Yes, Absolutely Fabulous is back after many years hiatus. Hopefully it hasn’t become any less irreverent. Downton Abbey is, of course, one of the better series to come along in some time.
My girlfriend is an Ab Fab fan from way back, and thoroughly enjoyed the 2 new episodes.
Since DA was on overseas already…I watched it over a weekend online. For shame. I couldn’t wait.
Huh? A new series of Downton Abbey?
The second season, which has already aired in Britain. ::shakes fist at King George::
Ditto, I watched all the episodes more or less the same week they aired in the UK. It was really good.
Thankfully *AbFab *is only 30 minutes, so I will only miss that much of Downton Abbey–I suspect the cultural whiplash might prove fatal, though.
I had no idea more Ab Fab episodes had been made; and apparently after some googling the BBC wants to produce a 6th series! 
AF is on at seven here, with DA on at nine, so no conflict. Looks like AF is 40 minutes, FYI.
Oh, right. Darnit. I almost got excited there!
So, I watched the Season 2 US premiere last night. I was a tad disappointed because so much time had passed since Season 1 (on the show). For instance, I’d have loved to seen their reactions, especially Cora’s, upon hearing the news of the sinking of the Lusitania, for instance. S1 ended with Anna and Mr. Bates still never having kissed; S2 started with their engagement. We didn’t get to see any of Mary’s life in London, including the budding relationship with her mysterious suitor. And I’d have loved to see more interaction with Sybil and her chauffeur, to see if he’d completely misinterpreted her feelings.
I understand the need to propel the story forward so that we don’t spend years covering the depressing war years, but this show is about character development, and I found it a bit jarring to fast forward so quickly.
Other reactions:
I was surprised that Maria Doyle Kennedy was snagged to play Bates’ wife. In the past 3 years, I’ve seen her as Henry VIII’s first wife (Catherine of Aragon), Dexter’s nanny, and now Bates’ wife.
Loved Edyth’s new romance with a married farmer. I thought his wife was going to pitchfork them.
Surprised to see Thomas and Matthew survive the war with nary a scar.
Thought it was funny that William is sweet on Daisy, but she’s squirming at the implication that they’re sweethearts.
Oh yee of little knowledge.
Enjoyed both shows–AbFab was better than I’d feared, and Downton Abbey a little soapier and sillier than I’d remembered.
*Loved *Bubbles’ recreation of the Royal Wedding.
And I kept flashing back to Upstairs Downstairs’ matchless treatment of WWI . . . This was good, too, though.
What really threw me was that one of the *AbFab *actresses (the girl in the pension office) played one of the daughters in the parody Upstairs Downtown Abbey, so I did kind of get whiplash.
Did you see Thomas’ hand when he took off his glove for O’Brien to see?! :dubious: :smack: He got off a lot lighter than the men he’s taking care of in the hospital, of course, but by no means “nary a scar.”
We really enjoyed DA. Ab Fab was okay, but I have difficulty plowing through the accent at times, and many of the cultural references are over my head. The Kardashian bit was very funny.
Sorry, I meant on his face.
Assuming that his hand was hit by a rifle shot, I thought the wound was implausibly minor. Cute little “in one side, out the other” hole.
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Ok, after fighting fruitlessly with Google, have the new episodes been shown in the States yet? If not, when will they be? BBC America or Comedy Central?
Never heard of Downton Abbey. Has that ever aired here?
Since the title of my thread was that the shows were airing last Sunday evening, then yes. 
Downton Abbey is on PBS and Ab Fab is on BBC America.
The Downton Abbey season that started Sunday was season two, so yes again. Season one aired last year.
Did you miss both the OP *and *the thread title?