“Titanic was called the ship of dreams. And it was. It really was,” a 100-year-old Rose Dawson Calvert gushes in the first few minutes of James Cameron’s epic yet tragic love story about the fated steamship. And, almost immediately, the film hurtles back through time just as the RMS Titanic is ready to set sail on April 10, 1912, from Southampton, England. Viewers witness the doomed liner’s gleaming beauty and size of epic proportions as young Rose peers up from beneath her hat’s wide brim and soaks in the wondrous sight. But while the majestic ship itself is clearly the main attraction in Cameron’s reenactment, it’s not so much in Julian Fellowes’ four-part ITV miniseries (produced by Bleak House mastermind Nigel Stafford Clark) that will soon air on ABC in the U.S. Instead, in the Downton Abbey creator’s version, the maritime catastrophe itself takes a modest backseat to the social mores, class interactions, and stiff Edwardian tendencies of that period.

[Hey, it happens...]

Jack and Rose. Rose and Jack. The couple at the heart of what was, until quite recently, the biggest film of all time, whose classes-clashing, chaotic, tragic love story sent legions of teenage girls so giddy that they saw the original 1997 release of Titanic in theaters five, six, twenty times, thus making of a potentially expensive bomb a bona fide cinematic phenomenon.

Now, with Titanic back in theaters this week – and in 3D! – let us visit with them again. Jack Dawson (Leonardo Di Caprio) and Rose Dewitt Bukater (Kate Winslet). The definitive ’90s couple, from way back in 1912. He: scruffy, happy-go-lucky and sincere, with the face of a Raphael. She: spoiled, educated and opinionated, with the face of a Botticelli. He, an itinerant vagabond artist from the Midwest, of no family, no breeding. She, a scion of American Old Money aristocracy, doomed to live a life of refinement and boredom in a marriage her mother, rather than she, desires. They board the good ship Titanic on its maiden voyage, and throughout the meager few days of that fateful, doomed cruise from Southampton to New York, love blossoms amid the ballrooms and the boiler rooms, the beer below decks and the champagne above.

[Will it be king of the cinema once more?...]

Julian Fellowes’s Titanic miniseries airs in the United States April 14 and 15; it’s already begun to air in the United Kingdom, to mixed reviews.

In the superficial hottie area, Titanic doesn’t seem to offer much; the excellent actor, Toby Jones, appears in it, but he’s hardly delicious eye candy (no offense, Toby). ABC, which is showing it in America, is of course hoping for Downton Abbey-style success.

Unlike Downton Abbey, however, everyone knows how it ends—will you be watching?

Just released, a new clip from the forthcoming second season of Game of Thrones. This clip is purportedly geared towards attracting a female audience (because we need our fantasy specially marketed for women? Eyeroll!), but it has to be said, there are plenty of intriguing new women who will be joining the Game: There’s Brienne of Tarth, Ygritte—a Wildling spearswife, Melisandre—a Shadowbinder of R’hllor, Yara Greyjoy (named Asha in the books, renamed here to avoid confusing her with Osha, and Margaery Tyrell.

Why tamper with a good thing? Titanic, the new series by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes is a four-part miniseries about its sinking and, The Guardian UK reports, is just like Downton Abbey, only with ships. And enormous icebergs.

The series will air in the United States on ABC beginning April 14th. The ship itself sunk on April 15, 1912.

Today the New York Times has a piece on how publishers are recognizing that fans of Downton Abbey (and PBS in general) are more likely to be readers, and are promoting their releases with a Downton Abbey slant.

One of the books that ties in the most directly is one of the books (the other is Below Stairs by Margaret Powell; more on that later) Heroes and Heartbreakers is giving away as part of its Downton Abbey sweepstakes. The World of Downton Abbey is penned by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes’s niece, Jessica. Jessica says her uncle “has been deliberate about dropping open-ended references into the scripts” because he wants to “drive people to find out more for themselves, whether through Google or in books.”

Here’s more about the book:

The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes

April 1912. The sun is rising behind Downton Abbey, a great and splendid house in a great and splendid park. So secure does it appear that it seems as if the way it represents will last for another thousand years. It won’t.

Millions of American viewers were enthralled by the world of Downton Abbey, the mesmerizing TV drama of the aristocratic Crawley family—and their servants—on the verge of dramatic change. On the eve of Season 2 of the TV presentation, this gorgeous book—illustrated with sketches and research from the production team, as well as on-set photographs from both seasons—takes us even deeper into that world, with fresh insights into the story and characters as well as the social history.

What intrigues you most about the Downton Abbey world? Why do you watch each week?

Downton Abbey Season 2 starts January 8 in the United States, and what a way to anticipate the debut with this news:

Joan Collins, of epic nighttime soap drama Dynasty fame, is reportedly joining Downton Abbey Series 3 in a cameo role. How perfect, for a British actor famous for histrionics and shoulder pads, to meet up with a series that is essentially the same type of show as Dynasty—albeit with more elegant accents and way better clothing.

Are you watching next Sunday? What are you hoping to see?

Downton Abbey Season 2 begins to air in the U.K. this Sunday (and recaps here at H&H the next day!), and here’s a sneak peek of what will air in the United States on January, 2012. 

How sweet are Anna and Bates anyway?!?

“Marriage on earth seems such a counterfeit”

In any romance, the hero and heroine inevitably encounter obstacles. She’s a governess; he’s her employer. He’s a vampire; she’s the Slayer. She’s sweet, young, and willing; he has already promised himself, body and soul, to God.

...Awkward, right?

Rabbis, Protestant ministers, and even some Orthodox priests can marry. But a Catholic priest is bound by sacred vow to a life of service to the Church, meaning no flirtatious banter, no stolen kisses, no steamy encounters behind the stairs, and certainly no sex on the beach with the local rancher’s comely twenty-something daughter. It’s one of the Church’s more controversial positions, but most of the men who take Holy Orders adhere to it more or less willingly (or, when they find that they can’t, leave the priesthood and start families). But in romantic fiction, some heroines have found themselves unable to resist the temptation of this most forbidden of fruit…with surprisingly hot results.

[Guess it’s a good thing the collar’s removable?...]

Now you can have some entertainment to go with your entertainment: Toy News reports that a company in the UK is releasing a Downton Abbey 1,000-piece puzzle when Downton Abbey Season 2 returns in September. It is “presented as a montage, featuring the characters, scenery and drama...[aiming] to offer a sense of nostalgia.”

Hm. Sounds like the UK’s version of the Franklin Mint coins. Would you want something like this?

So while you wait in whatever you wore this morning for Downton Abbey Season 2 to start, the actors who play the three Crawley sisters (Lady Mary, Lady Sybil, Lady Edith) got to play dress-up and appear in Vogue UK.

The issue comes out in the UK on Thursday, while the series itself doesn’t return to these shores until January 8, 2012.

Does anyone have a spare botanical garden where we can pass the time until January?

So Downton Abbey is a runaway hit in Australia, and while Australia is enjoying Season 1, the Brits are currently filming Downton Abbey Season 2 in Highclere Castle, which is about to become even more integral to the series as the Abbey is turned into a military hospital during World War I.

(Men in uniform! Le swoon!)

So Better Homes and Gardens Australia ventured over to the motherland (i.e. Great Britain) to film the cast and crew working its magic.

As usual, of course, the women take hours to do hair and makeup while the men just have to smooth their hair.

It might be a different era, and all, but some things are always the same.

The success of the first season of Downton Abbey flabbergasted the media in the United Kingdom, averaging over 11 million viewers for its finale which makes it the “most-watched TV costume drama since Brideshead Revisited.”

Its success in the United States was also impressive, getting over six million viewers for PBS, with endless speculation on what will happen in Downton Abbey Season 2, which is due to start airing January 8, 2012, on PBS. (Speaking of endless speculation, we’ve got it in our post Downton Abbey, Season 2; Or, We Love Anna and Bates and Cannot Wait!). And, of course, it makes sense that HeroesandHeartbreakers visitors would enjoy the series; it’s got romance, intrigue, drama—and beautiful gowns.

What shouldn’t be surprising, then, is how successful Downton Abbey is in Australia (Downton Abbey Replicates Success Down Under). (Australian media outlets are as agog at its success as those other two countries, though).

But why is it so darn successful, especially in non-UK countries? As it happens, I have a theory about that:

[Do tell! We love theories!]

The Emmy Award nominations will be posted July 14, and perhaps American television folk can show the love for one of our favorite British imports, Downton Abbey.

That’s because the Emmy Awards have relaxed their eligibility rules to allow for Downton Abbey (as well as Luther, starring the amazing Idris Elba) to be entered into the miniseries category, despite Downton Abbey airing only four episodes here.

Maybe the Emmys can succeed where the BAFTAs failed.

Game of Thrones episode six is titled “The Golden Crown,” and although a crown made of gold might seem great, all is not what it seems. But you knew that.

Episode five, otherwise known as “The Wolf and the Lion,” was covered last week, and prior to that was “Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things” (episode four), along with previous epis “Lord Snow,” preceded by “The Kingsroad,” and it all started out with “Winter is Coming.”

[Whew!...]

If the world is ending tomorrow, don't you think this is what we should all be watching today?

Finally we're at the last episode in Season 8 of MI-5, the British espionage show starring Richard Armitage and Peter Firth. We've already run recaps of MI-5 Season 8, Episode 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. If you continue, however, acknowledge to yourself that we will spoil you.

[Spoilage ahead!...]

We just heard this morning: Downton Abbey Season 2 comes to American television January 8, 2012.

And there’s a brand-new clip: Downton Abbey Season 2 Video Clip is Here: Anna is Crying?!?

(We love, love, love Downton Abbey. We love Lady Violet’s sweeping pronouncements, the sweet romance of Bates and Anna, even the heir presumptive’s faux middle-class snobbishness. What are your favorite moments?)

[But wait! There’s more!...]

According to Gossip, Downton Abbey was a hot topic among certain Upper East Siders last night, to which I say: About damn time! Honestly, while they're nearly a century and a pond apart, there are plenty of parallels between the decadent, soapy lives of the Crawleys of Downton Abbey and decadent, soapy lives of those scheming rich kids (and parents) of the Big Apple. No wonder Lily van der Woodsen could barely tear her eyes from the drama unfolding on her screen throughout her show's latest episode (or so we hear)—she probably saw a lot of herself, not to mention her family and friends, in the miniseries. Just, you know, with cooler accents.

Here's hoping for more crossover action. Maybe Lily should throw a theme party? Dan and Blair might make a cute Bates and Anna. Or—as I picture the extremely fashionable and snobby Ms. Waldorf's horror at the suggestion—maybe not.

What are your favorite examples of fictional worlds colliding? Personally, I'm always thrilled when Castle pays homage to Nathan Fillion's previous (beloved) role as Mal in the canceled-too-soon Firefly... How about you?

XOXO

H.