"Downton Abbey" (PBS)

Oh dear. We're probably going to get our PBS tote bags confiscated for saying this, but much as we enjoyed Season 1 of this highly refined British drama, Season 2 came as a bit of a disappointment. Expanding the scope to include the battlefields of World War I proved to be overambitious, several new characters (Mr. Bates's ex-wife, Sir Richard Carlisle) were nothing more than one-dimensional villains, and the writing took ... more 

"Downton Abbey" (PBS)

Oh dear. We're probably going to get our PBS tote bags confiscated for saying this, but much as we enjoyed Season 1 of this highly refined British drama, Season 2 came as a bit of a disappointment. Expanding the scope to include the battlefields of World War I proved to be overambitious, several new characters (Mr. Bates's ex-wife, Sir Richard Carlisle) were nothing more than one-dimensional villains, and the writing took some absolutely ludicrous turns that wouldn't fly on a bad Mexican telenovela. The bandaged-faced soldier claiming to be the Crawley family heir? Matthew's miraculous recovery from paralysis? Lavinia's oh-so-convenient death from the Spanish flu? Don't get us wrong: We're still looking forward to Season 3 of "Downton," but let's not give the show every award in sight just because we like their accents. less