My Review of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025)

 

Written by Julian Fellowes 

Directed by Simon Curtis 

Lady Mary Crawley (from the trailer):  "Families like our must keep moving to survive and all of your support is more important to me than I can say."

It feels like the moment has been prepared for. In the span of fifteen years, we've had this world encompass six series, five Christmas specials and now three movies. Is it really the end? For now, seemingly so.

Last time we left things, Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith) had died and her presence still was felt amongst the characters throughout this movie. Particularly with the ex Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery). Yup, she's a divorced woman and yes, for this era it was a scandal.

Mary being separated from Henry had her thrown out of a party organised by Lady Petersfield (Joely Richardson), much to the annoyance of Robert (Hugh Bonneville) and Cora Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern). Unfortunately as the movie progressed, Robert ended up channeling his anger at Mary for being a divorcee.

Yes, Mary somewhat dominated this last movie. Being a divorced woman made into something of a social pariah but it also made her vulnerable to the scheming conman, Gus Sambrook (Alessandro Nivola). The latter brought into Mary's orbit due to the return of Cora's brother, Harold Levinson (Paul Giamatti). Harold's still a bad businessman by the way but he's at least nice to Mary during the whole movie.

Mary's plight also inspired playwright, Noël Coward (Arty Froushan) to put on a play named Private Lives. Froushan's portrayal of Coward was a big highlight in this movie. We got funny lines, a single song and an implied threeway relationship with him, Thomas Barrow (Robert James Collier) and Guy Dexter (Dominic West). Oh and Molesley (Kevin Doyle) was also rather taken with Noel to boot. He was easily my favourite character that wasn't one of the main family/staff members.

As for the rest of the movie, there's a true passing of the torch moment. Mary took over Downton while Robert and Cora moved into the Dowager's house. There's a beautifully touching final scene that evoked so much of the series rich past. I had a tear when I watched it and it was clever use of archive clips. It might rank as one of my favourite movie moments of 2025.

Elsewhere, the rest of the movie had nice moments with Tom Branson (Allen Leech) and Edith Pelham (Laura Carmichael) and Bertie (Harry Hadden-Paton) truly stepping up for Mary, along with Isobel Grey (Penelope Wilton) and even Daisy (Sophie McShera). Not to mention another look into Mary's relationship with Anna (Joanne Froggatt). As you can tell, this movie was very much Mary's from beginning to end and no, that wasn't a bad thing at all. Let the divorced diva be lady of the manor for a good few years. 

- Henry cheated on Mary with another woman but hired a different one for the separation to be made official. All because Matthew Goode had scheduling conflicts for these movies.

- Cora and Harry's mother, Martha (Shirley McLaine) died between movies. There's also a tribute to Maggie Smith at the end of the movie.

- Anna and Mr Bates (Brendan Coyle) were expecting another child, while Molesley/Miss Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) and Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nicol)/Mr Mason (Paul Copley) got married between movies.

- Andy (Michael C Fox) succeeded Mr Carson (Jim Carter) as butler and there was some nice scenes with the latter and Mrs Carson (Phyllis Logan). Sir Hector Moorland (Simon Russell Beale) was also a minor thorn for Mary.

- Standout music: Arty Froushan's Poor Little Rich Girl.

- Chronology: 1930 at Downton Abbey for the majority of the movie as well London.

For a finale, I think Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale truly stuck the landing. It's a beautiful ending (for now) for this world and it had so many gorgeous character moments, dialogue and that last scene truly made the movie for me.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022)

 

Written by Julian Fellowes 

Directed by Simon Curtis

Violet: "Stop that noise. I can't hear myself die."

The not surprising success of Downton Abbey (2019) meant that a sequel had to happen and after setting up a major storyline, this would be the movie to pay off that story in particular.

Yes, I'm talking about the imminent death of Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith). Between movies, Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery) was no longer the only person who knew. Everyone did and there's moments where both Robert Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) and Isobel Grey (Penelope Wilton) confessed to their spouses about their feelings of losing Violet.

However there was also the issue of a villa in France. Violet was left one y a former paramour and she felt that Sybbie deserved it, much to the delight of the newly married Tom (Allen Leech) and Lucy Branson (Tuppence Middleton). Tom and Lucy along with Robert, Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), Edith Pelham (Laura Carmichael ), Bertie (Harry Hadden-Paton), Lady Rosamund (Samantha Bond), Maud (Imelda Staunton), Mr Bates (Brendan Coyle), Miss Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) and Carson (Jim Carter) head to France to inspect the property.

While in France, they met up with the deceased Marquis de Montmirail's wife (Nathalie Baye) and son, Edouard (Jonathan Zaccaï). For a large portion of the movie, Robert feared that he might be half French (he wasn't) while also worrying about Cora's health (her symptoms were curable). Then there was the event itself.

We've had shocking deaths in the past like with Sybil and Matthew but Violet's was sweet, with her family and even Denker (Sue Johnston) by her side. I also think that Violet's death added more poignancy to the subtitle of this movie along with a few characters pointing out that Mary would be her natural successor.

Speaking of Mary, she might not have gone to France but she had her own adventure at home. Downton became the set of a movie named The Gambler and despite being a married woman, Mary was very tempted by charming director Jack Barton (Hugh Dancy). Is it bad that I wanted Mary to cheat on her absent husband?

The movie plot was a lot of fun. You had both Anna (Joanne Froggatt) and Daisy (Sophie McShera) fangirling actress Myrna Dalgleish (Laura Haddock). Myrna turned out to be a nightmare who had to have her lines dubbed by Mary when the movie had to retooled into a talking picture. This part of the story also had Molesley (Kevin Doyle) become a screenwriter.

However the best thing to come out of the movie - Thomas Barrow (Robert James Collier) found love with closeted leading man, Guy Dexter (Dominic West). In fact, he hit the romantic jackpot that he handed his notice in so he could be Guy's right hand man in Hollywood. After all he's been through, Thomas deserved his shot at love here. Oh and it meant that Andy (Michael C. Fox) would be his successor at Downton.

- The movie started with Tom and Lucy getting married and having a baby by the end of the movie. Edith and Bertie's son was called Peter.

- Andy and Daisy married offscreen and set up Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nicol) and Mr Mason (Paul Copley). Molesley also proposed to Miss Baxter. Mrs Carson (Phyllis Logan) had a nice scene with Thomas before the Guy plot kicked off.

- At one point, both Carson and Maud were mistook for a married couple. Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton are married in real life. Elizabeth McGovern's husband also directed this movie and the next one.

- With this film, Robert and Cora now have six grandchildren, although Sybbie was the only one who got any lines in the movie.

- Standout music: Guy, The Handsome Mr Barber, Am I Blue? and Next Generation. 

- Chronology: 1928 at both Downton Abbey and in France. 

Although I did prefer the first movie, there's a lot to enjoy with Downton Abbey: A New Era. I'll admit the movie plot was more fun than the France story. I definitely would've given that more screen time. Violet's passing was handled well and this felt like a good note to end her formidable character on.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Downton Abbey (2019)

Written by Julian Fellowes

Directed by Michael Engler

Henry Talbot: "Leave Downton? We're stuck with it, aren't we?"

Lady Mary Talbot: "Yes. Yes, I believe we are."

I was a fan of Downton Abbey in the day. I caught up with the first series in time for the second and watched the remaining series until it's end on Christmas Day 2015. However, it's really taken me this long to catch up with the movies.

Four years after the show ended, it was time to go back to Downton and for two hours, there were a lot of plots to get through with this film. Some are resolved better than others but all of them at least managed to hold my general interest regardless.

First of all, there's a Royal visit that had the downstairs staff in quite a tizz. Notably because it was only King George V (Simon George) and Queen Mary (Geraldine James), along with Princess Mary (Kate Phillips) and the latter's much older and cantankerous husband, Henry, Viscount Lascelles (Andrew Havill). Their arrival caused quite the fuss.

Let's see, we had poor Thomas (Robert James Collier) demoted from butler so that Carson (Jim Carter) could come out of retirement. Carson butted heads with Mr Wilson (David Haig) while Mrs Carson (Phyllis Logan) also clashed with Mrs Webb (Richenda Carey). Add a snooty chef in the form of Monsieur Courbet (Phillippe Spall) to get Mrs Patmore's (Lesley Nicol) back up and Anna (Joanne Froggatt) going up against the thieving Miss Lawton (Susan Lynch) and it's proof that even the staff will clash over the least thing.

Moving away from the staff for a bit, who would've thought that Branson (Allen Leech) would've scuppered a would be assassination attempt from Irish sympathiser, Major Chetwode (Stephen Campbell Moore)? I didn't predict it. However, the romance between between Branson and the rather sweet Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton) was as telegraphed as possible. It's like they found Brandon's perfect woman in this movie after a string of post Sybil misfires in later series of the main show.

Lucy came under a lot of fire in this movie for being the ladies maid of Maud Elliot, Dowager Baroness Bagshaw (Imelda Staunton). Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith) wanted a possible inheritance to go to Robert (Hugh Bonneville) and was pushing the point too much that even Isobel Grey (Penelope Wilton) had to step in. Of course the real reason behind Maud's devotion towards Lucy also made a lot of sense before it was made clear.

What of everyone else in this movie? Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery) spent most of it away from her husband, Henry (Matthew Goode) while trying to organise the big event. She was also the one whom Violet confided her health issues to. Edith Pelham, Marchioness of Hexham (Laura Carmichael) was expecting a baby and didn't want Bertie (Harry Hadden-Paton) away for the birth. She ended up getting her wish. Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) arguably had very little really do compared to the rest of her family or even some of the staff.

- Even I was a little exasperated with Molesley (Kevin Doyle) being too much of a Royal fanboy. Fortunately, Daisy (Sophie McShera) provided a good contrast to that.

- Thomas got to see an underground gay nightclub, got arrested and then bailed by Royal footman, Richard Ellis (Max Brown). There was a spark with them.

- Other characters that appeared were Mr Bates (Brendan Coyle), Miss Baxter (Raquel Cassidy), Andy (Michael C. Fox), Albert (Charlie Watson), Mr Bakewell (Mark Addy), Tony Sellick (James Cartwright), Lord Merton (Douglas Reith) as well as the children. There's a few missing recurring characters but also so many characters to keep up with.

- I continue to love the snarky relationship that Violet and Isobel have with each other. Mary's daughter is named Caroline.
- Standout music: Traditional arrangements of On Ilkla Moor Baht 'At, God Save The King as well as I've Danced With A Man.

- Chronology: It's 1927 at Downton Abbey. Over a year since the series finale. Henry was in Chicago for the majority of the movie.

It had a lot going on with it and while some plots might have felt a little too easy in how they were resolved, I love this movie. Downton Abbey (2019) could've felt like a desperate cash in but it managed to avoid that general pitfall. It was nice catching up with these characters again. Now onto the sequels.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

Festive Treats & Finales

With Christmas being something of a hit and miss period for new stuff, I thought I'd look at three highlights and some continued viewing of a certain Netflix series as well.

And Then There Were None: And when the BBC weren't finding a new way to add another variation of Dickens on their Christmas schedules, they also went for another adaptation of a certain Agatha Christie classic. Roping in the talents of former EastEnders scribe, Sarah Phelps and the likes of Aidan Turner, Sam O'Neill and Burn Gorman to name a few, this three part adaptation certainly went down a treat with Phelps sticking faithfully enough to the source material while differentiating it enough from previous versions. Definitely one of the highlights from the last week.

Downton Abbey: Six series, 52 episodes and five Christmas specials and it was finally time for ITV to say goodbye to their biggest hit in the last decade. While the writing for later series have had a hit and miss quality to them, this was a satisfying final episode for the long running show. Edith finally got her happy ending as did Thomas and the show signalled at a rather positive future for the majority of the characters at the same time. I have no doubt in the next few years that a prequel series or a big screen movie for the main show will happen but for now, this was a lovely farewell to the show.

Jessica Jones: In 2015, I watched seven out of thirteen episodes for this show with the intention of viewing the remaining six within the first half of January. Since the last time I blogged about the show, the episodes I've seen have truly delivered. Seeing flashbacks to Jessica's sort of superhero days and first meeting with Kilgrave were exciting along with Malcolm cleaning up his act, meeting Trish's mother and of course, Kilgrave getting his claws into Jessica and Luke finding out what really happened to his wife. This show is well and truly delivering on every level.

Mrs Brown's Boys: With this series contracted for Christmas and New Year specials until 2020, you'd kind of hope at some point another series (between movies and stage productions) would actually surface. The latest Christmas special introduced Mark's old flame Bubbles to be a thorn in Betty's side, mildly touched on sexual harassment with Cathy and her female boss as well as some funny moments involving Agnes and Winnie while this year's Christmas tree could literally pack a punch. Overall a fun episode but maybe it's time for another series instead just specials, yeah?

Scream Queens: I reviewed this show for nine episodes before my patience got the better of me and I had to detach myself away from it. I did however catch up with the finale and it turns out that the killer was a fairly predictable choice but on the plus side, the Chanels got some appropriate comeuppances and they didn't kill off Jamie Lee Curtis. That being said, considering how much of a tonal mess the show was and that ratings weren't exciting glowing, will FOX either axe the show for good or give it a pity renewal? I know which one I'd do to be honest.

Downton Abbey - Season 6 Review

All good things must come to an end and with a Christmas special looming, the sixth season of popular ITV drama, Downton Abbey has been and aired and it was certainly a solid series to watch and for Julian Fellowes to bring things to a close with.

Episode 1: The resolution of Mr Green's death put Anna in the clear and Mary has to deal with a bit of blackmail from a hotel maid.
Episode 2: Marigold went missing for a moment while Daisy landed herself in hot water trying to defend Mr Mason.
Episode 3: Carson and Mrs Hughes finally got wed and Branson came back from America after a two episodes absence.
Episode 4: Gwen returns with a husband and Anna faces a pregnancy scare.
Episode 5: Robert's health took a turn for the worst, Edith was reunited with Bertie and Mary becomes suspicious about Marigold.
Episode 6: The house has an open day to raise funds for the hospital while Carson further isolates Thomas.
Episode 7: Molosley and Daisy rise to the challenges of examination day while Mary has second thoughts on Henry following a motor crash.
Episode 8: The feature length finale which had the best showdown with Mary and Edith for a long time as well as the misfortune of Thomas nearly dying (thankfully he did not) as well as the wedding between Mary and Henry Talbot.

An interesting enough final series, though it won't strictly feel final until the Christmas special itself has aired. I did like Edith standing up to Mary, her romance with Bertie but more so her growing confidence in running a newspaper while the likes of Branson, Mrs Hughes, Mrs Patmore and Anna had their moments. On the negative side, Thomas's storyline was too bleak for my liking at times and Mary's back and forth with Henry became fairly tedious in parts but the rapports with Isobel/Violet, Spratt/Denker (that one surprised me) and even Thomas/Andy (despite it not becoming romantic) were highlights of the series too.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Downton Abbey - Series 6/Christmas 2015 To End Series

They do say that all good things come to an end and after weeks of rumours and speculation, yesterday afternoon, ITV finally confirmed that the upcoming sixth series and Christmas special will see the end of Downton Abbey. Personally, I think it's for the best but before it ends, here are a few things I'd like to see happen during the final run of episodes for the popular period drama.

Resolve Mary's Love Arc: Seriously, while a part of me is glad Mary hasn't rushed into a new relationship/marriage following Matthew's death, the final series really does need to give her someone now. We know that Tony Gillingham is out of the running, so it's probably down to either Charles Blake or Henry Talbot, who was introduced during the Christmas special. Either way, just resolve it already. Pair her up with Branson if needs be. On seconds thoughts, maybe not.

Who Killed Green: A thousand times does this story need a resolution. The one thing that Fellowes clearly did not learn from the whole 'Who Killed Vera Bates' storyline was not to drag out murder plots longer than necessary. Series 5 should've cleared this up within it's first half but chose not to, so I'm hoping the opening episode of Series 6 finally put us out of our misery and answers this one.

More Violet & Isobel: Let's face it, any scene with those two has been pure gold over the last five years, so I want another healthy quotient of Violet and Isobel firing off one liners at each other during the last series. Then again, who doesn't, right?

A Wedding: Carson and Mrs Hughes anyone? As well as whoever ends up with Mary. One as an opening episode event and the other during Christmas 2015. This show does love a good old wedding after all.

Thomas's Love Life: Or disturbing lack of one would be more apt. In five series, he's had one closeted relationship which ended in the first episode, tried it on with Jimmy with near disastrous consequences and of course, there was that conversion story line in the last series when he hasn't been scheming and pissing people off. All in all, it's time for the show to actually give the bloke a healthy relationship with someone but at the same time without diluting his personality, but also at the same time show that he's evolved as a character. In other words, pair him up with Andy please, who is coming back for the sixth series.

Edith's A Mother: Well, she has been since Christmas 2013, so can we cut out the rubbish and have everyone else become privy to the fact that Marigold is her daughter and not her ward because if even the usually not perceptive Robert can figure it out, I can't see how everyone else hasn't worked it out by now.

The Last Episode: Like Christmas 2011 and 2014, the 2015 Christmas special actually should incorporate Christmas in some capacity (beginning or end of the episode) as well as a little bit of a flashforward/update on what has or will happen to the main characters in the future (aside from death of course).

Now those are some of the things I think should happen during the last series of Downton Abbey. What do you think should happen?

Press Release: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a638150/downton-abbey-to-end-after-sixth-series-itv-confirms.html

Series 6 of Downton Abbey is currently being filmed and will air on ITV from September.

Christmas Spills, Thrills & Kills?

Yes, it's a little festive themed this one as two of these shows had Christmas episodes while three of them had Christmas specials. Which at some point might lead to another musing/debate on either here or my Twitter account though.

Arrow: This show has been on an impressive streak this season and the recent two episodes were easily the show's best and brightest ones yet. The crossover with The Flash was an unbridled joy to watch, especially with having Cisco and Caitlin in the Arrow cave and helping with the mission against Captain Boomerang but the mid-season finale was something else. The actual use of a cliffhanger with the fight between Oliver and Ras Al Ghul, not to mention the reveal of Sara's killer. Bravo, this show has truly surpassed itself.

Black Mirror: Charlie Brooker's innovative anthology series has been one of the best shows that Channel 4 has come up with in years (after Utopia and very likely, Cucumber from next month onwards) and this eerie Christmas special, White Christmas might be one of his best ones just yet. Having John Hamm was a nice casting move but the shows themselves - ranging from bad Christmas dates to literally being able to block people certainly highlighted Brooker's wonderful flair for making mundane things rather macabre. It kind of makes you want another festive special from him, doesn't it?

Downton Abbey: After a fairly plodding and uninspired fifth series, this Christmas special certainly had it's moments. Everything involving Anna and Bates was pure tedium (just resolve the whole 'Who Killed Green' plot and be done with it now) and while I still don't care a great deal for Rose's inlaws or Mary's latest suitor, I did enjoy every scene with Violet and Isobel, loved the little tribute for Sybil, Robert's conversation with Edith about Marigold, Thomas's scheming being used for good and the fact that Christmas came into play in the last fifteen minutes of the episode. While Christmas 2011 will always be this show's best festive edition, this one certainly was a step up from the previous two we've had.

Mrs Brown's Boys: A couple of weeks ago, I saw D'Movie and while it provided a few chuckles, it wasn't Mrs Brown at her very best. This special (which did pretty well for both RTE1 and BBC1) on the other hand was a return to form. Whether it was another tree disaster related gag, commentary on Strictly Come Dancing or a certain whisk joke, the special certainly had it's share of funny moments. It doesn't matter that the jokes are easy to spot a mile off, it's still part of the show's charm.

The Flash: Outside of Gotham and How To Get Away With Murder, this show has been the best new thing to air in the last three months. The crossover episode with Arrow was sublime with Oliver, Diggle and Felicity blending well with Barry's team but again, the mid-season finale was the highlight. I'm not sure what to make of the connection with Wells and the Yellow Suit but it's certainly got me eager for the second half and after some ambivalence towards Cisco, I do think that character wise, he's come into his own. Plus, I'm looking forward to see more Caitlin and whether or not she'll be able to cure Ronnie. I'm guessing the answer there though will be no.

- Gina Torres has bagged a recurring role for the second half of Revenge's fourth season.
- Paul Rudd will return for the final season of Parks & Recreation.
- Michael Imperioli will appear in Hawaii Five-O.
- Sebastian Roche will be joining Once Upon A Time as King Stefan, the father of Aurora. Eion Bailey will also be returning for an episode.
- Mike Colter has been cast Luke Cage for Marvel's AKA Jessica Jones series.
- Joe Anderson will play the role of Mason Verger in the third season of Hannibal, following the exit of Michael Pitt.
- David Schwimmer will play Robert Kardashian in American Crime Story: The People V. OJ Simpson.
- Kiefer Sutherland has revealed that he doesn't expect 24 to return anytime soon.
- Game Of Thrones was the most pirated show of 2014.
- Julian McMahon and Daisy Betts will appear in the SyFy miniseries, Childhood's End.

Downton Abbey - Season 5 Review

A slightly better year than the previous one but not one without it's faults as things were in full 1920s during this series.

Episode 1: The fire episode, well the one with the least dramatic fire going. This was also the episode that revealed that Edith's daughter, Marigold was staying with the Drewe family while a former employer of Jimmy's cost him his job at Downton. February 1924.

Episode 2: Focusing on Daisy's study as well as Robert's dislike of Bunting, this episode also introduced Richard E Grant's Simon Brucker as well. There was also the plot of Mary getting Anna to obtain a diaphragm so she could sleep with Gillingham. April 1924.

Episode 3: A good episode for delving a little into Violet's past but another hostile moment between both Robert and Bunting did seem a little unnecessary though. Also some good moments between Carson and Mrs Patmore over a past matter as well. 1924.

Episode 4: Despite Thomas being pretty horrible to Baxter during this series, she is the one who comes to his aid when he needed it the most here. There were also some great Violet/Isobel moments and Rose's father arrived at Downton as well. Mary also ditched Gillingham in this one. 1924.

Episode 5: Rose meets Atticus while Robert and Brucker slug it out over Cora. I have to admit I sort of enjoyed Violet's scheming as well when it came to Isobel's love life and the Carson/Patmore scenes were pretty good as well. 1924

Episode 6: Edith finally got her daughter back and we met Violet's new ladies maid, Denker, whom Spratt took a great dislike towards. There was also a plot including a horse and some great scenes with Baxter and Thomas as the latter's conversion storyline was resolved. 1924.

Episode 7: Isis died. Probably the best character on the show at this point while Cora and Edith came up with a nonsensical way for Marigold to stay at Downton as well. Then there's also the fact that Lord Merton's sons are still annoying and Mary and Blake drove Gillingham and Mabel into each other's arms. Plus Rose and Atticus got engaged. 1924.

Episode 8: Rose and Atticus got married, Anna got arrested, Robert figured out that Marigold was actually his granddaughter while Thomas saved Andy from Denker's gambling talons and Branson made a decision about his future at Downton as well. 1924.

Something of a better series than the previous one but at the same time, I hated the convoluted manner in which they dealt with Edith and Marigold and the whole 'Who Killed Green?' and Mary's suitors plots have been horribly dragged out as well. I'm hoping the upcoming Christmas special and the first half of the sixth series puts these storylines to bed, once and for all as well as Thomas finally getting some action as well.

Rating: 7 out of 10

The Fallen Canary

It's been an interesting few weeks with so many show returning and others getting into their stride, so here's a rundown of some of them.

Arrow: Season 3 kicked off to an impressive start with the death of Sara. I hate that the character died but the mystery of her death should provide good material for the chunk of the new season and the fact that it's helping to steer Laurel in a certain direction can go either as well. Meanwhile the 'will they/won't they?' with Oliver and Felicity is being handled well enough but the jury is definitely still out on Brandon Routh's Ray Palmer just yet. I want to like him but I don't, not for now.

Downton Abbey: This series has certainly not been the best one (though a slight improvement on the previous one). I have to admit that Isis's death was more interesting than the dawdling with Edith and Marigold and the double tedium of the Mary's love life and 'who killed Green?' saga, both of which seem be dragged out too long at this rate. Rose's wedding to Atticus, while lovely did seem a tad rushed and the less of Denker, the better for me. On the plus side, every scene with Violet and Isobel is golden and I thought I spotted some potential with Thomas and aspiring footman, Andy as well. One can hope the latter somehow makes it to Downton as an employee because after this series plot, Thomas is in desperate need of something that resembles a good time.

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: This season has been enjoyable and adding Lance's ex-wife into the mix has certainly helped to even out the male/female ratio on the show, which is definitely not a bad thing. The scenes between the reunited Fitz and Simmons have definitely been a highlight as well as the introduction of Ward's brother, Christian and the ongoing saga with Coulson and May as well. It's amazing what a year can do for a show creatively but unless the ratings for this series pick up and fast, I have a horrible feeling that ABC will wield the axe on it.

Once Upon A Time: I was sceptical about the inclusion of Frozen franchise but merging it with The Snow Queen and taking some creative liberties has done wonders for the show. I'm not gonna pretend that everything has worked - Hook's brief deal with Gold was trite, Snow's been reduced to being an idiot and I'm caring less and less about Regina/Robin but the friendship between Emma and Elsa, the darker side of the former's powers and everything concerning Ingrid has been gripping to watch. I'm actually going to miss Elsa when she leaves and a part of me really wants Ingrid to get some kind of redemption arc as well.

Scandal: I really hope that SkyLiving aren't going to waste time and will air Season 4 (as it's kind of weird watching a previous season while current seasons of Grey's Anatomy and How To Get Away With Murder are airing on SkyLiving/Universal respectively). The last few episodes have been brilliant though - both Maya and Rowan are the parents from hell, Jake has gotten a lot more darker, Mellie had an affair of her own (more power to her) and Cyrus's relationship with James got the flashback treatment upon the latter's violent death. Olivia flipping back and forth between her job and unhealthy relationships with Jake, Fitz and Rowan though has been a little frustrating and it's hard to get a hold on Quinn's loyalties or what Huck will do next but other than that, I can't wait to see how the last two episodes will cap off this season.

The Flash: I've only caught the first two episodes of this season so far but damn it, I love it. I think even as much as I currently enjoy Gotham. It's arguably lighter than Arrow and there's definitely elements of Smallville to it but as a show, it's bloody fun to watch with Grant Gustin perfect as Barry Allen. The supporting characters are decent enough (though Iris is potentially in danger of being an early series Laurel) but it's really Harrison Wells who is standing out the most so far. Overall though, it's no wonder this series is doing wonders for the CW at the moment.

The Vampire Diaries: With the fifth season ending on that ending, the opening episodes of the sixth season haven't been that exciting. Maybe it's just that truth be told, I just don't give a shit about Damon and his boringly toxic relationship with Elena. In fact, I feel sorry for Bonnie being lumbered with him in that place they are while half the cast can't enter Mystic Falls while the rest of them brood and feel sorry for themselves. Even Stefan has been somewhat tedious in these episodes with his distancing of Caroline. Hopefully things kick into gear soon because this isn't a great start to the new season.

- Matthew Goode will be appearing the Christmas special of Downton Abbey as a potential suitor for Mary. The show has been renewed for a sixth season.
- Karen Gillan's comedy series Selfie has been cancelled by ABC and it's remaining episodes pulled from the schedules.
- Tommy Flanagan will be playing a villain named Malcolm Black in the second half of Revenge's fourth season.
- Alex Kingston will appear in the Christmas episode of Arrow.
- The Scarecrow will be coming to Gotham in the second half of the first season.
-  Victoria Smurfit will be playing Cruella DeVille in the second half of Once Upon A Time's fourth season.
- The TV version of Scream will not feature Ghostface but a similar looking killer. Think with a flesh type of mask.
- Marcia Gay Hayden will be appearing in the second half of How To Get Away With Murder's first season.
- Witches Of East End has been cancelled after two seasons.
- Homeland has been renewed for a fifth season.

Ice Queens

And a look at some of the show I've been watching recently ...

Downton Abbey: While this series has been a bit of an improvement on the previous one, there's still a feeling of not much really happening. How many more times do we need to see a scene where Robert loses his patience with Bunting or Edith pining for her child before something actually materialises? Similarly Mary's relationship with Gillingham has gotten more tedious and the sooner this whole 'Who Killed Green?' plot is put to bed, the better really. Halfway through this series, only the continuously spiky banter with Violet and Isobel and Thomas's storyline are the only things really keeping this series afloat.

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: While it may be returning to Channel 4 on Friday, RTE2 have gotten there first and having watched the first two episodes, it's not hard to see the marked improvement the series has enjoyed. The writing has definitely improved and the fallout from the first season and Ward's betrayal has certainly produced a lot of character shifts as well. It's a shame though that Lucy Lawless wasn't kept on but there's some good potential with Nick Blood's volatile Lance Hunter and the more scenes with May and Coulson, the better really.

Once Upon A Time: I'm currently catching up with the spin-off, Once Upon A Time In Wonderland but the first three episodes of the parent show's fourth season has been some of their best yet. While I wasn't keen on Frozen forming the narrative for the first half of this season, I have to admit the additions of Elsa, Anna, Kristoff etc have been brilliantly handled and having Elizabeth Mitchell as the Snow Queen has also been a great touch to this season. I will admit that while the likes of Rumple, Regina and even Snow herself have been a little underused, this has been a strong slew of episodes so far.

Scandal: The fourth season has aired at least four episodes in the US and with SkyLiving, we're still at least six episodes away from the third season finishing up. The last few episodes alone have seen the death of Sally's husband, the possible imminent death of Cyrus's spouse, Olivia's father getting one hell of a demotion, Fitz being an ass and some more flashbacks on Mellie and her relationship with Andrew as well as the tense atmosphere between Huck and Quinn. There are times when I do feel like I'm getting whiplash as everything seems to be moving so fast but at the same time, this continues to be a gripping series.

The Vampire Diaries: I did some cheating here and decided to watch the remaining episodes to the fifth season online and they've been something of a mixed bag. The finale itself was excellent and it'll be interesting to see how Damon and Bonnie get out of their little predicament but I haven't been too interested in the Travellers and Enzo's storyline took something of a cliched route at times. Plus the less angst between Damon and Elena, the better. Those two have managed to become the most tedious couple on the show at the moment. On the plus side, at least Liv and Luke managed to make it out of the season alive and I do enjoy Stefan and Caroline's scenes together.

- ABC have acquired the rights to gay soccer themed comedy Men In Shorts, inspired by Robbie Rogers.
- Gotham will now air for 22 episodes instead of 16. Nicholas D'Agosto has been cast as Harvey Dent.
- Fans of Friends will be able to watch all 10 seasons of the show on Netflix from January.
- Season 5 of Game Of Thrones will feature it's first flashback scene.
- Archie Panjabi is leaving The Good Wife.
- A remake of Bewitched is in the works.
- Alexandra Breckenridge has joined the cast of The Walking Dead in an undisclosed role for now.
- American Horror Story has been renewed for a fifth season.
- How To Get Away With Murder has gotten a season order of 15 episodes and will air Tuesdays 10pm on Universal from October 21st for UK viewers.
- Andy Mientus will play gay villain The Pied Piper in The Flash.

Fire In The Estate

We're getting to that point now where there are so many shows returning that only some I probably will talk about at least once. Three of them mentioned here of course.

Bad Education: Back for a third and rumoured final series, BBC3 and Jack Whitehall's comedy remains one of the more funnier programmes with the opening episode largely focusing on a teacher's strike while introducing some new characters (mainly Cleo). Alfie might be a lousy educator but he's an entertaining character, even if you're given the impression that Whitehall is possibly playing a heightened version of himself at times.

Downton Abbey: Returning to 8 million viewers on Sunday (down but not dangerously so), the fifth series of ITV's cosy period drama was something of a mixed bag. On the plus side - more delightful quips from Violet, Baxter's secret finally being revealed (a little better than expected) and Edith and the local fireman coming up with a plan for her to see her daughter along with Bunting vs. Robert as well. On the not so good side, the fire was an anticlimax and lasted for about two minutes of screentime, the episode plodded too much at times and there's a worrying lack of chemistry between Mary and Gillingham to boot. Still, the episode was an improvement on most of the previous series.

Scandal: Nearing the half way point of this third season (really hope SkyLiving don't waste too much time airing Season 4), the show seems to be hotting up a lot. I wasn't too shocked about Olivia's mother actually being alive because seemingly dead characters never stay that way (looking at you, David Clarke), but the moment where her and Olivia reunited was a genuinely punch to the gut moment that the show seems to be capable of delivering in spades. Also, while I wasn't too fussed about Olivia hooking up with Fitz again, I did enjoy Mellie and Cyrus's scheming against Sally and the whole Huck and Quinn plot has been absorbing to watch as well. Oh and more Lisa Kudrow please.

The Leftovers: Perhaps I need another episode or two but having watched the opening episode of this latest HBO drama, I couldn't for the life of me get into it. Possibly something about a rapture, maybe - I could barely keep up with the show and I sat through Lost for six seasons. It just came across as a dull, plodding, lifeless show and not even some of the cast - Justin Theroux, Liv Tyler, Amy Brennerman or Christopher Eccleston could keep my attention.

The Strain: Somewhat better but not yet something I'd class as addictive or gripping was this programme, which offered a genuinely different take on the vampire genre. Anyone hoping for something sexy as the antics in Bon Temps or Mystic Falls might be somewhat disappointed with this show as it's take on the genre is as removed from those series as you can possible yet. The pilot episode was a bit long and slightly slow in parts but the concept is interesting enough and there's a good rapport with leading characters, Ephram and Nora and I certainly can't wait to see more of David Bradley's mystery pawn shop owner and there were some decent scares too. It's got potential.

The Vampire Diaries: Nearly finishing up with the fifth season of the show, the following episodes have most been alright. The usual Damon and Elena angst certainly made itself know as he admitted to bumping off Aaron while Enzo seems to be a decent character and a pot stirrer to boot. The Travellers stuff has been okay to watch as well, but it does feel like it's treading way and do we really need another doppelganger plot so soon? I do like the additions of Liv and Luke though, character wise.

- Gillian Anderson has been confirmed as a regular for Hannibal's third season, which will air April or May 2015 on NBC. Series 2 of The Fall will air in November on BBC2/RTE1.
- Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn have been announced as the lead cast for Season 2 of True Detective.
- Shea Whigham has joined Agent Carter as the chief of the Strategic Scientific Reserve, Roger Dooley.
- Channel 5 have moved the third season of Dallas to late nights and the recent finale saw the death of a major character.
- Yeardley Smith will appear in an episode of The Mindy Project.
- Sally Pressman will be appearing in Once Upon A Time. Her role has yet to be confirmed.
- Jim Sheridan's movie In America is being developed for TV by HBO.
- Brian Benben will be appearing in Scandal in an undisclosed role for now.
- Scott Glen has joined Daredevil, taking on the role of Matt Murdock's mentor, Stick.

Downton Abbey - Series 5 First Look

With the latest series of The X Factor, currently dominating ITV's schedules, the station's another successful powerhouse will be back as well. With less than a fortnight to go, here's a look at what to expect for the upcoming fifth series of Downton Abbey ...

Judging by the new cast shot, the action has moved a few years (1924 supposedly) as we have both older versions of George and Sibbie standing alongside the rest of the cast and either Isis has lived a long life or the Crawleys have gotten a similar looking dog. As for spoilers in the new series, it seems like there won't be much time wasted in Mary picking between suitors if the latest trailer is anything to go by while a fire in the manor accidentally started by Edith will be the main focus of the first episode.

In terms of guest stars, the upcoming series will have the likes of Sue Johnson as a ladies maid for Violet, Anna Chancellor as a former employer of Jimmy's named Lady Anstruther and Richard E. Grant as Simon Bricker - a character who will be stirring up trouble for Cora when he arrives in the series. It's been confirmed that Lily James will be departing at the end of this series as Rose and hints of a romance for Isobel have also surfaced along with hopefully a resolution as to whether or not Mr Bates has blood on his hands from the previous series.

Meanwhile in probably the most surprising casting, it seems that George Clooney (yes, that one) will be appearing in the series - sort of. While the show has filmed it's Christmas episode, Clooney will however be playing an American guest at a wedding in a sketch scene for ITV's Text Santa fundraising appeal. That should be interesting to see.

Series 5 Trailer/Spoilers: http://www.spoilertv.com/search/label/Downton%20Abbey

Series 5 of Downton Abbey will air Sundays 9pm on ITV from September 21st and January 4th 2015 for PBS.

Remains Of Last Year

I was meant to actually do this TV jumble earlier in the week when it was still 2013, but I got distracted by other things, so here it is at last ...

Downton Abbey: As much as I still massively enjoy this show and have every intention of watching the fifth series, I can't help feeling that the writing is seriously beginning to lack at times now. 2012's Christmas special wasn't exactly brilliant but at least with Matthew's death and the birth of baby George, it felt like something actually happened. Here, nothing apart from Edith giving birth offscreen and coming up with an overly complicated plot to stay in her baby's life actually happened. Rose's coming out ball was pretty much meh as was the attempts of a Royal scandal and while Harold and Martha were fairly enjoyable guest characters, they didn't really do much that was truly memorable. And that's not mentioning the frustration with other plots being dangled about as well. A shame because this should've been a great one.

Death Comes To Pemberley: The BBC and their costume dramas, eh? You're never far away from them and while I wouldn't say this was the best one they've ever done, it was very well done and nicely spread out over three nights during the Christmas period. The not very praised sequel to Pride & Prejudice managed to translate slightly better onscreen than it did in book form but that was mainly down to the stellar cast in question. Hats off to Matthew Rhys and Anna Maxwell Martin who made a better job of the source material and gave a delightful performance throughout the three episodes. The supporting cast were pretty decent as well, but it really was Rhys and Martin who shone the most here.

Him And Her: The Wedding: It's amazing that in the space of four series from the BBC3 comedy I went from being coldly indifferent to the series to oddly gripping to slightly disappointed by the ending of it. Which is a shame because for the most part, I do actually think they managed to keep the pace of Laura and Paul's wedding going for five episodes and it was a wedding that would've made the Red Wedding look like a tea party in comparison. That being said though, I just found the ending rather unsatisfying and I kind of felt it derailed some of the growth that Paul was actually displaying as a character too. It also didn't help that Becky and Steve virtually became bit players in their own show as well. Overall, while it wasn't the worst ending to the series, it really could've been a lot better too.

Mrs Brown's Boys: Is it wrong that I get a perverse pleasure in the fact that the critics scorn at this show and it continues to top the UK ratings? Probably but I seriously do not care. While the Christmas special wasn't as funny as the 2012 ones, the New Year's episode was one of the funniest they've done in some time. It's a shame we'll have to wait until the summer for the movie version and even longer for a fourth series but these episodes were nice enough to have until then. I can see why this show might not be for everyone but it's a hell of a lot more funnier than other sitcoms at the moment and I love that it continues to perform well in the ratings as well.

- There's rumours of another Marvel spin-off being in the works. This time one focusing on Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter and will be titled Agent Carter.
- Vince Gilligan's character in Community will come between Annie and Abed when he appears on the show.
- Luke Grimes has exited True Blood and the role of James will be recast.
- Game Of Thrones was the most pirated show of 2013.
- The second season of The Americans will return to FX on February 26th.
- Josh Peck will be playing an archenemy of Stuart in an upcoming episode of The Big Bang Theory.
- Nick Nolte has been cast in Gracepoint, playing the role that David Bradley did in Broadchurch. Elsewhere Josh Hamilton will be playing the husband to Anna Gunn's character.
- Tina Fey's comedy set in a women's college has been given the greenlight by FOX.

Downton Abbey - Season 4 Review

It's been something of a strange series for the folk at Downton Abbey. The show at it's best, I am not sure but definitely a show that can survive some big cast changes at the very least.

Episode 1: An episode that largely revolved around Mary's grief for losing Matthew, barely bonding with her young son, George and also one where the nanny from hell got her just desserts when Cora caught wind of her attitude towards Sybbie. Oh and O'Brien departed off screen. February 1922.

Episode 2: Mary is moving on from her grief and becomes a sole heiress while Rose gets up to some antics at a tea party and we have to endure one of many moments centering on Molesley's series of misfortunes as well. 1922.

Episode 3: The big episode where Anna was attacked by Green during the events of another party. Also lesser known for introducing the first of Mary's would be suitors in, Anthony Gillingham. Despite the subject, it's also the strongest episode of the series. April 1922.

Episode 4: Gregson and Edith's relationship intensified a bit, Anna began to distance herself from Bates, Mary turned down Gillingham's declaration of love, Edna thankfully got the boot and Rose was introduced to jazz singer Jack Ross for the first time in this episode. April 1922.

Episode 5: Tedium with more focus on the Daisy/Alfred/Ivy triangle but some great scenes with Violet and Isobel and at least Bates finally became aware of what really happened to Anna as well. Oh and the arrival of Baxter too.1922.

Episode 6: One of the duller episode with Edith searching for Gregson but we did get the introduction of Mary's second suitor Charles Blake, Alfred decided to become a chef as we had a surprise party for Robert in this one as well. 1922.

Episode 7: Easily another brilliant episode from this series. The connection with Mary and Blake came across as more suited to each other than her and Gillingham, we found out about Edith's pregnancy and even had Isobel taking care of a sick Violet. 1922.

Episode 8: An overblown and overall disappointing finale where Green was predictably bumped off screen, we were none the wiser about what really happened to Gregson, Edith still hadn't told the rest of her family about being pregnant and we got the making of a triangle with Gillingham/Mary/Blake. July/August 1922.

Series 4 certainly had it's moments here and there but some of the better plots were poorly resolved and any amount of time dedicated to the likes of Molesley or the insufferably dull Jimmy/Ivy/Alfred/Daisy quadrangle is a waste of time for me. Not bad in parts but certainly lacking too.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Let's Twerk No More

Okay, it's been a while but here's a look at some of the things I've been watching for the last while. Another blog will surface on Monday.

Bates Motel: This has truly been a wonderful series to watch. For ten episodes we've seen the origins of Norman Bates and his dangerously toxic relationship with his mother as well as a nicely handled delving into his inner workings and this first season finale left me wanting more. The winter dance setting was nice and the ending with the death of a main character all served as a nice build up into the next season. This show was an unexpected delight to watch. I will definitely be tuning in for the second season.

Downton Abbey: For the most part, I've liked the fourth series of this show just fine but Julian Fellowes really does need to learn how to write finales. Once upon a time he could do it well but for this year, we had a mainly uneventful 90 minutes where all the potentially interesting storylines were barely dealt with at all. Seriously, did anything really significant happen here? Green was bumped off offscreen, Thomas's hold on Baxter still wasn't explained and the Blake/Mary/Gillingham triangle was thrown in at the last minute along with Violet becoming privy to Edith's plight. Hopefully the Christmas special is made of better stuff.

Glee: It's been a month since the tribute episode for Cory Monteith and the first two episodes since then have been largely fun and lighthearted ones. Even though this show's commentary on things such as twerking and the meaning of being either a Gaga or a Perry were mostly pointless, I did like the handling of Unique being bullied, Kurt and Rachel going wild and of course, Adam Lambert's appearance as well. This show will never be perfect but this run of episodes have been fun to watch though.

Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D: I have to admit this show is improving. I'm not sure if it's going to become gripping television for me, but I did like the last two episodes. I particularly thought in the last episode alone that Ward and Fitz made for a decent team, Melinda continues to kick ass, Skye has her moments, I'm softening a little towards Simmons and I like that Coulson is more suspicious of how he really came back to life. I also liked the fact that Saffron Burrows was added into the mix as Victoria Hand and I'm hoping that we'll be seeing more of her in later episodes. As well as the set up for a certain crossover as well.

Once Upon A Time: Forget the antics of Wonderland. The producers should just set up a detective agency spin-off with Belle and Ariel and audiences will come in their droves to see it. These two teaming up together was pure fun to watch but Ariel in general just seems to have sparked off with every character she's come into contact with. I am seriously hoping she becomes a regular by the second half of the season. As for the Pan stuff - it's still interesting but needs to move up a notch and I do that the Neal/Emma/Hook triangle isn't too dragged out for long though. Oh and an appearance from Ursula again would be lovely.

- Aisha Tyler will be appearing in Ryan Murphy's Open.
- Stevie Nicks will also be appearing in an upcoming episode of American Horror Story: Coven.
- SkyAtlantic have bagged the rights to HBO's True Detective and will air it shortly after US transmission in 2014.
- The US version of Come Dine With Me will air in December on Lifetime.
- There are rumours that a certain DC character will be appearing in Arrow soon, played by Steven R McQueen. Nightwing anyone? Take with a pinch of salt.
- HBO are working on their own version of Danish political drama, Borgen.
- How I Met Your Mother will be getting a spin-off called How I Met Your Dad.
- Netflix have commissioned a final season of six episodes for The Killing.
- Drew Goddard will be writing for the upcoming Daredevil series for Netflix.
- The Originals, The Tomorrow People and Reign have all been given full season orders by the CW.