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'Downton Abbey' season 3 premiere, thoughts and memes
Published: 1/7/2013 2:31 PM
Last Modified: 1/7/2013 2:39 PM

Lady Cora's mother (Shirley MacLaine) arrives and attempts to deliver a season's worth of one-liners in her first five minutes at Downton Abbey.

The season premiere of “Downton Abbey” included two hours' worth of season 3 goodness – the first two episodes of what aired on iTV in the U.K. We got to experience a lot in those 110 minutes.

1) A very sexy portrayal of Mathry, which is what I'll call the Crawley couple. Matthew and Mary have scarce few scenes together in which they are not kissing.

2) A whole new Thomas/O'Brien dynamic. Once thick as thieves, these villains are now doing battle. I think we all know the victor to whom those spoils will go.

3) Maggie Smith vs. Shirley MacLaine. There was just enough venomous back-and-forth between the Dowager Countess and Martha Levinson so as to be appropriate, but then it was brilliant to see the proud old English lady beg. After the estrogen battles, the tough American and her daughter emerge victorious over the tradition-loving English gentle ladies.

4) Perhaps the biggest change was the sudden emergence of a major downstairs character: Alfred, the freakishly tall redhead – and nephew of O'Brien, in whose ability I was impressed when she subtly coerced her lord and lady into some nepotism by proxy. The boy doesn't have it easy, but he does get to smooch the American ladies maid.

5) The downers came when we had to be reminded of the incarcerated Bates and his appeal. Anna is working tirelessly to track down and interrogate every person Bates' deceased ex ever talked to – and of course she is, because she's pretty much the perfect woman and wife.

As for the rest of my thoughts, here is the "Downton Abbey" season 3 U.S. premiere in memes.

The Earl loses all the money by not diversifying his portfolio.

Thomas makes sure Alfred the valet screws up by sending down the Grantham heir improperly dressed for dinner, and Carson has a 10-second freakout.

The soon-to-be newlyweds are not about to go to bed angry. But the groom can't see the bride before the wedding!

No one threatens Bates with a prison shivving.

The many temperatures of Mathry.

Do you have a topic you would like the Prairie Nerds to address? Let us know at PrairieNerds@tulsaworld.com

Written by
Anna Codutti
Scene Writer

Reader Comments

4 Total

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dannysgirl (last month)

Well, I hate to say it but I got hooked on this show this weekend when my sister loaned me the DVDs of the first two episodes.

I think Bates is guilty.

anna1781 (last month)

Well, the evidence is pretty dam-ning, but I'd bank on Vera's craziness stretching even into the manner of her suicide before I'd buy Bates as homicidal.

dannysgirl (last month)

anna, she was too much of a bit*h to kill herself. If Bates didn't kill her, then somebody else did.

Tulsa World Web Designer Michael Dambold (last month)

Googley Eyes Edith. You have to look it up.

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Matt Clayton floats between being a nerd, geek or a dork. Has an extensive collection of toys, comics and video games that would make any adult feel ashamed to call themselves a parent. Unlike most nerds, he does enjoy sports, but his favorite sport is soccer, so that really doesn't count as a sport anyway. Can quote "Clerks" at the drop of a hat and owns a soft-coated Wheaten Terrier named Will Wheaton. And no, Ewoks could not have possibly taken down the Empire with just sticks and rocks.

Nerd strengths: Zombies, Star Wars, Video games, Game of Thrones, Tech, cars, British soccer.

Micah Choquette is a self-proclaimed web geek who generally despises the term "nerd." He can hold his own in a conversation about comics or movies with the other Prairie Nerds, but his heart belongs to the internet and his soul was sold long ago to Apple. He routinely follows many of the design and development gurus of the day, soaking in their ideas and putting them to work for the 'World. He's also an avid user and abuser of Social Media, and can be found on Twitter, Facebook and yes, even Google+.

Nerd Strengths: Apple, Coffee, Google, Coffee, Code, Coffee. In that order.

Anna Codutti has been a card-carrying nerd since high school and the beloved academic team. Now merely a pub-trivia ringer, her refined nerd tastes have focused on Buffy (yep, she's still going!), Doctor Who and anything Felicia Day does. Her childhood crush was "TNG's" Wesley Crusher, but now she wants to marry "The Big Bang Theory's" evil Wil Wheaton.

Nerd Strengths: Music blog snobbery, tabletop/party game dominance, and ability to read supernatural young adult novels at lightning speed.

Michael Dambold is a comic fanatic who has been reading Marvel Comics since he was 11. He's read almost every X-Title book in existence. He thinks Jean Grey needs to stay dead. He also has an obsession with Star Trek, Stargate and MST3k. He's a literary nerd, obsessed with works by Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and Jules Verne.

Nerd strengths: Coffee chugging, X-Men & Marvel Comics, Star Trek, Stargate, X-Files, paranormal mysteries (Bigfoot, etc.), classic sci-fi TV, movies and books.

Chris Moore is not ashamed to be called a Geek. It is who he is first and foremost. While some out there hide from others that they play video games, he proudly displays his love and knowledge of the pastime. He hopes one day to have a collection of games which rivals that of a city library. To this day one of his greatest moments is that he was able to watch and record the original three Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies by sheer luck.

Nerd strengths: Video games and TV.

Jason Powers is the resident geek dad. He is trying hard to raise his kids to be smart, thoughtful nerds just like his Dad raised him. He was brought up on a steady diet of Doctor Who, JRR Tolkien, Douglass Adams, Sherlock Holmes, Vertigo Comics and vintage pulp noir novels. He's been watching shows made by the BBC for so long, he sometimes has a hard time grasping American television. He still enjoys Legos a great deal.

Nerd strengths: British Science Fiction, Star Wars, Sherlock Holmes, X-files, Coffee, Zombies, Space.

James Royal can tell you what Kirby crackle is. His favorite X-Man is Nightcrawler. He owns more than two dozen Star Wars novels. He knows how much damage a magic missile does. His favorite T-shirt features the insignia of Cobra, the ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world. He liked the Walking Dead before the Walking Dead was cool.

Nerd strengths: Comic books (especially Marvel), movies, Star Wars, fantasy novels, pro wrestling (does that count), 1980s cartoons and television shows, video games.

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