Drama

Downton Abbey Series 2 continues tonight at 9pm on Masterpiece Classic. And remember – it’s a special two-hour episode this week!

Click through for a sneak peek clip from Episode 6 that features some fun pre-dinner conversation among the Crawleys about new post-war fashions, a couple great lines from the Dowager Countess, an awkward moment between Richard and Mary, and a surprising development surrounding Vera Bates’ death.

Hurrah, we’re finally starting to get more concrete information about Series 2 of Upstairs Downstairs!

Stars Emilia Fox and Sarah Lancashire have both signed on to appear in the new season. Details about their characters are slim, though executive producer Faith Penhale has confirmed that Fox will play a character called Portia who “makes a connection with” Alex Kingston’s Blanche, and that Lancashire’s character, named Violet, will be involved with butler Mr. Pritchard (played by Adrian Scarborough).

Fox is best known for her work on crime drama Silent Witness and, most recently, as evil sorceress Morgause in Merlin. And most of you will probably recognize Lancashire from her role on Lark Rise to Candleford. These ladies join several other new Series 2 cast members, including Doctor Who’s Kingston, Hotel Babylon’s Michael Landes and Made in Dagenham’s Kenneth Cranham.

In more good news, according to the Guardian, writer Heidi Thomas said that the second series will also feature Jean Marsh’s beloved Rose Buck, even though the actress’ ill health in the Fall looked like it would keep her out of the show.

And if that’s not enough, the BBC has released an official group shot for Series 2, gives us our second official look at Kingston’s Blanche, along with a couple of simply stunning dresses. Click through to take a look for yourselves!

The great author Charles Dickens turned 200 yesterday, and to celebrate this momentous anniversary Masterpiece Classic released the first American promotional trailer for the upcoming Great Expectations adaptation, featuring former The X-Files star Gillian Anderson.

Click through and take a look for yourself!

The second series of Downton Abbey rolled along through its fifth episode this week, bringing with it some good and some bad – but nevertheless all very major - plot twists. As we reach the end of the war, there are adjustments and consequences for all our favorite characters – and it will be incredibly interesting to see how these events shake out over the last few episodes.

Click through for a look at some of the big moments from Downton Episode 5 and a rundown of all my (occasionally run-on) thoughts on the night’s major developments. Chime in with your opinions in the comments – on some of these bigger plot twists, I would dearly love to hear how other people reacted!

Downton Abbey Series 2 continues tomorrow night at 9pm on Masterpiece Classic. After last week’s emotional tearjerker, what might we be in store for this week? Who knows, but it’s probably wise to basically prepare yourself for anything.

So, click through to take a sneak peek at a scene from tomorrow’s all new episode. This preview clip involving Mary and Matthew being, well, Matthew and Mary, and is heartbreaking and moving and frustrating and a little bit…ominous at the very end. What do you all think? Any predictions to share?

Crime drama Whitechapel returned to ITV for a third series in the UK last night, though this time it’s put together a bit differently than previous outings. Unlike the first two seasons, which were both based on a single event/case played out over three episodes, the new season is being split into three two-part stories, for a total of six episodes. Stars Rupert Perry-Jones, Phil Davis and Steve Pemberton are all back as DI Joseph Chandler, DS Ray Miles, and historian (of a sort) Edward Buchan.

Click through for a look at the ITV trailer for Series 3 for yourselves. No word on when we might see this series of Whitechapel in the States just yet. But, since BBC America aired the first two seasons so recently, there’s every reason to hope we won’t have to wait too long to see the third. Keep your fingers crossed!

The second series of Downton Abbey continues, as we rolled through the fourth episode this week. While I didn’t completely love this episode quite as much as last week’s, it was still full of loads of drama and a great many twists and turns that will doubtless have long-lasting repercussions for everyone at Downton, both upstairs and down. And I’m just guessing that it probably made you cry.

Click through for a look at some of the big moments from this episode, a few nitpicks and some speculation about the back half of the season. Feel free to chime in with any thoughts, observations, and things I might have left out in the comments!

A brand new episode of Downton Abbey airs tonight at 9pm on Masterpiece Classic! Is everyone suitably excited? Given how fantastic last Sunday’s episode was, I am expecting great things as several storylines kick into high gear.

Click through for a look at a scene from tonight’s installment. If you’ve missed anything, you’ve still got a few hours to catch up on the full episodes available online. Or hit our archives for a look through the big things you’ll need to know.

Those of us who are fans of both of Steven Moffat’s current productions – Doctor Who and Sherlock – all basically harbor a secret dream that one day someone on one of those series is going to make some sort of wink-wink-nudge-nudge reference to the other and then we’ll all basically pass out from an overload of geek joy. (There’s even an entire sort of interesting fandom subset called “Wholock” which basically exists to further crossover ideas and things. Internet, you really never fail to impress me.)

Except it appears that that sort of actually happened? Maybe? Well, we’re not sure. But it might have.

Click through for the full story – and don’t worry, those that are concerned about spoilers, even though I’m about to talk about something that takes place in a Series 2 episode, it reveals nothing of the plot unless you were unaware that The Hound of the Baskervilles involves some creepy outdoor settings.

The second series of Downton Abbey rolls on, as we’ve just finished the third episode this week. After a somewhat slower episode last week, things are cracking right along once again on both the war and the home fronts. Full disclosure: I will definitely may have some nits to pick once we get into the specifics of this installment, but I feel I should say that as a whole I loved this episode to pieces. It's probably my favorite of the second series thus far.

We continue to see how the war abroad is bringing about significant changes in the day-to-day life of Downton, there’s some drama, emotional upheaval, character development and more. Click through for a look at some of the big moments from this week’s episode, and share your thoughts in the comments!