This show was consistently funny, and full of epiphanies. I was so sorry when Bernie Mac passed away prematurely.
I think I actually cried during the Saving Sergeant Tompkins episode.
An episode I still think about - mostly when I hear, "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone," a song that was prevalent during that one -…

I think they should concentrate on him helping run Downton, keeping it profitable. Maybe he'll move to America and need to return to help fix a crisis. I could see Robert taking over when Mary is too busy shagging around York.

Season 1, especially, had very bad lighting. Electricity was new to the house, Edith tried to ruin Mary's reputation, and Mary chased off Edith's bf. Later, Lord G snogged the maid, Branson helped burn down a rich family's house, etc.

Keep Tom (just give him something to do), shove Thomas.

I think this must be Miss Bunting's sock account.

This season isn't really doing it for me. Needs more Charles Blake, for one. But not much is happening.
Sad, too, that Edith is starved for company with her daughter, yet Mary's son probably didn't even make the Top Ten for why she feels the need to get back to Downton on time.

Dude. Miss Bunting. Girlfriend must have been raised in a barn.

Nope. He'd have to have at LEAST two other names.

Hopefully they won't go that far with Bates. But I think we can all agree that Bates is getting the better end of the deal in that marriage. Molesley, who had been so cluelessly determined on trying to start an exclusive two-person book club with Anna, begins to seem like he would have been a better option.

…and all is right with the world.

Here's the thing: Mrs. Drewe would have to conclude that the letter that the family received about Marigold was a fake… which would probably mean she would have to conclude that her husband lied to her. I would think that even if she had an inkling that the whole thing was a lie, she would cling to what she has…

And it would certainly make Tony more interesting.

I think you're right — Mary as someone who had grown emotionally - which seemed natural, is much more interesting than bitch Mary. Or, she could still be a bitch, but to people who earn it — not to her downtrodden sister.

Dear Captain Apathy,

I was hoping SO much that Drake telling Mary she was smarter than Tony would have made her put the brakes on her getaway. I would have been so gratified to see her give up that reckless, unsexy idea.

"You'll shoot your eye out, Rose."

1. re: Edith and being apparently clueless about Mrs. Drewe's discomfort about Edith's presence. I think that Edith, understandably, is so hungry to see her daughter that she doesn't notice or care about imposing.
2. I know Mary couldn't go into the shop herself for contraception, but sending her lady's maid in on her…

Yeah, I just feel like I don't get who the people are who choose the winners, which supposedly represent some sort of general consensus. Someone posted that they actually did vote, which is reassuring, but it does seem like the kind of honor recipients just don't value, necessarily. Perhaps the original idea behind…

Hope my sarcastic signature here didn't seem to imply YOU were being petty. I didn't feel that at all. Much as I enjoy TMP, it's the incongruities like these which keep this good show from being a great show.

That's the way I felt watching the Casey the Pastor relationship play out. (I'm a Christian.) A pastor, unless he was from an extremely unconventional Christian church (which didn't seem to be the case with Casey) would never live with his girlfriend. I mean, let's say a show is set on an army base, people who have…