Bhagawathi Nagendra

I fell in love with the joyful, energetic, kind Anne of the green gables when I first read the book as a middle schooler. I re-read the series over the years, again and again, loving every bit of it each time, and when I heard there was going to be a show based on the books I was excited but also apprehensive wondering if they would be able to bring in the charm that the classic holds. Anne with an E captures the beauty of the books to a good extent by moulding it to suit the silver screen. It gets better and better with each season. My complaint is that it ended too soon before the story was completed. Bring back Anne with an E!

Ok the first and second seasons were alright. But the final season is terrible. Deadpan acting by Kingsley is unbearable at this point. You can actually witness her trying to act. Pausing awkwardly when it is not required, chatting or just randomly waiting for a few seconds with dead pan expressions and then running when the antagonist is chasing you etc- so many such cringe moments. The lockes don't seem to learn even after 2 seasons that they should be more careful with the keys. They should have stopped at season 2.

Excellent, well written show which gives every character enough screen time to see their character arc and they all shine so bright in their own roles. My favorite is undoubtedly Maggie Smith. I was always waiting for her perfectly delivered one liners. She is so effortless in her role that you forget it is just a TV character. All of them have done a wonderful job and you feel like you're living with them seeing the changing times in the early 20th century and watching their lives unfurl. The best thing about this show is probably how well it shows the lives of England's upper class and the lower class of that time simultaneously, merging them together, though not very truthfully. It is more what should have been than what it really was. There are no raunchy scenes and the romance is more or less subtle but you are glued to the screen wanting to know more about them and their lives. It is so real that you can't believe when you go back to reality that downton abbey doesn't really exist. They make you live in the moment, every moment. Kudos to the writers, the actors, the director and the entire team. Some emotional scenes are cut out of the show? An example without giving away any spoilers is the reactions of everyone during some deaths. Maybe it was to do with the time that each episode airs for and they had to edit it out. But I would like to believe that it was cleverly written in the show to let the audience feel the emotions that the characters should/could/would have felt. There are very few dull moments in all of the seasons where you will feel bored or confused about the story. Usually I like binging the series that I like but I watched Downton abbey slowly over a few days and enjoyed it thoroughly without ever wanting to give it up in between. P.S. : I tried watching this in my early 20's but didn't enjoy it, but then I tried it again in my late 20's and I enjoyed it. So go back and try later if it don't like it now!