09:33 AM EDT 05/29/2013
Downton Abbey
Sesame Street Spoofs Downton Abbey
Originally posted 02/04/2013 03:30PM
There's been plenty of drama on Downton Abbey this season but nothing compared to the challenges facing the residents of Upside Downton Abbey.
In a Sesame Street spoof of the hit PBS show, a Dowager Countess of Grantham lookalike requests several items from her butler, Carson, including tea, crumpets and a steak and kidney pie.
"I live to serve," he says, bringing her the food and drink. But each time the items fall to the ceiling because, the puppets discuss, everything is upside down on Upside Downton Abbey.
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Downton Abbey's Dramatic Plot Turn: What Caused It?
Originally posted 01/28/2013 01:20PM
How seriously do TV viewers take what happens to the Crawleys and those in their sphere on Downton Abbey?
So seriously that, as the series' creator and writer Julian Fellowes recently admitted to PEOPLE, he even gets yelled at "a bit" by members of the public when something they dislike takes place on the show.
"And they know it all," the Oscar- and Emmy-winner, 63, said about the public's reaction. "They have opinions that are better than mine."
SPOILER ALERT: Details of Sunday's broadcast are about to be revealed.
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Downton Abbey's Downstairs Cast Dresses Up
Originally posted 01/28/2013 10:00AM
On the screen, Downton Abbey's downstairs house staff are decidedly unglamorous and dressed to reflect their life's station. But at the SAG Awards Sunday night, where they won for best TV cast, the actors said they were thrilled to be made up and presenting themselves as red-carpet ready.
"It's bliss. It really is nice to have more than 10 minutes spent on your face," said actress Phyllis Logan, who plays stoic Mrs. Hughes, the head maid.
Added Amy Nuttall, who plays Ethel, the housemaid turned prostitute: We all get costume and hair and makeup envy of the upstairs girls. They all look immaculate and fresh, and we're all made to look tired."
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Downton Abbey's Maggie Smith & Elizabeth McGovern: Before They Were Stars
Originally posted 01/14/2013 10:30AM
Everyone has a past ... even the actors on Downton Abbey.
Long before they were cast as members of the aristocratic Crawley family, Dame Maggie Smith and Elizabeth McGovern appeared in a variety of films, and Snakkle.com has the photos to prove it.
As Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, Smith reigns over her costars, often offering some comic relief in the form of barbs. But prior to Downton and long before her iconic roles in Sister Act and the Harry Potter films, Smith was a fresh-faced girl engulfed in her studies.
(Smith, 78, won a Golden Globe Sunday night and is nominate ford a SAG Award for her role on Downton.)
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What to Watch and What to Skip on TV in Super Busy January
Originally posted 01/13/2013 08:45AM
Don't worry, America. The networks didn't forget you over the holidays – they were just waiting for the new year to stuff their presents down the chimney.
This year, midseason starts with an extremely bustling January that brings back established hits, including American Idol and Justified, and introduces new series such as The Carrie Diaries.
Here's a quick rundown of which ones to watch – and which ones to skip. No re-gifting!
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Downton Abbey Estate Highclere Castle Hosts Weddings, Private Events
Originally posted 01/11/2013 11:00AM
You don't have to be a Crawley to get married at Downton.
The magnificent estate that serves as a backdrop for all the drama on PBS's Downton Abbey is actually Highclere Castle located in Newbury, U.K., and available to the public for weddings and other private events.
But much like the Crawley family learns, it's anything but cheap to be at Downton. For around $24,069 (not including tax), you and your beloved can play Mary and Matthew in front of family and friends,
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Downton Abbey: 5 Best Moments from Season 3 Premiere
Originally posted 01/07/2013 09:35AM
Downton Abbey is back!
Sunday's two-hour premiere was full of developments – upstairs, downstairs and outside of the Crawleys' sprawling country home. As Mary and her fiancé Matthew prepare for their wedding, Lord Grantham gets word that his wife Cora's fortune has disappeared thanks to a bad investment in a Canadian railroad company. At the same time, Matthew has learned that he may become the heir to his late fiancée's father's inheritance. And so just when the problem of finding a practical heir to Downton is resolved, the future of the estate is once again in question. Anna is as loyal a wife as ever, working to free Bates from spending life in prison; Lady Edith continues to pursue the much older Sir Anthony; and housekeeper Mrs. Hughes may have cancer!
But that's just the tip of the iceberg that sank the Titanic. Here are the best moments from the season 3 premiere:
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Lady Mary Set to Wed as Third Season of Downton Abbey Premieres (Photo)
Originally posted 01/06/2013 11:00AM
It looks like Lady Mary will finally make a fetching and stylish bride.
New photos posted by EW.com show Mary in her wedding gown as she is set to marry distant cousin – and heir to the family's fortune – Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) in the third season of Downton Abbey, which returns to American television on Sunday night (9 p.m. ET) on PBS.
The show's costume designer, Caroline McCall, went all out for the bride's period wedding ensemble, making it what EW says is the show's most expensive outfit to date. A vintage veil will be anchored on Mary's head by a 45-carat floral diamond tiara, valued at $200,000, from U.K. jeweler Bentley & Skinner.
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SAG Award Nominations Go to Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Downton Abbey
Originally posted 12/12/2012 09:30AM
The 2013 Award Season officially kicked off Wednesday morning with the announcement of the 19th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations – and double nominees Nicole Kidman (for HBO's Hemingway and Gellhorn and the movie The Paperboy) and Maggie Smith (for PBS's Downton Abbey and the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), as well as Kevin Costner, Julianne Moore, Jim Parsons, Alec Baldwin, Betty White, Tina Fey, Javier Bardem and Anne Hathaway all have reasons to be smiling.
In the theatrical motion picture division, the SAG/AFTRA nominated the following for outstanding performance for a cast (SAG's version of the best picture prize):
• Argo
• The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
• Les Misérables
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
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Downton Abbey Stars Hang with the New York Knicks
Originally posted 12/10/2012 05:00PM
Downton goes downtown!
Hugh Bonneville, Robert James-Collier, Joanne Froggatt, Sophie McShera and Brendan Coyle, who all star in the Emmy award-winning PBS show Downton Abbey, visited New York this weekend.
On Sunday, the actors and actresses enjoyed their first ever live professional basketball game when the New York Knicks took on the Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden.
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