
I haven't been following this, but I did catch an episode when staying with family last weekend. I found it very disappointing. Not the acting, set design or costumes - that was all excellent, but the writing really lets it down. The pacing is somehow too slow and too choppy, with lots of little scenes about nothing, and it's subtle as a brick. There's no subtext whatsoever and some very modern expressions seemed to have slipped into the script.
Really surprises me because it's written by Julian Fellowes who also wrote Gosford Park, which I loved. I also really enjoyed his latest novel, Past Imperfect.
Father and stepmother agreed with me but all the reviews seem to be positive and a second series has been commissioned. Was I expecting too much?