Christmas Special 2011 (19 Feb. 2012)

At Christmas 1919 the Crawleys welcome Edith's former suitor Sir Anthony, now a war invalid, who tells her that he is too old for her, and Robert's sister Rosamund with her beau, the ... See full summary »

Director:

Brian Percival

Writer:

Julian Fellowes (written and created by)

Stars:

Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Hugh Bonneville	...	Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham
Laura Carmichael	...	Lady Edith Crawley
Jim Carter	...	Charles Carson
Brendan Coyle	...	John Bates
Michelle Dockery	...	Lady Mary Crawley
Siobhan Finneran	...	Sarah O'Brien
Joanne Froggatt	...	Anna Bates
Rob James-Collier	...	Thomas Barrow
Phyllis Logan	...	Mrs. Hughes
Elizabeth McGovern	...	Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham
Sophie McShera	...	Daisy Mason
Lesley Nicol	...	Mrs. Patmore
Maggie Smith	...	Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham
Dan Stevens	...	Matthew Crawley
Penelope Wilton	...	Isobel Crawley

Storyline

At Christmas 1919 the Crawleys welcome Edith's former suitor Sir Anthony, now a war invalid, who tells her that he is too old for her, and Robert's sister Rosamund with her beau, the raffish Lord Hepworth. Sybil writes to announce her pregnancy. After Carlisle's selfish attitude towards the servants and his jealousy when Mary accompanies Matthew to visit Lavinia's grave, Robert prises from his wife the fact that the newspaper baron is effectively blackmailing his daughter into marriage to keep her secret and, on her father's advice, Mary breaks off the engagement, knowing that the angry Carlisle will now probably expose the family. Aware that Hepworth is penniless, Violet unsuccessfully tries to warn Rosamund against marriage but Rosamund is determined to go ahead with the wedding - until she catches her fiancé in bed with her maid. Things do not go well for John, on trial for killing Vera, though Robert and Matthew vow to contest his life imprisonment. Upstairs and downstairs at ...

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Plot Keywords:

trial | christmas | marriage proposal | jealousy | womanizer | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 February 2012 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Byfleet Manor, Mill Lane, Byfleet, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carnival Films, Masterpiece

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Mais où sont les neiges d'antan?" ("But where are the snows of yesteryear?"), Violet's line, spoken in French, referring to her having known Lord Hepworth's father in her youth, is from the poem "Ballade des dames du temps jadis" by François Villon.

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Goofs

In the scene where Thomas meets Lord Grantham after his dog has been returned, Thomas's collar is shown undone and hanging loose. It then disappears entirely, then reappears, then disappears and then appears tucked away on the other side of his coat.

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Quotes

Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham: Sir Richard, life is a game, where the player must appear ridiculous.

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Connections

References Wives and Daughters: Episode #1.3 (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Downton Abbey - The Suite"
(uncredited)
Written by John Lunn
Performed by The Chamber Orchestra of London

User Reviews

brilliant stuff

i know an awful lot of people hate Downton, my dad and an awful lot of my friends included, but i love it a kind of indecent amount and the Christmas special absolutely made my heart sing. The absolute trick of loving the show, as most Downton lovers probably know, is that its absolutely meant to be fun- you don't have to believe it would or could happen you just have to take the whole thing as a bit of a mini and extremely pretty pantomime where you can boo and throw crisps at the screen every time Carsile comes on, cheer at Sybil and Branson ,enjoy the genuinely heartfelt moments,take bets on the crazy storyline and basically have a lovely time. with all that taken into account i adored the Christmas special, it was festive enough with the snow in the proposal and gray skies at the shoot but also added to the storyline instead of doing the doctor who thing and creating a little "one off" as i had feared. It wasn't too depressing but was absolutely a roller-coaster ride of emotions (forgive the cliché) I think scenes including daisy and William's father, as well as, surprisingly, the proposal itself, seemed genuine and really well acted.it was nice to see everyone have a dance at the servants ball and the Mathew/Richard fight had me actually jumping up and down. of course there were a couple of sticky moments in the script, as there generally is,and the bates storyline seemed a bit detached from everything else and it didn't seem like fellowes couldn't decide how much Sybil/branson stuff should be mentioned but the happiness the (in main) fairytale ending supplied was immense and as always it was beautifully shot, so no complaints from me and i think it was amazing Christmas day entertainment.