything because he is SOOOO honourable. Urgh....

    No, I guess I won't be a Bates fan any time soon. I know Banna has many shippers, but it is a complete mystery to me why :D. But to each their own. If they're liked, I'll gladly continue snoring through all Anna/Bates storylines to make them happy :).
  • chrono88chrono88 Posts: 3,045
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    Series 4 went south after Anna got the R word. The CS was particularly disappointing.

    Is S5 being filmed now by the way? Aren't Maggie and Penelope still in India filming TBEMH2?
  • LMLM Posts: 63,327
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    chrono88 wrote: »
    Series 4 went south after Anna got the R word. The CS was particularly disappointing.

    Is S5 being filmed now by the way? Aren't Maggie and Penelope still in India filming TBEMH2?

    I think so. Who knows, maybe Maggie and Penelope will be absent for an episode or not, or their scenes will begin filming at a later date.

    I loved Violet in season 4. It was the first season where she wasn't there for comedic effect but actually got involved in the storylines. She was very much the peacemaker and confidante in helping Mary come out of grieving, guiding Tom to find his place among the family, a shoulder to lean on for Isobel and helping Edith deal with her pregnancy. It was about time they put her to good use for such an legendary british actress that Maggie is. She didn't have the career she has had now for just being there for the sake of it, and that was how she was treated at times in season 1-3.

    The rape storyline went downhill. Having the rapist killed of screen was poor. And dont get me started on the christmas special. The CS was set about nine months later i think and Bates still had his train ticket in his pocket from that episode when the rapist died. Ridiculous. Bates isn't daft and neither are a lot of people. You would of discarded it in the rubbish after it's use, not keep it in your pocket nine months later. Sometimes a time jump can be a hindrence for Downton. They discuss things that occured months ago as if they happened a week ago.
  • Swanandduck2Swanandduck2 Posts: 5,502
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    I think they need to reduce the different storylines for S5 and develop them better. S4 was all over the place. A couple of strong stories above stairs and a couple of equally strong ones below are enough really for an eight week series - with a few smaller ones for comedic or romantic relief. It was really frustrating last series when a strong storyline featuring Edith just began to drift, while we had to sit through interminable scenes with Mary and her indistinguishable admirers; and when a totally unnecessary rape storyline, featuring two characters who had already been at the centre of a murder story, was suddenly added to the mix.

    Re Tom and the teacher, I'm not really bothered. I think she could shake things up a bit at Downton with her unconventional views, so could be fun.
  • kat180kat180 Posts: 911
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    Series 4 was a disappointment for me as well.

    I was surprised how well they filmed the rape scene (it wasn't over the top and was very powerful) and the acting was far beyond what we normally get in DA.

    However, it was downhill from there. I really dislike the way they handled that story arc. The ridiculousness of the Bates holding on to a ticket a year later, the fact the rapist was killed off screen in the most obscure way ever and so on. But particularly because instead of it being a story about Anna, it became a story all about Bates. How he would react, whether he'd take revenge. I feel it was a disservice to the character (Anna) and to women in general. It should have been focused on Anna, and explored the implications of a woman dealing with a sexual assault at that time and what we got was Anna fading into the background as the series went on, while the story focused in on Bates.
  • Swanandduck2Swanandduck2 Posts: 5,502
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    I got the impression it was just a ratings grabbing exercise, thrown in for a bit of shock value and then the writer didn't have the time or interest to develop it. He really was trying to keep too many balls in the air, and it just didn't work.
  • LMLM Posts: 63,327
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    I got the impression it was just a ratings grabbing exercise, thrown in for a bit of shock value and then the writer didn't have the time or interest to develop it. He really was trying to keep too many balls in the air, and it just didn't work.

    I don't think it had anything to do with ratings. Downton is one of the highest rated shows on television. It's not like they had anything to prove. It was an interesting storyline because rape back then was different to how it was handled. People who are raped today can go to the police and have a rape kit and for it to be dealt with the authorities. Not back then you couldn't. A woman can be looked seriously down upon if she was to admit she was raped. Especially as Anna is a married woman, it could easily be twisted as not being raped but by being unfaithful to her husband. I don't think Rape it's self was even a crime. It should of dealt with the fallout of the rape. Instead it was all about Bate's revenge (rightly so) but as a member said a few posts above, Anna faded into darkness and it became less on her.
  • Swanandduck2Swanandduck2 Posts: 5,502
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    I don't think it had anything to do with ratings. Downton is one of the highest rated shows on television. It's not like they had anything to prove. It was an interesting storyline because rape back then was different to how it was handled. People who are raped today can go to the police and have a rape kit and for it to be dealt with the authorities. Not back then you couldn't. A woman can be looked seriously down upon if she was to admit she was raped. Especially as Anna is a married woman, it could easily be twisted as not being raped but by being unfaithful to her husband. I don't think Rape it's self was even a crime. It should of dealt with the fallout of the rape. Instead it was all about Bate's revenge (rightly so) but as a member said a few posts above, Anna faded into darkness and it became less on her.

    But it wasn't developed in that way. It was suddenly landed into the series and then, like many other potentially strong storylines, drifted off and was tied up very unsatisfactorily in the CS. And regardless of how well a tv series is doing, the producers will be constantly thinking about the ratings and maintaining them and trying to keep their large audience interested. I think they failed with this storyline and with S4 in general, but hopefully S5 will be back to form. Edith's storyline has masses of potential, and any scenes with Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton just shine.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 550
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    I didn't mind the rape storyline at all. I thought it was one of the more interesting storylines.

    What I did hate in general was that nothing was wrapped up. I liked many storylines, but nothing was resolved and that was so very disappointing.

    I liked Tom Branson's storyline, but not that it wasn't resolved at all. He's still conflicted and he didn't kick Sarah Bunting's butt, but still looked like a deer in the hadlights when a too pushy woman throws insults at him. Edna 2.0. Why even bring in yet another shrew to haunt him? They could have had Edna til the end.

    I liked the rape storyline, but then it went into Bates murder mystery 2 and that was just SOOOO boring! Why not show more Anna and less of her annoying husband?

    I even liked the suitor-storyline, but why bring in two suitors and then have not Mary pick one over the other?

    Rose was like a breath of fresh air at the beginning of the season and I thought we would see her doing wild things and then maybe overdoing it and show some progress to maturity. Instead she did wild things and was just as immature at the end of the season as she was at the beginning. Boring!

    Robert and Cora didn't have anything at all to do all season.

    Thomas and Baxter: Why in heaven's name didn#t we find out what Thomas has over Baxter? Does Fellows know? Or does he just hope we'll forget that little detail in the hiatus?

    Don't let me start with the Downstairs quadrangle. I'm so glad that is over! Tedious!!
  • LMLM Posts: 63,327
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    Andorra wrote: »
    I didn't mind the rape storyline at all. I thought it was one of the more interesting storylines.

    What I did hate in general was that nothing was wrapped up. I liked many storylines, but nothing was resolved and that was so very disappointing.

    I liked Tom Branson's storyline, but not that it wasn't resolved at all. He's still conflicted and he didn't kick Sarah Bunting's butt, but still looked like a deer in the hadlights when a too pushy woman throws insults at him. Edna 2.0. Why even bring in yet another shrew to haunt him? They could have had Edna til the end.

    I liked the rape storyline, but then it went into Bates murder mystery 2 and that was just SOOOO boring! Why not show more Anna and less of her annoying husband?

    I even liked the suitor-storyline, but why bring in two suitors and then have not Mary pick one over the other?

    Rose was like a breath of fresh air at the beginning of the season and I thought we would see her doing wild things and then maybe overdoing it and show some progress to maturity. Instead she did wild things and was just as immature at the end of the season as she was at the beginning. Boring!

    Robert and Cora didn't have anything at all to do all season.

    Thomas and Baxter: Why in heaven's name didn#t we find out what Thomas has over Baxter? Does Fellows know? Or does he just hope we'll forget that little detail in the hiatus?

    Don't let me start with the Downstairs quadrangle. I'm so glad that is over! Tedious!!

    They may have but then Myanna Buring had to go off and film Series 2 of Ripper street.
  • Swanandduck2Swanandduck2 Posts: 5,502
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    Andorra wrote: »
    I didn't mind the rape storyline at all. I thought it was one of the more interesting storylines.

    What I did hate in general was that nothing was wrapped up. I liked many storylines, but nothing was resolved and that was so very disappointing.

    I liked Tom Branson's storyline, but not that it wasn't resolved at all. He's still conflicted and he didn't kick Sarah Bunting's butt, but still looked like a deer in the hadlights when a too pushy woman throws insults at him. Edna 2.0. Why even bring in yet another shrew to haunt him? They could have had Edna til the end.

    I liked the rape storyline, but then it went into Bates murder mystery 2 and that was just SOOOO boring! Why not show more Anna and less of her annoying husband?

    I even liked the suitor-storyline, but why bring in two suitors and then have not Mary pick one over the other?

    Rose was like a breath of fresh air at the beginning of the season and I thought we would see her doing wild things and then maybe overdoing it and show some progress to maturity. Instead she did wild things and was just as immature at the end of the season as she was at the beginning. Boring!

    Robert and Cora didn't have anything at all to do all season.

    Thomas and Baxter: Why in heaven's name didn#t we find out what Thomas has over Baxter? Does Fellows know? Or does he just hope we'll forget that little detail in the hiatus?

    Don't let me start with the Downstairs quadrangle. I'm so glad that is over! Tedious!!

    Sarah is not the most likeable character. but she's completely different to the other females in DA and a reminder that this was just after the suffragettes had made their impact on society. I think somebody like her could be a good addition to the programme and I suppose bringing her in as a possible love interest for Tom is an obvious way to do it.
  • kat180kat180 Posts: 911
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    I think it was a good thing Edna left. The actress is excellent in Ripper Street but her character on DS was difficult to stand!
  • kat180kat180 Posts: 911
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    I'd have loved a suffragette on the show - but Sarah is so annoying and unlikeable I don't think she is right for showing the women's movement.

    I have to believe she was written that way on purpose and we're not supposed to like her. JF can't be that clueless!
  • Swanandduck2Swanandduck2 Posts: 5,502
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    kat180 wrote: »
    I'd have loved a suffragette on the show - but Sarah is so annoying and unlikeable I don't think she is right for showing the women's movement.

    I have to believe she was written that way on purpose and we're not supposed to like her. JF can't be that clueless!

    I wonder what Lady Mary would make of her? :o
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 550
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    If JF brings in a suffragette, then please not such such a pushy, unlikeable shrew! :o

    I think she is awful and I supsect her only reason to be there is, to push Tom closer to the Crawleys. If his only option besides the toffs is her, who can think bad of him if he choses his aristocratic family over Miss "You are a loser in your ugly castle and with your dollar princess mother in law who just lets you stay to be a beast of burden". Has she once opened her mouth to say something nice? All she does is barking insults at him or mocking him, the family, the house, his feelings, his job etc.
    Horrible woman!
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