The TV Column

Downton marathon primes viewers for Season 5

Downton Abbey stars Brendan Coyle and Joanne Froggatt as John and Anna Bates. AETN airs a Season 4 marathon beginning at 1:30 p.m. today.
Downton Abbey stars Brendan Coyle and Joanne Froggatt as John and Anna Bates. AETN airs a Season 4 marathon beginning at 1:30 p.m. today.

Season 5 of Downton Abbey doesn't arrive until Jan. 4, but I can already predict that it'll be pleasing to Downtonphiles.

And there are plenty of them -- 13.2 million each week (counting delayed viewing on DVRs). That's astonishing for a PBS program. There are network shows that would kill to have that many viewers.

Through the perks of the job, I've already received the Season 5 preview DVDs with all the new episodes except the annual Christmas special, which hasn't aired yet in the UK.

It was delightful.

But what if you missed out on some of last season's episodes? What if there are holes in your Season 4 Downton experience that call out to be filled? What will you do?

Never fear, AETN has you covered. Beginning at 1:30 p.m. today, AETN will air every episode of Season 4 back to back. Part 8 -- the two-hour season finale -- begins at 10 p.m. (Part 1 and Part 7 are 90 minutes, the others are an hour.)

Season 4 of Downton Abbey opens in 1922, six months after Matthew Crawley's shocking car crash and death. His wife, Lady Mary, and her mother-in-law, Isobel, are still in deep depressions.

Meanwhile, the estate is swamped in death taxes. Clashes arise as the Crawley family struggles with their financial and emotional troubles, and it is up to the older generation to bring Mary back to life, and Robert to his senses.

There's one major departure below stairs that leaves no tears in its wake, "but rather opportunity for new faces and drama, alliances and sparks of an entirely different sort."

The Downton Abbey ensemble includes the incomparable Dame Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham (she gets the best zingers); Elizabeth McGovern as Cora Crawley, the Countess of Grantham; and Hugh Bonneville as her husband, Robert Crawley, The Earl of Grantham.

Others in the cast: Michelle Dockery plays Lady Mary Crawley; Laura Carmichael is her sister, Lady Edith Crawley; Jim Carter is Mr. Carson; Joanne Froggatt portrays Anna Bates; and Brendan Coyle is her husband, John Bates.

Allen Leech plays Lady Sybil's widower, Tom Branson; Lily James is cousin Lady Rose MacClare; Rob James-Collier is the closeted Thomas Barrow; Phyllis Logan plays Mrs. Hughes; Penelope Wilton is Isobel Crawley; and finally, two of my favorites, Sophie McShera as Daisy Mason and Lesley Nicol as the cook, Mrs. Patmore.

Christmas stuff. The days are winding down if you plan to cram in all the Christmas movies you can. Check today's TV Week cover story for offbeat holiday specials from Animal Planet. Meanwhile, here are some more traditional family films set for this week.

Today: Arthur Christmas, 7:30 p.m., Disney Channel. Santa Claus delivers presents to every last child on earth thanks to a high-tech operation beneath the North Pole. But when he misses one, it's up to Santa's youngest son to save the day. The animated film features the voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Laura Linney, Eva Longoria and Michael Palin.

Monday: Toy Story That Time Forgot, 7:30 p.m., ABC Family. Buzz, Woody and the gang are back in a brand new holiday special.

Tuesday: Shrek the Halls, 7 p.m., ABC. The big green guy learns about Christmas. The half-hour animated feature stars the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas.

Wednesday: A Christmas Story, 7 p.m., TBS. The annual 24-hour marathon begins. Will Ralphie get his BB gun? I won't spoil it for you.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, 6 p.m., ABC Family. Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) tries to have the perfect Christmas. Hilarity ensues. The 1989 film co-stars Beverly D'Angelo and Randy Quaid. Bonus: Juliette Lewis and The Big Bang Theory's Johnny Galecki (age 13) star as the Griswold children, Audrey and Rusty.

Repeats at 4 p.m. Christmas Day.

Elf, 8 p.m., ABC Family. The 2003 instant classic stars Will Ferrell, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, Edward Asner, Bob Newhart and Zooey Deschanel. Repeats at 6 p.m. Christmas Day.

Thursday: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 7 p.m., ABC. This is the beloved 1966 half-hour animated special, not the 2000 Jim Carrey film. Trivia: In one of his final performances, Boris Karloff narrates and provides the voice of The Grinch.

Then there's this: Just to balance out all the "nice" above, here's some "naughty." Cable's TLC Channel (home to such "mature" programming as My Five Wives, Alaskan Women Looking for Love, Buying Naked, Sex Sent Me to the ER, Strange Sex, Sister Wives and Virgin Diaries) is launching its first late-night talk show next month -- All About Sex.

Six episodes have been ordered with the first debuting at 10 p.m. Jan. 10. Co-hosts will be comedian Margaret Cho; writer Heather McDonald; actress Marissa Jaret Winokur; and sex and relationship expert Tiffanie Davis Henry.

The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:

mstorey@arkansasonline.com

Style on 12/21/2014

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