Small Screen Scenes: Downton Abbey Season Two Episode Four Highly Recommended by Whom You Know Available Now From PBS Distribution
He lives in a tough world...and will you be joining him there?
If you've been watching you know who is saying each part!
And some cannot operate where they are not valued...the claws come up early on and you will be sucked in immediately!
While at Downton, spirits are lifted by concerts, the front lines of the war are tougher than ever:
The war office now rings via telephone...telegrams are yesterday's news.
Also news-stories to the press, people who own the press, and lots of attention about a bar in the village. Threats, promises and lies. Not a minute of boredom, another episode of Downton will suck you in the minute you pop it in. People are getting caught, people are being fired, but most importantly, will people make it back from the war?
Mr. Bates you are a sight for sore eyes but we do want you to find a new bag!
This isn't fairyland, or is it? If it is, we wish Sargent Barrow would disappear in one big puff.
We'll try to be patient...patience is required of many in this episode. Missing seems to be a big word here in this one. Soldier on! God knows who the next heir will be. A chimney sweep? Singing Crawley sisters? Well now we've seen everything.
But the more things change, the more they stay the same: Granny will always be Granny!
Previously, Whom You Know Highly Recommended Downton Abbey Season Two Episode One:
& Season Two Episode Two:
& Season Two Episode Three:
And Season One Blew Us Away:
Watch them all, in order!
Whom You Know Highly Recommends Downton Abbey Season Two Episode Four!
Join our Facebook group, Downton Abbey is PEACHY
Get your own copy, and start watching:
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Amiens, 1918
Devastating news from the front rocks the very foundations of Downton Abbey, and it is up to the Dowager Countess to buck bureaucratic protocol and bring Downton's men home. In an unwelcome return, Vera Bates threatens to make public the scandalous story of Lady Mary's ill-fated indiscretion. Desperate to contain the story, Mary appeals to the savvy opportunist Sir Richard Carlisle.
Mary is not the only woman to consider hard sacrifice. Some will make it against their will, some will be denied a chance, and some will refuse. Daisy may buckle from its pressure, while Lavinia desperately wishes for such a burden. Sybil must push back. And Cora, preoccupied with the running of the home, cannot see that a sacrifice may already have been made.
Warning: Contains significant plot spoilers
In the heat of the battle of Amiens, amidst shot and shell, Matthew and William dive into a crater for shelter. But a blast hits, William attempts to protect Matthew, and both men lie motionless in a muddy pool.
Word arrives at Downton that Matthew has been seriously wounded and is being sent to Downton. William is also severely wounded, but has been installed in a hospital miles away because he is not an officer. Determined to bring William home to Downton, and with no help from the by-the-books Dr. Clarkson, Violet pulls all the strings she holds. Accompanied by Edith, she retrieves the young man from Leeds, learning there that William's wounds cannot be overcome; all that can be done is to make him comfortable among those who love him before he passes.
Mary is galvanized into action, preparing to meet Matthew upon his arrival. She is determined to help nurse him despite his shocking condition and a grim diagnosis soon revealed: a transected spinal cord. Lavinia arrives, grateful to Mary, and together they and Robert learn from Dr. Clarkson that Matthew will never walk again. But to Robert alone the doctor reveals that Matthew will never be physically able to father children. At Matthew's insistence, Mary compassionately breaks the news of his paralysis. In spite of Mary's bright focus on his future with Lavinia, Matthew forces Lavinia away, urging her to think of him as dead, in order to spare her a childless future burdened by his caretaking.
All the worry about the men has O'Brien concerned; she admits to a rather scornful Thomas that she should never have written alerting Vera Bates that her husband had returned to Downton. Meanwhile, Anna and Bates, blissfully unaware, pray for William and Matthew, feeling guilty over their good fortune — with most of his money, Bates has paid Vera for a divorce, and the Decree Absolute, or official dissolution of marriage, is expected any day. But instead, Vera arrives, announcing her plans to sell the scandal of Lady Mary and Pamuk to the newspapers and ruin Bates and Anna along with the family.
When Anna divulges Vera's plans to Mary, Mary knows the only person who can possibly contain the story is Carlisle, and she is forced to appeal to him. She ventures to London and tells all to Carlisle, who humiliates Mary but doesn't reject her; rather, he is thrilled with the shift of power in their relationship. He will use his newspaper to make an exclusive deal to buy Vera's story, but then suppress it, only too happy to have Mary in his debt. The deal is quickly executed, with Carlisle warning Vera that he will ruthlessly punish a broken contract. When Vera learns of the story's suppression, she is livid; she vows that she will bring Bates down. Carlisle passes Vera's threat along to Mary, whose reputation he has saved, and who is now completely in his power. Without consulting her, he prints an announcement of their engagement.
William is comfortably installed in one of Downton's bedrooms, where his father is joined by members of the family and staff in visiting and tending to him. Daisy is more anguished than ever at having led him to believe she loves him, but Mrs. Patmore urges her to let him die believing it. William soon learns that he is dying, and asks her to marry him right away, wanting her to receive a widow's pension when he dies. She reluctantly accepts, feeling all the while dishonest, untrue, and like a thief.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Hughes learns that Major Bryant will be returning to Downton for a visit with his fellow officers. She informs Ethel, who is barely making a life in a country cottage with her infant, thanks to help from Mrs. Hughes, who is supplying her with food from the house. Ethel urges Mrs. Hughes to pass a letter on to Bryant, who has ignored her earlier letters. But Bryant rejects the letter, leaving Mrs. Hughes to give Ethel the bad news. At the house, Robert authorizes the hiring of a new maid to replace Ethel, the war widow Jane Moorsum. Carson didn't bother Cora with the matter because she was too busy with the house.
Branson informs Sybil that the Russian revolutionaries have killed the Tsar and his family. But rather than feeling disillusioned with the cause, he turns the news into an argument for sacrifice, urging Sybil to make a sacrifice of her family and run away with him. Isobel returns from France and finds Mary at Matthew's bedside. She is moved by the love evident in Mary's nursing of her son.
William is dying. Violet pressures the reluctant Vicar into performing a deathbed wedding and, surrounded by the servants and family, William and the torn and guilt-ridden Daisy wed. Then, peacefully, he dies.
ONE OF THE MOST PHENOMENALLY POPULAR MASTERPIECE SERIES IS BACK –
“DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 2”
Available on DVD and Blu-ray from PBS Distribution February 7th
Release Timed with Premiere Airing on PBS Sundays January 8 through February 19
The First Season of “Downton Abbey” Won Six Primetime Emmy Awards
PBS Distribution today announced it is releasing “DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 2” on DVD and Blu-ray. The second season promises to be as satisfying as the first, with thwarted and rekindled romances, forgotten and fresh scandals, and enough new plot twists to weave a tapestry with Lord Grantham’s family crest. “DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 2” will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on February 7, 2012. The running time of the program is 544 minutes. The SRP for the DVD is $44.99 and the SRP for the Blu-ray is $49.99. The program comes on three discs.
The returning cast includes Dame Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, Hugh Bonneville, Dan Stevens, Michelle Dockery, Siobhan Finneran, and many more. The DVD and Blu-ray feature the original U.K. edition of the program and are being released a little less than two weeks prior to the airing of the last episode on PBS. Both the DVD and Blu-ray will include special bonus features.
The first season of “Downton Abbey,” which was released on DVD January 11, 2011, won a host of prestigious awards in the U.K. and was recently honored in the U.S. with six Primetime Emmy awards, one of which was for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie. American critics called “Downton Abbey” “an instant classic” (New York Times), “compulsively watchable from the get-go” (Variety), “the U.K.’s best abbey since Abbey Road” (Entertainment Weekly), and “a quintessential Masterpiece Classic” (TV Guide).
Program Details
Last season opened with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, which had dire consequences for Downton Abbey. The new season picks up in the middle of another disaster, World War I, which affected every aspect of life in England, accelerating the social change that was already transforming an age-old system of class and privilege.
As the Great War rages across Europe, discord is sown even into the serene Yorkshire countryside. Simmering tensions behind the gates of Downton Abbey are beginning to come to a boil as the men and women of Downton do their part on both the front lines and the home front. What’s more, the brutality and intensity of war seem to inflame more familiar passions – love, loss, blackmail, and betrayal – leaving family and staff alike to struggle in an ever-changing world, against a host of new demons.
About MASTERPIECE
MASTERPIECE on PBS is presented by WGBH Boston. Rebecca Eaton is executive producer. Funding for MASTERPIECE is provided by Viking River Cruises, with additional support from public television viewers and contributors to The MASTERPIECE Trust, created to help ensure the series’ future.
About PBS Distribution
PBS Distribution is the leading media distributor for the public television community, both domestically and internationally. Jointly owned by PBS (Arlington, VA) and WGBH (Boston, MA), PBS Distribution extends the reach of public television programs beyond broadcast while generating revenue for the public television system and our production partners.
PBS Distribution offers a diverse range of programming to our customers, including Ken Burns’s films (Prohibition, The National Parks, The War, Baseball, Jazz), documentaries from award-winning series NOVA (The Elegant Universe, Origins), FRONTLINE (God in America, Bush’s War, Growing Up Online), and American Experience (Freedom Riders, We Shall Remain), dramas from Masterpiece (Downton Abbey, Jane Eyre, Inspector Lewis), films from independent producers (Easy Yoga for Arthritis, The Buddha, The Story of India, Carrier, Journey into Buddhism, I.O.U.S.A.), and popular children’s programming from Dinosaur Train, Super Why!, WordGirl, Cyberchase, Martha Speaks, and Arthur. As a multi-channel distributor, PBS Distribution pursues wholesale/retail sales, consumer and educational sales through PBS- branded catalogs and online shops, and international broadcast and video sales. PBS distribution is also a leader in offering programming through digital platforms including the internet, mobile, and web-connected television.
PBS DISTRIBUTION ANNOUNCES THE
SPECIAL BONUS FEATURES ON THE
“DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 2” DVD AND BLU-RAY
DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 2” Available on DVD and Blu-ray February 7th
Premiere Episode that Broadcasted Sunday, January 8th Averaged 4.2 Million Viewers
PBS Distribution today announced the bonus features included on the DVD and Blu-ray releases of the critically-acclaimed series “DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 2.” “Downton Abbey” fans are clamoring for Season 2, and now they have another reason to be excited with more than 32 minutes of bonus features available on the DVD and Blu-ray. With Season 2 kicking off on PBS just this past weekend, averaging 4.2 million viewers, interest in the series, and everything Downton related, will only continue to increase as the series airs over the course of the next six Sundays. (Nielsen Fast National data, 2.7 household rating.) Descriptions of the bonus features are below.
HOUSE TO HOSPITAL
This eight-minute bonus feature briefly recaps where viewers left the house, a grand venue for evening soirees and garden parties. It is now 1916, times have changed and so has the house. Viewers are given a closer look at the changes that take place within the Downton house and shown how news of war impacts life at Downton and the lives of those that live there. In “House to Hospital,” viewers see how Downton is physically changed into a convalescent home and what this means in terms of the social changes taking place at that time. This special feature delves into the archives of Highclere Castle (which is Downton Abbey in the series) to see how houses of this period offered themselves to the war effort.
Interviews:
Alastair Bruce (historical advisor), Julian Fellowes, Lady Carnarvon (lives at Highclere Castle), Donal Woods (production designer), Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Jessica Brown-Findlay, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan and Rob James-Collier.
ROMANCE IN A TIME OF WAR
This 13-minute special feature takes a look at the relationships that blossom in this series and why the war was a catalyst to love. The main focus is on: Branson and Sybil, Bates and Anna, Mary and Matthew, and William and Daisy.
Interviews:
Julian Fellowes, Dan Stevens, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Allen Leech, Jessica Brown-Findlay, Joanne Froggatt, Brendan Coyle, Sophie McShera, Thomas Howes, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Zoe Boyle and Iain Glen.
FASHION AND UNIFORMS
This 11-minute bonus feature takes a detailed look at costumes. Costume designer Susannah Buxton takes us on a detailed journey through the changing fashions of 1916. Viewers get an inside look at how the war has impacted fashions and of course introduced military uniforms to the wardrobe. Interviews with the cast explain how each of the key costumes comes into play.
“Fashion and Uniforms” also explores the nature and role of uniforms, and the etiquette involved in their use. The feature shows the changing fashions – talking with both make-up and costume teams about the arrival of “the hobble skirt,” new hairstyles, and the curling irons that were introduced at the time.
Interviews:
Susannah Buxton (costume designer), Anne ‘Nosh’ Oldham (make-up designer), Jessica Brown-Findlay, Hugh Bonneville, Dan Stevens, Rob James-Collier, Elizabeth McGovern and Alastair Bruce (historical advisor).
Program Details
Last season opened with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, which had dire consequences for Downton Abbey. The new season picks up in the middle of another disaster, World War I, which impacts every aspect of life in England, accelerating the social change that was already transforming an age-old system of class and privilege.
As the Great War rages across Europe, discord is sown even into the serene Yorkshire countryside. Simmering tensions behind the gates of Downton Abbey are beginning to come to a boil as the men and women of Downton do their part on both the front lines and the home front. What’s more, the brutality and intensity of war seem to inflame more familiar passions – love, loss, blackmail, and betrayal – leaving family and staff alike to struggle in an ever-changing world, against a host of new demons.
“DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 2” is a Carnival/Masterpiece Co-Production.
MASTERPIECE on PBS is presented by WGBH Boston. Rebecca Eaton is executive producer. Funding for MASTERPIECE is provided by Viking River Cruises, with additional support from public television viewers and contributors to The MASTERPIECE Trust, created to help ensure the series’ future.
About PBS Distribution
PBS Distribution is the leading media distributor for the public television community, both domestically and internationally. Jointly owned by PBS (Arlington, VA) and WGBH (Boston, MA), PBS Distribution extends the reach of public television programs beyond broadcast while generating revenue for the public television system and our production partners.
Distribution offers a diverse range of programming to our customers, including Ken Burns’s films (Prohibition, The National Parks, The War, Baseball, Jazz), documentaries from award-winning series NOVA (The Elegant Universe, Origins), FRONTLINE (God in America, Bush’s War, Growing Up Online), and American Experience (Freedom Riders, We Shall Remain), dramas from Masterpiece (Downton Abbey, Jane Eyre, Inspector Lewis), films from independent producers (Easy Yoga for Arthritis, The Buddha, The Story of India, Carrier, Journey into Buddhism, I.O.U.S.A.), and popular children’s programming from Dinosaur Train, Super Why!, WordGirl, Cyberchase, Martha Speaks, and Arthur. As a multi-channel distributor, PBS Distribution pursues wholesale/retail sales, consumer and educational sales through PBS- branded catalogs and online shops, and international broadcast and video sales. PBS distribution is also a leader in offering programming through digital platforms including the internet, mobile, and web-connected television.
DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON 2
Street Date: February 7, 2012
Genre: Drama
Run Time: 544 minutes on 3 Discs
DVD, $44.99 and Blu-ray, $49.99
Format: DVD and Blu-ray
