A little precursor here. I hate the Victorian Genre. I avoid it like the plague and want nothing to do with them. Movies like The Age of Innocence and Jane Eyre just don't appeal to me at all. I know that they have a rabid following, people swear up and down that they are good. But for me, I just don't relate to stories based in this world or the aristocratic families that populate them. Spending time with a group of people that thinks they are entitled to everything at the expense of belittling those below them as inferior is just not my thing. With that said....

....I went against my stance and decided to give Downton Abbey a chance based on the numerous accolades the series has been getting lately. It seems that no matter how much I tried to avoid talk about the show, there it was. Yes, the same things that I just mentioned as being the sole reason for my disdain is in fact featured prominently here. But it's not what is driving the stories....for the most part. The best thing going for Downton Abbey is that most of the plot is driven by the Staff and the help that runs the household. There is so much plotting and conniving going on between the employees, that it more than makes up for those scenes involving the family that likes to talk about how their sh*t don't smell. But even some of the family members have some interesting story lines going on.

I do think that Season 1 warrants a chance. I say give it a Rent. I went into this thinking.....no, saying that I would absolutely be one and done, just to say "okay, I gave it a shot. Now I can move on". Well, there is enough good stuff here to make me want to check out Season 2, which I will.

FYI, up till the moment I popped in the first DVD disc, I swore that the name of the series was Downtown Abbey. Thought maybe the series was about an Upper-class "Lady" named Abbey of a respected family that had a secret life as a  h o o k e r  who worked.......'Downtown'. Hahaha. I come up with some crazy stories when I'm bored.

Also, I will never get used the idea that British shows consider 6-7 episodes to be a "Full Season". It's not!!!