I gave you so far my reviews for the first four episodes of the first series of Downton Abbey. The Crawley family and their staff filled my early summer evenings with good amount of English drama, secret passions and lots of intrigues. However, with the new shows on the American networks filling up most of my day (and soon, in July, there are more new shows that are added to my schedule) – I don’t find the time to rewatch the last three episodes again and give my reviews.

But in case you haven’t watched them – do. They’re fantastic.

And that ending of the finale episode, with the war coming in just in time to kill any relaxed vibes the Lords and Ladies in Downton Abbey (and their crew) may still had – this gets you exactly in the mood for

A great season 2 for Downton Abbey.

Yes, it takes a few bombing airplanes to understand that feminism is one thing – but go there and bleed to death is another. I doubt if Lady Sybil will do something too dangerous, after she already felt the pain of justice in the first season. I guess she’ll join forces with Isobel and her grandmother in the hospital.

Some spoilers about the upcoming new season of Downton:

• Five actors will join the cast: Zoe Boyle (Sons Of Anarchy), Cal Macaninch (Holby Blue), Iain Glen (Game of Thrones), Amy Nuttall (Emmerdale) and Maria Doyle-Kennedy (The Tudors, Dexter).
• Zoe Boyle will play Miss Lavinia Swire, Cal Macaninch will play new valet Lang, Nuttall will play new housemaid Ethal, Iain Glen will take the role of Sir Richard Carlisle, and Doyle Kennedy will appear as Vera, the wife of John Bates.
• At the end of the second serie there will be a Christmas Special.
• Amy Nuttall about her new character: “I play Ethel Parks, a new housemaid. Not the most popular of housemaids amongst the other staff! She doesn’t really think before she speaks, gets herself into a bit of trouble here and there. So she’s a bit of a minx, a bit of a naughty one!”
• Dan Stevens, who plays Matthew Crawley, said about series 2: “There’s a war, and it changes a lot of things for a lot of people in a really big way. In a sad way and also an interesting way. Some for the better, some for the worse”.
• About the romances in the new series: “There is some of the same romance. There are men. There are women. There are men. There are men.”
• So what is it about? “It’s the war back home, largely. The war and how it affects people.”
• The war will lead to personal tragedy for both masters and servants in Downton.
• Some young officers will break hearts and further complicate the tangled love lives of the three Crawley sisters.
• The second season will draw on events that actually took place at Highclere Castle, which became a military hospital between 1914 and 1916. A source said:”It wouldn’t be right to say Downton becomes a military hospital but there are similarities between what happened at Highclere at what happens at Downton.”

The second season of Downton Abbey, consisting of 8 episodes, will premiere on ITV in Winter 2012. The official US airdate is January 8, 2012, on PBS.

Behind the scenes – Highclere Castle as Downton Abbey

I thought the fourth episode of the series was somehow the weakest, focusing mainly on the crew without any major dramatic event. I still enjoyed it, there’s nothing like conspiracies in the staff chambers to warm my heart, but still – if there’s a typical “second act” moment, this episode was it.

So what did we have on this episode? Molesley’s allergy started another quarrel between Isobel and Violet, and with Isobel’s confidence in her medical skills after her last attempt where she’s saved a man’s life, it was almost fun to see Violet’s face when she was the one to solve the medical mystery (boy those butlers need some medical attention: first Bates, now Molesley, Anna, and since I already watched the next episode I can tell you – it’s not over yet!).

The romantic adventure of Mrs. Hughes was not very interesting in itself, but it did put the light on an interesting aspect. Working in the service of a mention is nothing like any other job – it is more like being adopted. Getting in is not very easy – Mr. Bates can tell you all about it – and leaving is even harder. It was clear that Mrs. Hughes will not leave at this point – but I doubt that she stays there forever.

I’m not sure why Thomas is trying so hard to annoy William by asking Daisy out – unless Thomas is secretly in love with William (highly unlikely) or simply extremely bored (my guess). But for now it works very well for him, and William is deeply depressed when Daisy goes to the fair with the gay snob butler.

Mary and Matthew also get closer, and although Mary’s grandmother has chose Matthew to check the legal situation with the inheritance – somehow Mary is not too focused on the issue. “My life makes me angry, not you”, she tells him when they walk together to the fair. She complains about the realities of the aristocrat wife.

But it’s her sister Sybil who does something instead of simply talk: she dresses up like a true feminist, and one man who adores her right away is her father’s new chauffeur. The Lady seems quite interested herself, and I’d suspect troubles lie on the way.

Later this summer we will hear what the Television Critics Association loved most this year. This year’s TCA Awards would be hosted by Parks and Recreation‘s Ron Swanson – Nick Offerman (so no matter what the critics chose, it’s going to be a hell of an event).

A group of around 200 TV critics and writers will make their choice about this year’s best shows and actors. There’s also a press tour twice a year which features press conferences  organized by the networks, cable channels and public broadcasters.  TCA Awards 2011 is scheduled at the end of the summer tour,  August 6.

The list of nominees is nice, with both Parks And Recreation and Game Of Thrones being nominated for several awards. Also the British series Downton Abbey, which I chose for my summer review marathon, is nominated. And as much as I enjoyed Terriers when it aired on FX, and as much as I felt sorry the showwas canceled, I thought the award for an Outstanding New Program should go to Game Of Thrones. Outstanding seems the right word to describe it. Check out my own choices below.

Here are the nominees for the TCA Awards 2011 (in red my own choice):

Individual Achievement in Drama
Steve Buscemi (“Boardwalk Empire,” HBO)
Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones,” HBO)
Jon Hamm (“Mad Men,” AMC)
Julianna Margulies (“The Good Wife,” CBS)
Margo Martindale (“Justified”, FX)
Timothy Olyphant (“Justified,” FX)

Individual Achievement in Comedy
Ty Burrell (“Modern Family,” ABC)
Louis C.K. (“Louis,” FX)
Nick Offerman (“Parks and Recreation,” NBC)
Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation,” NBC)
Danny Pudi (“Community,” NBC)
Jon Stewart (“The Daily Show,” Comedy Central)

Outstanding Achievement in News and Information
“If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise” (HBO)
“Restrepo” (National Geographic Channel)
“60 Minutes” (CBS)
“The Rachel Maddow Show” (MSNBC)
“30 for 30” (ESPN)

Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming
“Amazing Race” (CBS)
“Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” (Travel Channel)
“Survivor” (CBS)
“The Voice” (NBC)
“Top Chef: All Stars” (Bravo)

Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming
“A Children’s Garden of Poetry” (HBO)
“iCarly” (Nickelodeon)
“Nick News with Linda Ellerbee” (Nickelodeon)
“R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour” (The Hub)
“Sesame Street” (PBS)
“Yo Gabba Gabba” (Nick Jr.)

Outstanding New Program
“Boardwalk Empire” (HBO)
“Game of Thrones” (HBO)
“Terriers” (FX)
“The Killing” (AMC)
“Walking Dead” (AMC)

Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials
“Cineme Verite” (HBO)
“Downton Abbey: Masterpiece” (PBS)
“Mildred Pierce” (HBO)
“Sherlock: Masterpiece” (PBS)
“Too Big to Fail” (HBO)

Outstanding Achievement in Drama
“Friday Night Lights” (DirecTV/NBC)
“Game of Thrones” (HBO)
“Justified” (FX)
“Mad Men” (AMC)
“The Good Wife” (CBS)

Outstanding Achievement in Comedy
“Community” (NBC)
“Louie” (FX)
“Modern Family” (ABC)
“Parks and Recreation” (NBC)
“Raising Hope” (FOX)

Career Achievement Award
Steven Bochco
Dick Ebersol
Cloris Leachman
David Letterman
William Shatner
Oprah Winfrey

Heritage Award
“All in the Family”
“Freaks and Geeks”
“The Dick Van Dyke Show”
“Twin Peaks”

Program of the Year
“Boardwalk Empire” (HBO)
“Friday Night Lights” (DirecTV/NBC)
“Game of Thrones” (HBO)
“Justified” (FX)
“Parks and Recreation” (NBC)

Downton Abbey continues to fill my evenings with sophisticated English humor. This time we took a break from most money matters, to focus on a beautiful stranger that entered the estate and got Mary’s full attention.

But Lady Mary was not the only one to want play with the Turkish diplomat (and his name, Mr Kemal Pamuk, was another aspect of his beauty: it seems like the women of the estate could not stopt saying his name, and thisalone gained them a secret closeness to him, that would not clash with any delicate moral value they might have). Thomas, of course, tried his luck aswell – but this brought complications (silly me, I thought all beautiful Turkish men enjoyed the intimate company of another man when possible!) – and finally ended with the tragic and amusing death of the beautiful stranger.

Tragic not for him, we didn’t get to know him long enough that he would matter (although hissudden death in Mary’s bed can be seen as a punishment for the way he treated Thomas when he came to kiss him – but then again, Thomas himself deserved this treatment after all the wrongs he has made). No, it’s the tragedy of Lady Mary, and in away will become (in the next chapters) the tragedy of the Crawleys. Daisy is another side of this drama, a silent part for now but certainly not for much longer.

Bates’ new treatment for his leg was the weaker part of this episode. Somehow this subplot didn’t reach any climax, and there was no subtext in the way Mrs. Hughes insisted he shows her what causes him the pain. I still like Mr. Bates, but in the third episode he didn’t have any depth to his role, besides being “the good hearted butler”.

Gwen (played by Rose Leslie) was great in this episode, and while she felt badfor trying to find a job as a secretary and leave service, we got to know the third daughter finally – Lady Sybil Crawley (played by the charming Jessica Brown-Findlay). The quieter among the Crawley girls is in fact the rebel. A rebel with a smile, so is it in the English aristocracy. We’ll see in the next chapters what future could that bring.

Continuing my reviews marathon with British period drama Downton Abbey (ITV). The second episode was slightly different in tone I thought, funny at times (English humor that works very good for me on summer nights), and with Violet Crawley becoming a true aristocrat bitch.

On this second episode, following the ‘complications’ after thesink of the Titanic, and the Crawleys’ losing their estate to the closest relatives – we meet Matthew Crawley and his mother Isobel, who are about to inherit the estate, staff included.

That was the source of most of the jokes, with Matthew being unused to all the aristocracy and the manners involved – especially the privilege of having your own butler. This butler, Molesley (played by Kevin Doyle), had to stand there doing nothing while the young lawyer dresses himself, and then to hear Matthew says that being a butler is a ridiculous job for someone his age – which was a pretty funny and sad scene.

Isobel is a pretty cool woman – first trying to “act like a Roman” in the estate, accepting the positions of the crew and playing the game the Crawleys long forgot was a game at all (besides Lord Grantham – and even his wife has mentioned that he is always better than everyone). But then, when she enters the hospital, the game’s over. This is a serious business, and saving a man’s life by insisting on the new treatment wins her a place on the hospital board (and allows our Lord to stab his mother with a wink).

Mary is still the daughter we hear about, and she’s still flirty and furious. That’s sweet, but I’d like to see more of the other two sisters.

As for the crew, I wonder if Thomas asked to be Matthew’s butler because of the chances for a better position (as he told the bitter, witch-like Ms. O’Brien) – or was it simply another attempt to “touch the glory”.

The surprise visit for Carson, the butler, was a secret well played throughout the episode. It was funny to see what was the fuss all about, and of course Robert Crawley will not think that performance is anything to be ashamed of. In fact, when at theend of the episode he speaks with his cousin Matthew and tells him to keep Molesley as his butler, because “we all have different parts to play, and we must all be allowed to play them” – that was when I asked myself if the Lord really wants to be where he is right now, or is the coming change welcome in a way?