Downton Abbey Season 3 Coming To TV, DVD, Blu-Ray In January

Courtesy: BBC/PBS

The countdown is on.  For fans of the British drama, Downton Abbey, the show’s third season will finally come to America on Sunday, January 6^th on PBS affiliates across the country.  Downton’s second season was met with mixed reviews, but as fans will see in the season premiere of Season Three, things have gotten much better.  Season Three opens where Season Two closed.  Audiences see Lady Mary and Matthew are finally getting ready to get married.  But among all the happiness of the impending nuptials, things at the abbey aren’t entirely rosy.  Financial issues have the fate of Downton Abbey up in the air.  Fans will also find interesting Matthew’s thoughts that maybe he doesn’t want to live at the abbey after he and Lady Mary are wed.  It’s obvious that things at the abbey are changing through this revelation.  And the introduction of Cora’s mother (played wonderfully by veteran actress Shirley MacLaine) makes for the possibility of plenty of great moments of cultural differences between herself and Lady Violet, Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith—Harry Potter).  There is so much more for audiences to look forward to in Season Three’s premiere, and the season’s other episodes, too without giving away too much.  Even more to look forward to is the upcoming release of Downton Abbey Season Three on DVD and Blu-Ray. 

Downton Abbey Season Three will be available on DVD and Blu-ray Tuesday, January 29^th.  Included in the upcoming release will be a feature on Shirley MacLaine, a standard behind the scenes featurette, and a bunch more.  Fans will be able to order Season Three online at PBS’s online store, http://www.shoppbs.org. 

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it or its companion page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reel-Reviews/381028148587141.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.

PBS Offering New Downton Abbey Tees Now

Season Three of PBS’ hit drama, Downton Abbey, is coming.  The premiere episode of the show’s third season is currently scheduled to air on PBS affiliates nationwide on Thursday, January 3^rd.  That’s not too far away.  While fans wait for the arrival of Season Three, they can show their excitement and celebrate their favorite show with a brand new line of tees from PBS.

PBS is offering fans eight brand new shirts fresh off the line.  Each one has its own special design.  All eight tee designs make for great gift ideas to the Downton Abbey fan in any house.  Fans can check out just a handful of them right here.  They are all available online now at PBS’ online store, http://www.shopps.org.

To keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it or its companion page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reel-Reviews/381028148587141.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.

Courtesy: PBS

Courtesy: PBS

Courtesy: PBS

Courtesy: PBS

New Gift Set A Good Idea For Any Downton Abbey Fan

Courtesy: PBS

Far too often, British programs get a bad reputation by most American audiences.  But when the hit show, Downton Abbey cleaned up at last year’s awards shows, it proved that British programming still had a place on American airwaves.  Forget that it was largely shut out at this year’s Emmys.  Downton Abbey is more proof of the value of PBS.  And now fans of this standout serial drama can own the show’s first two seasons on Blu-ray in a single set.

PBS released the first two seasons of Downton Abbey to a very special Blu-ray gift set last month.  The set contains every episode aired so far, including the special Christmas episode.  So one who has never seen this show might ask what is the big deal over it, right?  Right.  So much goes into Downton Abbey to make it a show that any drama lover would enjoy.  Yes, it’s a period show.  But as is pointed out in the included “Making of” bonus feature, a lot of work went into maintaining the show’s believability.  The crew behind the show went to painstaking efforts to properly reconstruct the setting inside the house, from the rooms to the costumes, and other even more minute details.  Audiences will gain even more appreciation for every drama filled episode after viewing this bonus feature, and the others.  Each one intertwines with the other and the episodes themselves to make for a fully immersive viewing experience.

The episodes contained in this set, and the included bonus features make for a wonderful viewing experience.  They are just one part of the overall picture that makes this new gift set perfect for any fan of Downton Abbey.  As minute as it is, even the set’s packaging plays a role in its overall success.  The Blu-ray packaging sees the first two seasons distributed across five discs.  Rather than placing them into a bulky box, each disc gets its own space on inserted “leaves.”  This is a doubly positive packaging effort.  On one hand, placing the discs in this fashion protects them, reducing the possibility of each disc being scratched.  This in turn preserves them, allowing them to be viewed for much longer than less wisely packaged discs.  In combination with the safety of the discs, their packaging also makes the overall packaging ergonomically sound.  The manner in which the discs were placed allowed the box in which they were placed to be smaller than other boxes.  This means the box as a whole will take up less space on anyone’s DVD/Blu-ray rack. 

Whether for the packaging or the bonus features, or for the well written episodes themselves, PBS’ new release of Downton Abbey Seasons 1 & 2 comes together to be a good fit for any fan of the show this holiday season.  Fans can avoid the crowds and order it just as easily via PBS’ online store, http://www.shoppbs.org.

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it or its companion page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reel-Reviews/381028148587141.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at http://philspicks.wordpress.com.