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Mixed:
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Negative:
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Critic Reviews
Jan 4, 2016
Season 6 Review:
Writer and creator Julian Fellowes provides a sweet parting gift, indulging fans with closure on so many dangling storylines, while offering fiery and long-overdue exchanges between some of the most popular characters.... His ensemble of actors is equally generous, each giving such steadfast performances in these last episodes of the award-winning series.
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Jan 4, 2016
Season 6 Review:
Devoted and casual fans of the series alike will doubtless enjoy the gentle winding up of stories that have progressed over so many years, with new beaus for Mary and Edith introduced at the end of last season, an increasing degree of liberation for the servants, and even a glimpse of happiness for the tragedy-ridden Bateses. Meanwhile Downton’s villains, always cartoonish, remain so.
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TV Guide MagazineJan 4, 2016
Season 6 Review:
Even though it was starting to feel a bit threadbare in recent years, its classy departure is likely to leave its legion of fans pining for more. [4-17 Jan 2015, p.14]
Jan 4, 2016
Season 6 Review:
While it's wonderful to be reacquainted with the various charming characters for the sixth and final season, the series' essential problems remain: A lack of subtlety as plot turns are signaled and then underscored; a tendency to keep certain characters stuck in one emotional state for prolonged periods--how much more angst can Anna and Bates (Joanne Froggatt and Brendan Coyle) telegraph again and again?, and a reliance on our allegiance to certain actors.
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Dec 31, 2015
Season 6 Review:
[These] episodes find the celebrated series running true to form. That means an occasional misstep, to be sure – too much time inexplicably spent with one of the blander characters or a less-than-intriguing subplot. But, for the most part, it means elegant storytelling that richly blends social commentary, comedy, soap opera, romance, intrigue, tragedy, melodrama and razor-sharp satire.
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The Daily BeastJan 5, 2015
Jan 4, 2015
Season 5 Review:
If Seasons 1 through 4 have bored or baffled or just annoyed you, Season 5 won't win you over. If, on the other hand, you greet the return of Downton with unabashed affection, as I admittedly do, you won't be disappointed, even if some of the storylines feel like reruns, or even when you want to grab a character by the shoulders and shake him or her.
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Jan 2, 2015
Season 5 Review:
In some respects, the latest episodic flight feels less like Season 5 than Season 4, Part B, what with so much unfinished business to transact. That’s not a serious knock on the show, necessarily, although the latest storyline doesn’t contain the sort of signature events that have dictated the course for past runs.
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Jan 10, 2014
Season 1 Review:
If some plot elements in the third season seemed forced (and they did), then Fellowes seems to have completely regained his balance in the fourth season. And that balance means expertly bouncing between the upstairs and downstairs worlds of Downton, letting the plot turns flow naturally, carrying us along joyously for the posh ride.
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Jan 3, 2014
Season 4 Review:
Showrunner Julian Fellowes knew he had to spice things up, apparently, so he employed a lazy, “shocking” plot device that will leave fans sickened, indignant and wondering why Fellowes just didn’t give his beloved characters something worthwhile to do instead. That offensive event aside, this season’s repetitive tropes, recycled conflicts and predictable heartbreak are not worth the trouble this time around.
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Jan 3, 2014
Season 4 Review:
While Downton Abbey has been stuck in the same basic theme of “tradition versus progress” for four seasons now, the closer it inches toward modernity, the more dynamic its basic setting of becomes, and there are moments in season four—particularly late in the season—when this version of the show shines through.
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Jan 2, 2014
Season 4 Review:
The show must carry on, and of course it does, but rather sluggishly.... Overall the acting from the ensemble remains strong enough to sweep you along from episode to episode. [13 Jan 2014, p.47]
Jan 2, 2014
Season 4 Review:
It continues to be to Fellowes’s credit that he manages to write for such a large number and wide array of characters and yet makes viewers know and care about each one. None is purely hissable nor heroic, intentions are murky, and impulsive choices have major consequences, keeping the enjoyable soap at full lather.
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Jan 2, 2014
Season 4 Review:
The cast is so uniformly good, frankly, it’s tempting not to single anyone out, and Fellowes continues to juggle the dizzying assortment of plots with what appears to be effortless ease. That said, one can see him repeating himself in some of the flourishes as the season progresses.
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Jan 4, 2013
Season 3 Review:
This year, by contrast [to last year], the drama flows more naturally; it cuts closer to home, and nearer the bone, allowing Smith and McGovern, particularly, deeper material than has previously been their portion
Jan 4, 2013
Jan 3, 2013
Season 3 Review:
On the one hand, our love of the characters makes it more than possible to overlook the sloppiness of the scripts. On the other, though, it's because we do know these characters so well that we notice the inconsistencies in the first place. Again, none of this detracts significantly from our enjoyment of the series.
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Jan 2, 2013
Season 3 Review:
The melodrama is deliciously engrossing and occasionally wrenching--two episodes in the middle of season three may empty local Rite-Aids of Kleenex--but in the end, it's a light series: "light" as in the opposite of dark, not insubstantial; warm, hopeful, inspiring.
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Jan 2, 2013
Season 3 Review:
If the Granthams are low on dough, emotionally they're richer than ever. [14 Jan 2013, p.51]
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