Downton Abbey

If you don't watch this show, you're seriously missing out. Find your local PBS station, tune in on Sunday nights and you can thank me later. For real.

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Mr. B and I aren't really TV people but we watch this religiously. In fact, we never had a TV at TAH (and we only have one at the new place because the apartment is furnished) so we watched all of Season 1 on the laptop. And just for the record (because I never get to brag about things like this) we were watching Downton before it came out in the US. As in, Christmas 2010, when were in London. Just in case there were any bandwagon claims out there...shallow moment over.

If you love British period dramas, this show is for you. There are love affairs, revenge and intrigue, plenty of upstairs and downstairs drama all set against a war. You'll probably want to watch Season 1 before catching up with Season 2. Grab it on Netflix or PBS.com and get ready for a treat.

Maggie Smith, who was already a favorite of mine before Downton (Professor McGonagall, anyone?) absolutely shines in this show. She takes the cake as the Dowager Countess. She's aristocratic like whoa and nearly every thing she says is laugh out loud funny. Her "What is a weekend?" line in Season 1 had Mr. B and me in tears from laughter. (And in case you're curious, Mr. B loves Downton as much as I do.)

The on and off love affair between Matthew and Mary is reason enough for the BAFTA awards this year (our equivalent of the Emmys) and I think even Jane Austen would be proud of the Anna and Bates love story. This show has it all and it's so refreshing that it's a break from, in my opinion, most of the junk the rest of the main networks put out each year.

Set the DVR now. You can thank us later.