ITS popularity is such that Downton Abbey has become less a period drama as a phenomenon.
This second series by writer/director Julian Fellowes no doubt has had its 11m Sunday viewers just as hooked as the first. It’s the middle of the Great War and Downton has been converted to a convalescence home for injured officers. Our central family the Granthams are hoping for the safe return of estate heir Matthew from the front, particularly Lady Mary whose feelings for him continue to burn brightly. However ever the pragmatist she has also fostered a relationship with newspaper magnate Richard Carlyle while Matthew himself now has finacee Lavinia to return to. Youngest daughter Sybil trains as a nurse to help the war effort, while continuing to mull over an affair with the family’s Irish chauffeur and prim middle daughter Edith gets too close to a local farmer. It is Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess who towers over the series however, stealing every scene and making the most of some of the great lines she has to deliver. Downton is escapism TV at its best.
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Coerver Coaching Vol 1 (E)
WHEN I was growing up (OK, it was in the late 70s!) football coaching books and programmes were all the rage but they’ve rather disappeared.
Dutch football star Wiel Coerver created this coaching programme back in the 70s but its concentration on passing and dribbling skills continues to be endorsed by big names such as Jurgen Klinsmann and former LFC manager Gerard Houllier. It’s never too late to improve your game, even at my age, but the system is particularly focused on five to 16 year olds.
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John Bishop Live: The Sunshine Tour (15)
LOCAL boy done good ‘Bish’ made history when his first DVD, John Bishop Live - The Elvis Has Left The Building Tour, became the fastest selling stand-up debut in the UK.
His follow-up concert DVD was filmed live during his tour from October 2010 to June 2011, in which Bishop discusses how his life has changed because of new-found fame and shares his usual range of amusing anecdotes about his family and children.
It’s always tricky for acts “riding the wave” not to overdo it and become a bit too ubiquitous – Michael McIntyre suffered from it most recently – but I’m not sure anyone’s had enough of the Bish just yet. If you can’t wait for the new Echo Arena shows announced recently, then this is for you.
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