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7 Totally Easy Steps to a Spoiler-Free Life

By Jason Bailey on

Jennie Lamere is a 17-year-old computer coder from Nashua, New Hampshire, and the focus of a fascinating article over at Mother Jones. It seems that late last month, Ms. Lamere was the only woman among the 80 competitors at TVnext Hack 2013 in Boston, where programmers and coders were charged with creating apps and programs to enrich the viewing experience. But Lamere won the whole shebang with her Twivo software, which allows users to block mentions of selected TV shows and their characters until they’ve had a chance to watch that DVR-ed episode of Game of Thrones. The whole thing is sort of awesome, a big thumbs-up for developers of both Lamere’s age and sex. And, of course, it is a decisive victory for the Spoiler-Free Rights movement. But does her app go far enough? … Read More

Television

The Dowager Countess of Westeros: The Wit and Wisdom of Olenna Tyrell and Violet Crawley

By Alison Herman on

It took about two minutes in the presence of Olenna Tyrell, the refreshingly no-nonsense noblewoman introduced to audiences on last night’s Game of Thrones, for audiences to start comparing her to Downton Abbey‘s Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham. Played by Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith, respectively, the two women steal the spotlight whenever they’re onscreen (sure,… Read More

Television

‘Downton Abbey’ Season 3 Finale: The Dowager Countess Recap

By Judy Berman on

Now in its third season, Downton Abbey is more divisive than ever. Once almost universally acclaimed, the British period drama that follows the aristocratic Crawley family and their many servants faced accusations last year of descending into soap opera-style sensationalism. Although we don’t mind a juicy soap opera here at Flavorwire — and have, in fact, been known to defend Downton Abbey against its snobbier critics — this season we hope to unite the various factions by limiting our recaps to the one character everyone can still agree to love: Violet Crawley, that feisty, elitist grandma played by the one and only Dame Maggie Smith. Each week, we’ll recount the Dowager Countess of Grantham’s adventures. They may often be tangential to the main storyline, but they’ll always be among the most important Downton moments to us. … Read More

Television

‘Downton Abbey’ Season 3, Episode 6: The Dowager Countess Recap

By Judy Berman on

Now in its third season, Downton Abbey is more divisive than ever. Once almost universally acclaimed, the British period drama that follows the aristocratic Crawley family and their many servants faced accusations last year of descending into soap opera-style sensationalism. Although we don’t mind a juicy soap opera here at Flavorwire — and have, in fact, been known to defend Downton Abbey against its snobbier critics — this season we hope to unite the various factions by limiting our recaps to the one character everyone can still agree to love: Violet Crawley, that feisty, elitist grandma played by the one and only Dame Maggie Smith. Each week, we’ll recount the Dowager Countess of Grantham’s adventures. They may often be tangential to the main storyline, but they’ll always be among the most important Downton moments to us. … Read More

Television

'Downton Abbey' Season 3, Episode 5: The Dowager Countess Recap

By Judy Berman on

Now in its third season, Downton Abbey is more divisive than ever. Once almost universally acclaimed, the British period drama that follows the aristocratic Crawley family and their many servants faced accusations last year of descending into soap opera-style sensationalism. Although we don’t mind a juicy soap opera here at Flavorwire — and have, in fact, been known to defend Downton Abbey against its snobbier critics — this season we hope to unite the various factions by limiting our recaps to the one character everyone can still agree to love: Violet Crawley, that feisty, elitist grandma played by the one and only Dame Maggie Smith. Each week, we’ll recount the Dowager Countess of Grantham’s adventures. They may often be tangential to the main storyline, but they’ll always be among the most important Downton moments to us. … Read More

Television

'Downton Abbey' Season 3, Episode 4: The Dowager Countess Recap

By Judy Berman on

Now in its third season, Downton Abbey is more divisive than ever. Once almost universally acclaimed, the British period drama that follows the aristocratic Crawley family and their many servants faced accusations last year of descending into soap opera-style sensationalism. Although we don’t mind a juicy soap opera here at Flavorwire — and have, in fact, been known to defend Downton Abbey against its snobbier critics — this season we hope to unite the various factions by limiting our recaps to the one character everyone can still agree to love: Violet Crawley, that feisty, elitist grandma played by the one and only Dame Maggie Smith. Each week, we’ll recount the Dowager Countess of Grantham’s adventures. They may often be tangential to the main storyline, but they’ll always be among the most important Downton moments to us. … Read More

Fashion

Who Wore It Best: The (Almost) Roaring Twenties Fashion of 'Downton Abbey' Season 3

By Claire Cottrell on

Here we are, three episodes into our favorite Edwardian-no-more soap opera, and we’re barreling headfirst down the radical Roaring Twenties rabbit hole. Dubbed les années folles — aka the crazy years — by the French, the headstrong decade, among other things, gave women the right to vote. It also — fittingly — gave women shorter skirts and the bias cut in sensually simple, revolutionary crêpe de chine, gabardine, and satin. The famous French couturiers, Jeanne Lanvin and Madeleine Vionnet, became almost single-handedly responsible for the mass shedding of corsets and the modern female figure.

Historically on point, this season’s lead costume designer, Caroline McCall, cites the two fashion houses: Mary owns a Vionnet dress and McCall took inspiration from Lanvin’s back catalog for her wedding dress. That being said, some of the characters are still decidedly stuck in the past. In anticipation of this week’s episode, we thought we’d go all Joan Rivers and rank our beloved upstairs uppities by how they’re taking to the dawn of a new era in fashion. Click through to see who we think is wearing it best. … Read More

Television

‘Downton Abbey’ Season 3, Episode 3: The Dowager Countess Recap

By Judy Berman on

Now in its third season, Downton Abbey is more divisive than ever. Once almost universally acclaimed, the British period drama that follows the aristocratic Crawley family and their many servants faced accusations last year of descending into soap opera-style sensationalism. Although we don’t mind a juicy soap opera here at Flavorwire — and have, in fact, been known to defend Downton Abbey against its snobbier critics — this season we hope to unite the various factions by limiting our recaps to the one character everyone can still agree to love: Violet Crawley, that feisty, elitist grandma played by the one and only Dame Maggie Smith. Each week, we’ll recount the Dowager Countess of Grantham’s adventures. They may often be tangential to the main storyline, but they’ll always be among the most important Downton moments to us. … Read More

Architecture

‘Downton Abbey’ in Real Life: A Visual Tour of Grand English Great Houses

By Claire Cottrell on

From grand bedrooms and lustworthy libraries suspended in time to a gorgeous great house complete with a walled garden and roaming peacocks, we’ve compiled a selection of images to help you imagine life in the sumptuous turn-of-the-century England of Downton Abbey. Before things changed… Read More

Television

‘Downton Abbey’ Season 3, Episode 2: The Dowager Countess Recap

By Judy Berman on

Now in its third season, Downton Abbey is more divisive than ever. Once almost universally acclaimed, the British period drama that follows the aristocratic Crawley family and their many servants faced accusations last year of descending into soap opera-style sensationalism. Although we don’t mind a juicy soap opera here at Flavorwire — and have, in fact, been known to defend Downton Abbey against its snobbier critics — this season we hope to unite the various factions by limiting our recaps to the one character everyone can still agree to love: Violet Crawley, that feisty, elitist grandma played by the one and only Dame Maggie Smith. Each week, we’ll recount the Dowager Countess of Grantham’s adventures. They may often be tangential to the main storyline, but they’ll always be among the most important Downton moments to us. … Read More