Downton Abbey - Series 4 [Blu-ray]

I found Series 4 to be on a par with all the earlier series. The story moves along with Mary grieving over the loss of her husband and the birth of their child with the support of the whole household. Mary and Branson are close because of their similar circumstances which seems to help them both in these double tragedies. Branson still seems to be in an uncomfortable place, feeling he does not belong upstairs and can no longer be part of the downstairs crew. But he seems to be accepted upstairs and is a great help to the Earl. Not surprisingly Mary is being pursued by many suitors because of her position and the wealth and prestige that come with it. Edith has grown and her part reflects the changes, i.e., her affair with Gregson.. Maggie Smith continues in her excellent and humorous portrayal of the Dowager Countess. It's hard to believe that this part was not written for her. The downstairs staff moves along with their own secrets and intrigues.The costuming is still first rate and the shots of the English countryside and Highclere Castle inside and out are outstanding. The entire cast, upstairs and downstairs, are still excellent. The writing and direction as always great. I personally love historical costume dramas and this is one of the best I have ever encountered. I am now waiting patiently for The London Season (Christmas Special 2013)which I am informed will arrive within the week, yeah! Incidentally, I really feel that the Christmas Special should be included in Season Four. It most certainly would have caused a delay in the Fourth Season, but I think most people would like to buy them together. Here, in the States, people must wait until after Christmas to purchase the dvd because PBS usually includes the Christmas special with the series and we must wait until the entire series and the special are shown before we can purchase the dvd. So, I don't believe anyone has seen Series Four over here as of the writing of this review.If you have not seen this wonderful series, buy it now. No one does this type of thing better than the BBC and you will enjoy it.

We watched Downton Abbey series 4 with some trepidation after some of the rather caustic reviews I read. However, the characters have become a household name and my other half and I sat and watched. Okay, the story is a little feeble - about the hanger on wanting to blackmail the Prince of Wales etc. But some character studies are worth watching - especially Daisy. Where do you find honesty like that? Lady Violet and Cora's mum locking horns is another sight to see, and her not giving two hoots about becoming a lady, better still seeing right through Lord someone or other. All in all its quite entertaining and clean. Who was the man talking to Lady Edith about her child? Yes, its quite interesting and I am sure we'll get series 5 when it comes out.

in my opinion you cant please all of the people all of the time. but hey? dont be swayed by the negativity in some of the reviews. Times in between the 2 wars in Britain were full of change and upheaval and I am sure this will be reflected in series 4 and on through 5. How can it not> the series has been fabulous so far and I for 1 remain loyal. Its certainly refreshing to find something on TV worth the time to watch, sometimes its just so overwhelming with all these Master ?, The Greatest ?, ? got Talent, ? Idol, boarder patrol, makeovers, brat camp, supernanny, castaway, the list just keeps getting longer

I live in Cyprus and so it is difficult to watch Downton Abbey when it comes out on television, as a result of which I purchase the DVDs which I have just finished watching. As each new series comes it is an improvement on the last which seems almost impossible to imagine, I find myself almost believing that the characters portrayed are real which is very scary and a sign of excellent acting. It isn't just the story lines, or the actors but also the costumes and the sets are so redolent of the early 1920s that if there were anybody alive who lived in that period, they would have to agree they are jolly accurate. To think we have to wait almost a whole year before the next series comes out! But, in the meantime, we have the Christmas special to look forward to, however, Amazon I have not found any mention of the possibility of pre-ordering it, why is that? I want it and I want it now or I am going to jump up and down and scream and shout until I am sick!! I have already signed up to be alerted once the next series is becoming available to purchase, why not the 2013 Christmas Special?

The first 3 series of Downton are free on Amazon prime and my lovely wife was thoroughly hooked by then so even though we had seem when originally broadcast we decided to invest in Series 4. This is a delightful series that shows the close relationships that develop between the Crawley family and their staff. Social issues of the time like female emancipation are also covered.There are many things available on TV and even on Amazon prime not half so informative, fun and compelling as this saga. Well worth the money.

Simply loved, our Sky was down for a month due to gales early in the New Year, so out came the DVD's, my husband was also glued, so we sent for following episodes to Amazon, we are both up to date & can't wait for the new series 6 to start on TV,but I will still purchase the DVD to complete my set. Will watch again & again as I am sure we will notice tit bits from previous episodes that we may have missed, but also simply because it was a total delight to watch, just loved it. Imagine even my hubby was hooked, not his thing at all, For me this was A TV series/period drama at its best. please give us more Mr Fellows😘