Downton Abbey-Season One (2010)

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General		Extras
Category	TV Drama Series	Audio Commentary-2 Featurette-Making Of-Multiple Deleted Scenes Interviews-Cast & Crew
Rating
Year Of Production	2010
Running Time	363
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (4)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Brian Kelly Brian Percival Ben Bolt Andy Goddard
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	None Given
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	?	Music	John Lunn

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     I recently reviewed recent BBC costume drama, Upstairs Downstairs which was unlucky enough to come to television at the same time, and therefore be compared to, this masterful period drama, Downton Abbey. Upstairs is a good show and worthwhile to watch, however it certainly pales in comparison with this big budget and exceptionally well written drama series, which has taken the world by storm over the last couple of years.

     The show is set in a grand country house in England, the titular Downton Abbey, and starts with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. This first season covers the years up to the start of the First World War. It follows the lives of the Crawley family, who own the house, and the servants who look after them. The head of the house is Robert Crawley, The Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) who is married to an American heiress, Cora (Elizabeth McGovern). They have three mature daughters, the aloof Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), the b****y Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) and the young and headstrong Lady Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay). These descriptions are probably unfair and grossly simplify the characters which develop over the season in different ways. Having daughters leads to a problem with the succession to the Earl's title, Cora's money and the house itself. The new heir is identified to be Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens), a distant cousin of Robert, who arrives to live in the village with his interfering mother, Isobel (Penelope Wilton). He is young, handsome and eligible. Robert's mother, Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) also lives in the village and inserts herself and her opinions into most of the goings on in the house and family, especially the matter of the succession. This character is wonderful, acerbic, manipulative and funny.

     Equally important to the various intersecting storylines are the various staff members of the great house, led by the butler, Mr Carson (Jim Carter). Other staff members include the housekeeper, Mrs Hughes (Phyllis Logan), Head Housemaid, Anna Smith (Joanne Froggatt), Footman Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier), Ladies Maid Sarah O'Brien (Siobhan Finneran), Cook Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nicol), Scullery Maid Daisy (Sophie McShera), Lord Robert's valet, Mr Bates (Brendon Coyle) and footman, William Mason (Thomas Howes). The stories of these characters are just as interesting and well written as those of the Crawley family. It is the quality of the intersecting storylines which really makes this series stand out, although great direction, excellent acting from the ensemble cast, marvellous production values and beautiful music all play a role as well. One thing which really speaks to the quality here is that this is not an adaptation of a play or novel, it has been written directly for the series by Julian Fellowes, famous for writing Gosford Park amongst other things and his long acting career.

     The series covers the characters’ lives, loves, triumphs and tribulations.

     There are seven episodes in this first season, which generally run about 50 minutes each, although the first one is longer. These are spread over three discs with some extras on the third disc and a bonus disc containing more extras.

     This first season is available on DVD or Blu-ray and is also available in a box set with Season 2.

     Highly Recommended.

Video

     The video quality is very good.

     The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture is very clear and sharp for television on DVD. Shadow detail is good.

     The colour is excellent showing off the beautiful gardens and wonderful costumes.

     There is little to complain about in artefact terms with a little minor macro-blocking and some motion blur.

     There are subtitles in English which are clear and easy to read.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is good.

     These discs contain an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. The sound is obviously quite front focused.

     Dialogue was mostly easy to understand and clear although the subtitles came in handy occasionally.

     The theme music and score by John Lunn is excellent.

     The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     Lots of extras. According to the back cover the extra disc is exclusive to Australia/NZ.

Menu

     The menu featured music, scenes from the show and allowed for episode selection.

Playback Trailer (1:12)

     Pointless Trailer for UK distributor.

Commentary - Episode 1 (Julian Fellowes, Brian Percival - Director & Gareth Neame - Producer)

     An interesting and worthwhile commentary from the creative forces behind the camera. They cover their approach to the opening sequences, trivia, writing, cast, story, locations and much more.

Commentary - Episode 2 (Liz Truebridge - Producer & Ben Bolt - Director)

     Another worthwhile commentary while not being quite as good as the first.

A House in History - Downton Abbey (9:44)

     Focused on the actual house chosen to play Downton Abbey which is Highclere Castle. The historical advisor, crew and the house's owner discuss the house used.

The Making of Downton Abbey (13:13)

     EPK style making of which covers writing , the development of the series, the characters, locations, sets, costumes, the cast and the house.

Deleted Scenes (7:46)

     Interesting deleted scenes which are well worth a look.

The Time of Downton Abbey (3:20)

     Featurette on houses and households of the time and how the show strived for accuracy.

A Day in Service (4:06)

     Featurette about the amount of work expected of a servant in a great house of the time and how they went about it.

Geography of Downton Abbey : Downstairs (4:12)

     Tour of the set built for the downstairs parts of the house and how it linked to the real house used for upstairs. Hosted by historical advisor.

Geography of Downton Abbey : Upstairs (4:03)

     Tour of the actual house used for the upstairs part of Downton Abbey. Hosted by Julian Fellowes.

Daisy's Tour of the Base (3:36)

     Tour of the production base at Highclere Castle including makeup, costumes and star trailers.

Cast Interviews (26:28)

     Extended interviews with Rob James-Collier and Joanne Froggatt. They focus mostly on character, story and other cast members. OK.

    The Region 1 version of this title only contains the House in History featurette and the Making of. All the other local supplements such as the commentaries and other featurettes are additional on our local version. Region 4 clearly the better set.

     A very entertaining and high quality period drama.

     The video quality is very good.

     The audio quality is good.

     The extras are extensive.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall