"but you can beat bad jokes by buying better gag writers between seasons."

Wish I could - though the grossed out look on (I think) Grace Park's face was priceless.  In most of season one, for all its virture, I think they well over-played Baltar as the comic relief.  There was great exchange at the end of the mini-series between Head Six and Baltar: "You're not on their side, Gaius." "I'm…

Still doesn't make any sense to me.  Richard is a bastard, but not a stupid one prone to taking unnecessary risks.  Murdering Mrs. Bates makes no more sense to me than him deliberately infecting Lavinia Swire with Spanish Flu to make sure never tells Matthew that she stole confidential documents and leaked them to…

Not seeing the logic there - if Mary's role in the death of Mr. Pamuk was that easily "discredited" why is she going to stay with her grandmother?  If anything, it doesn't matter that Mrs Bates is dead. He can still publish the story, and it coming from the mouth of a dead woman murdered by her estranged husband (and…

Cinder: You're quite right - there was quite an export industry of attractive, wealthy young women with a measure of social graces trying their luck in London Society. Edith Wharton called them 'The Buccaneers' in her last, unfinished novel.

From memory, the only backstory we have on Cora is that she came from Cincinnati, Ohio, and according to Violet her father was "in dry-goods, whatever they are".  Cora certainly wasn't born into the kind of 'Society' Wharton was, but I'd like to think she's more like the woman May Welland's son Ted is engaged to at…

Pressing question I've never been able to answer: Isn't having sexy time with your invisible but way hot imaginary frenemy just jerking off with a side of high-functioning psychosis?

You say "fraking stupid", I say "not willing to either lie under oath or put his friend and employer in the same position".

I'm still saying it will be coin toss for Edith between "turns into the Vita Sackville-West of Downton" or "become the mistress of a handsome, well-connected fascist tool she later marries, a la Diana Mosley (nee Mitford)"

jpop OK, that makes perfect sense to me.  Hell, I'm sure some quality time in America with Grandmother Levinson will give Mary ample time to find a way to bring much arse-numbingly tedious angst.  I'm hoping Mary and Anna will decide men are more trouble than they're worth and run off to London to do whatever lesbians…

But the odd thing is that Violent can be pretty radical - when it suits.  In series one, she's the one who who most vigorously badgers Robert to challenge the entail she probably equally vigourously insisted be made in the first place.  And when Sybil expresses the desire to train as a nurse, it's Robert and Cora who…

At the rate Edith's going, she'll end up in a bigamous menage with Thomas and Bates.  They're the only even remotely eligible men in a hundred mile radius of Downton she hasn't flung herself at yet. 

That makes sense, but I'm a little less indulgent of Mary's tendency to be an utter bitch than her Papa.  Which is as it should be. :)

"Fellowes said in an interview that Catholicism would be involved in S3
and my guess is Sybil converts since Branson (can you imagine any of the
Crawleys calling him "Tom") converts."

Um, it's mentioned in dialog that Sybil is pregnant.  I think both she and Branson would draw the line at the kind of wedding where both sides are carefully trying not to notice that the wedding dress is *cough* rather snug.

And much as I hate saying this, I think Sir Richard is entitled to be a little miffed at his fiance mooning over Matthew so blatantly she might was well have a sign around her neck reading "My Turk-killing Ve-jay-jay of Shame Aches for You Angst-Ridden Gimpy-Boy!"

OK, I can't believe I'm doing this but I'm going to defend Sir Richard here.  Dude, you married Cora for her dowry (which was every bit as much earned "in trade" as Richard's fortune) — really not on the firmest of moral high grounds to sniff at the prospect of Mary marrying "beneath her" for money and position.

Using the Mitford Template, Edith is probably going to end up unhappily married to a brewing heir, only to end up having a scandalous affair with a drop dead handsome married fascist.  After his wife conveniently drops dead, they marry.  In series four, she develops a mad pash on Hitler. As you do. Edith does not have…

"I was excited about the
prospect of her spending some time with all those crass arrivestes in
New York and Newport."

Ah yes, we all need to get a sense of humour?  I'm all for not feeding the attention trolls (I'd describe both Minaj & Donohoe as such), but I'm also a believer when you set out to be offensive don't be surprised when you get exactly the reaction you were after.