Downton Abbey's first two seasons are packaged in a splendid boxed set that every fan of the series, and any historical drama, will love. Season one sets a lavish stage of beautiful scenery and architecture, and a class structure rigid yet just beginning to give way at the beginning of the 20th century, and of the Great War. Season two picks up two years later, in 1916, as the war rages on over Europe, and grand Downton Abbey has been converted into a convalescent hospital for wounded veterans of the brutal combat. Throughout both seasons, the storylines involving the wealthy Crawley family and their servants are captivating, richly developed, and all too human. Season one focuses, as it must, on quickly giving biographies of the main cast members and their roles in the stately home of Downton Abbey. Standouts include Hugh Bonneville as Lord Crawley, Earl of Grantham, and Elizabeth McGovern as his American wife, Lady Cora. The Crawleys' three daughters quickly show their distinct personalities and passions--and passion they are determined to have. Downstairs, the servants include Brendan Coyle as Mr. Bates and Rob James-Collier as Thomas Barrow the footman, whose rising position in the household is threatened by Bates's return; Thomas immediately begins schemes to undermine Bates. Maggie Smith steals every scene she's in as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham. The bons mots fly out of the countess's mouth and she is wickedly funny as the elder stateswoman who has seen it all and is shocked by absolutely nothing. If Smith tends to chew the scenery, it doesn't really matter--since Downton Abbey has scenery to spare.
