Downton Abbey Season 1
(DVD Video)

Originally broadcast on television in 2010.

"Masterpiece classic"--container cover.

Special features: Downton Abbey: The making of; Downton Abbey: a house in history.

Original music, John Lunn ; cinematography, David Katznelson, David Marsh ; editing, John Wilson, Alex Mackie, Nick McPhee.

Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan, Michelle Dockery, Dan Stevens.

Set in an Edwardian country house in 1912, Downton Abbey portrays the lives of the Crawley family and the servants who work for them. In the drawing rooms, library, and beautiful bedrooms, with their tall windows looking across the park, lives the family, but below stairs are other residents, the servants, as fiercely possessive of their ranks as anyone above.

After a tragedy at sea claims the life of the presumed heir, Lord Crawley is faced with the possibility that the house he's loved his whole life might someday belong to a distant cousin he's never met. But before that can happen he must deal with his scandalous daughter, Lady Mary - considered by many to be the rightful heir to Downton. Even the staff has opinions on the family's affairs. And while most are devoted to the Crawleys, there are others whose selfishness and scheming do more than simply disrupt the well-oiled inner workings of the estate. As the servants' mischief escalates, even the most faithful employees begin to imagine a different life. Pitting hundreds of years of British aristocracy against the tides of social upheaval and technical progress, under the looming shadow of World War I, will the fate of Downton and its family - above and below stairs - be resolved? Or will life be altered so dramatically that its master no longer matters?

Not rated.

DVD; Region 1, NTSC; widescreen presentation; stereo.

English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.

British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 2011: Best director fiction/entertainment, Best sound fiction/entertainment.

Emmy Awards, 2011: Outstanding directing for a miniseries, movie or a dramatic special; Outstanding miniseries or made for television movie; Outstanding supporting actress in a miniseries or movie (Smith)