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Downton Abbey

Episode #3.1

  • Episode aired Jan 6, 2013
  • TV-14TV-14
  • 1h 8m
IMDb RATING
8.6/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
S3.E1
  • S3
  • E1
All episodes
All
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Dan Stevens and Michelle Dockery in Downton Abbey (2010)
Downton Abbey: Episode 1
Play trailer1:20
3 Videos
17 Photos
  • Drama
  • Romance

Spring of 1920. Wedding guests descend on Downton Abbey, where disasters threaten. One of which is Cora's freewheeling American mother, who tries to loosen up her in-laws.Spring of 1920. Wedding guests descend on Downton Abbey, where disasters threaten. One of which is Cora's freewheeling American mother, who tries to loosen up her in-laws.Spring of 1920. Wedding guests descend on Downton Abbey, where disasters threaten. One of which is Cora's freewheeling American mother, who tries to loosen up her in-laws.

IMDb RATING
8.6/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Brian Percival
  • Writer
    • Julian Fellowes(written and created by)
  • Stars
    • Hugh Bonneville
    • Jessica Brown Findlay
    • Laura Carmichael
Top credits
  • Director
    • Brian Percival
  • Writer
    • Julian Fellowes(written and created by)
  • Stars
    • Hugh Bonneville
    • Jessica Brown Findlay
    • Laura Carmichael
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 8User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos3

    Downton Abbey: Bates In Prison
    Clip 0:56
    Downton Abbey: Bates In Prison
    Downton Abbey: Too Much The Same
    Clip 0:34
    Downton Abbey: Too Much The Same
    Downton Abbey: Episode 1
    Trailer 1:20
    Downton Abbey: Episode 1

    Photos17

    Jim Carter, Siobhan Finneran, Phyllis Logan, and Sophie McShera in Downton Abbey (2010)
    Joanne Froggatt in Downton Abbey (2010)
    Siobhan Finneran and Matt Milne in Downton Abbey (2010)
    Brendan Coyle in Downton Abbey (2010)
    Maggie Smith and Michelle Dockery in Downton Abbey (2010)
    Shirley MacLaine and Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey (2010)
    Shirley MacLaine in Downton Abbey (2010)
    Jim Carter in Downton Abbey (2010)
    Hugh Bonneville and Jim Carter in Downton Abbey (2010)
    Elizabeth McGovern, Hugh Bonneville, Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan, Penelope Wilton, Allen Leech, and Dan Stevens in Downton Abbey (2010)
    Robert Bathurst and Laura Carmichael in Downton Abbey (2010)
    Sophie McShera in Downton Abbey (2010)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Hugh Bonneville
    Hugh Bonneville
    • Robert Crawley, Earl of Granthamas Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham
    Jessica Brown Findlay
    Jessica Brown Findlay
    • Lady Sybil Bransonas Lady Sybil Branson
    Laura Carmichael
    Laura Carmichael
    • Lady Edith Crawleyas Lady Edith Crawley
    Jim Carter
    Jim Carter
    • Charles Carsonas Charles Carson
    Brendan Coyle
    Brendan Coyle
    • John Batesas John Bates
    Michelle Dockery
    Michelle Dockery
    • Lady Mary Crawleyas Lady Mary Crawley
    Kevin Doyle
    Kevin Doyle
    • Joseph Molesleyas Joseph Molesley
    Siobhan Finneran
    Siobhan Finneran
    • Sarah O'Brienas Sarah O'Brien
    Joanne Froggatt
    Joanne Froggatt
    • Anna Batesas Anna Bates
    Robert James-Collier
    Robert James-Collier
    • Thomas Barrowas Thomas Barrow
    • (as Rob James-Collier)
    Allen Leech
    Allen Leech
    • Tom Bransonas Tom Branson
    Phyllis Logan
    Phyllis Logan
    • Mrs. Hughesas Mrs. Hughes
    Elizabeth McGovern
    Elizabeth McGovern
    • Cora Crawley, Countess of Granthamas Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham
    Sophie McShera
    Sophie McShera
    • Daisy Masonas Daisy Mason
    Matt Milne
    Matt Milne
    • Alfred Nugentas Alfred Nugent
    Lesley Nicol
    Lesley Nicol
    • Mrs. Patmoreas Mrs. Patmore
    Amy Nuttall
    Amy Nuttall
    • Ethel Parksas Ethel Parks
    • (credit only)
    Maggie Smith
    Maggie Smith
    • Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Granthamas Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham
    • Director
      • Brian Percival
    • Writer
      • Julian Fellowes(written and created by)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

    Storyline

    Edit
    Spring 1920:- Mary and Matthew's wedding is fast approaching. O'Brien fixes for her nephew Alfred, a former hotel waiter, to be the new footman though Carson finds him inefficient whilst Daisy is annoyed that, in view of the amount of cooking she does, she is still a kitchen maid and has not been promoted. Anna finds a list of all Vera's contacts and tells John she intends to write to them to discover if any of them found her suicidal. Robert, meanwhile, finds the future of Downton Abbey at risk due to money problems but Matthew annoys Mary by refusing a legacy left him by Lavinia's father. Sybil and Tom Branson arrive from Ireland - paid for by Violet - but Tom's new situation causes some awkwardness,largely for himself and the officious Carson, though he is supported by the Crawleys. When Tom appears drunk and vocal at dinner, Edith's gentlemanly admirer Sir Anthony exposes snobbish guest Larry Grey as having drugged him and Matthew asks Tom to be his best man. Tom reciprocates by reconciling Mary and Matthew. Another guest, Cora's brash American mother, Martha Levinson, turns up and there is an inevitable clash with Violet over Old and New World values. —don @ minifie-1
    • wedding
    • footman
    • dinner
    • american
    • kitchen maid
    • 70 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Romance
    • Certificate
      • TV-14
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Mary says "Carson's motto is be prepared." Violet then says "I'm afraid Baden-Powell has stolen it" "Be prepared" is the Boy Scout motto and Baden-Powell the founder of Boy Scouts.
    • Goofs
      The automobile Cora's mother arrived in is the Cadillac V-63. The scene is set in 1920, and the model wasn't introduced until 1923.
    • Quotes

      [to Tom Branson, who he has just asked to be his best man]

      Matthew Crawley: If we're mad enough to take on the Crawley girls, we have to stick together.

    • Connections
      Featured in The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards (2013)
    • Soundtracks
      Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
      (uncredited)

      By Johann Sebastian Bach

      [wedding guests enter church]

    User reviews8

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    Love this show!!!!!
    Writer Julian Fellowes has set up the new season superbly-lots of conflict, drama and romance/heartbreak in the queue. On first impression, there seems to be a less melodramatic air this season which I rather like. But it is early days, and I will only allude to the fact that there are plenty of twists and surprises in store. It was a stoke of brilliance to bring on Shirley MacLaine as Martha Levinson, who added the perfect counterpoint of the uncouth American brassiness to Maggie Smith's elegantly staid and traditional English Lady Violet. MacLaine's stark make-up and flashy clothes were just so over-the-top, almost theatrical. When she took over during the failed dinner party and turned it into a cold buffet/picnic, and then broke out in song after, I howled with laughter at the reaction by her English relatives and the guests. When the stalwart Butler Mr. Carson agreed (amazingly) that in the nontraditional party was a success with the locals and family, I knew that change was indeed in store for us this season. In stark contrast to this charmed life of privilege is the miserable existence that the incarcerated Bates must endure while locked up in York prison. Anna is working hard to discover evidence of his innocence. And, what of the financial crisis? Will life as the Crawley family has known it for hundreds of years end soon? In the spring of 1920 the wake of WWI is deeply felt at Downton Abbey as change is in the air for England and the Crawley family and their servants. Long standing traditions die hard, and many members, upstairs and downstairs, are determined to resume their pre-war style of life. As guests arrive for the wedding of Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) and Lady Mary Crawley (Michele Dockery), they bring with them a touch of the outside world to this isolationist enclave of English society. Lady Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham's (Elizabeth McGovern) American mother Martha Levinson (Shirley MacLaine) descends on her English in-laws with all the delicacy of a bull in a china shop; her brash American manners and customs are in direct opposition to the other grandmother of the household, Lady Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith).
    helpful•0
    0
    • goshamorrell
    • May 14, 2022

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 6, 2013 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Highclere Castle, Highclere, Hampshire, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Carnival Film & Television
      • Masterpiece
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 8 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 16 : 9

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