Before West was born I got sucked into Downton Abbey Season 1. Then earlier this year I returned for Season 2. My inlaws recorded it for me and I would come over and watch it and get swept away into the British drama of the early 1900s. Michael got me both seasons on DVD for my birthday and now we're engrossed in it together. We keep asking ourselves, "Why is this show so good?"

 We came up with a couple answers: The time period adds glamor and interest The show is all about relationships--between the upper family members, between the service members, and between the two social classes.

 Ultimately, it's darn good writing. And as a writer, I am in love with the writer. He is able to give the full scope of a character in a 90 second scene with four lines of dialogue. Some of the characters' dialogue (mainly Maggie Smith's) is some of the wittiest and most poignant around. There are plenty of problems for the characters to work through, and there is tragedy, but there is also justice.

 To put it in British terms, it's Brilliant!