Happy January! Happy 2016!

January may seem like a lesser month when it comes to entertainment, what with most local colleges and theaters waiting for February to launch their years, but there is actually a lot out there if you know where to look. Some of your favorite television shows will be coming back after the holiday hiatus, the awards season heats up, and movie theaters will be showing many of the potential nominees who hadn't made it before Christmas. You're well advised to keep an eye on listings and schedules if you don't want to miss out.

The 2015 Kennedy Center Honors

And speaking of missing out... If you were too busy with your own celebrations to see the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors, where luminaries Carole King, George Lucas, Rita Moreno, Seiji Ozawa and Cicely Tyson were honored, you'll want to head over to CBS.com.com without delay. You can watch the whole show, which included performances and tributes from Aretha Franklin, who brought down the house when she sang King's "Natural Woman,"as well as Sara Bareilles, Yo-Yo Ma, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Karen Olivo, Steven Spielberg, James Taylor, CeCe Winans and even C-3P0 and R2-D2.

Since singer/songwriter extraordinaire Carole King was one of the honorees, I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that Beautiful, the Broadway musical, which uses King's songbook to chart her early career and rise to stardom, is in Chicago at the Oriental Theatre through February 21. King did indeed write "the soundtrack to a generation." Or maybe more than one generation.

If you are a Downton Abbey fan, you will want to stick close to home (and your telly) tomorrow night, when Downton begins its sixth and final season here in the Colonies. It's already finished up in England, but we get to start our new season at 8 pm on local PBS stations. If you're wondering what's in store for the Crawleys and their servants, let's just say that Season 6 has plenty of romance, intrigue, hints at the future and sweet goodbyes. 

The Art Theater Co-op in Champaign has all kinds of goodies in the queue for January, starting right now with The Danish Girl, starring Eddie Redmayne as transgender artist Lili Elbe, on screen through Thursday the 7th. Director Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) is at the helm of this fictionalized love story based on events in the real Elbe's life early in the 20th century. Alicia Vikander plays Gerda Wegener, married to Elbe when he was still Einar Wegener, as well as a painter herself.

After The Danish Girl has departed, you can catch Mel Brooks' space parody Spaceballs on January 8; Jane Eyre, a filmed stage show offered in conjunction with the National Theatre Live program from London, screened on the 9th, and John Carpenter's classic horror flick The Thing on the 22nd. Visit The Art's site here for details on these and other films on their January calendar.

The Normal Theater has some dandy choices of its own coming in January, with Alfred Hitchcock's Rope up first on January 5. This psychological thriller sticks professor James Stewart at a strange party hosted by two of his students, played by Farley Granger and John Dall. The two have murdered a fellow student and stuck his body inside a chest in the very apartment where they're having their party. They think they've staged the perfect crime. Will their professor figure it out?

That's followed by Orson Welles' Touch of Evil, famous for a very long tracking shot that opens the film, as well as for Welles' own larger-than-life performance as a corrupt border-town cop, on January 6 and 7; Preston Sturges' charming and saucy romantic comedy The Lady Eve, with Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda as a mismatched pair of lovers, on January 19, and a mini-Macbeth film festival that pairs Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood with a 2015 film version of Macbeth that stars Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard as the murderous couple, with the two films on screen between January 27 and 31. You can't miss with any of those options, or, for that matter, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Lawrence of Arabia or Clue. To see what's on when, check out the January calendar on the Normal Theater site.

Although Heartland Theatre is dark in January, they are hosting a "mock audition" workshop for the Illinois Theatre Association on January 10, starting at 2 pm. This workshop is intended to help actors who want to know more about the important art of trying out, along with the scoop on headshots, resumes and how to "make the most out of your 90 seconds on stage." There is no charge for members of the Illinois Theatre Association and a $10 fee for others. Click here for more information or here to register. 

You may also want to give a look at the annual Golden Globe Awards, airing later on January 10 on NBC. There are a total of about 80 voters, half the attendees seem to be sloshed, and you can never guarantee if the winners will be ridiculous, hilarious or just plain odd, but they do put TV and film people together and they do (occasionally) get it right. The live broadcast of the Golden Globes will begin at 7 Central on NBC on Sunday the 10th. To check out who's nominated, you can visit my rundown of the list here.

Masterpiece's modern-day Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman was back for a special Victorian outing called Sherlock: The Abominable Bride on January 1, simulcast to some pretty nifty ratings on both sides of the Atlantic. BBC One, PBS and Masterpiece are kind enough to offer an encore broadcast of Sherlock, Watson and and their Abominable Bride on the very same January 10 as the Golden Globes, at 9 pm that night Central time. After that encore, you will also be able to see the 90-minute show at PBS.org. Until then, there are all kinds of fun bits of insider info here, including the trailer and a behind-the-scenes look at how they recreated Victorian London.

Arthur Miller's The Crucible takes the stage at Community Players Theatre for two weekends, beginning with a preview on January 14. Players' cast includes Samuel James Willis as John Proctor, a proud and honest man caught up in the Salem witch trials, Hannah Artman as his wife Elizabeth, Vicky Snyder as Abigail Williams, a manipulative young woman who fans the flames of hysteria and persecution in Salem, and Fania Bourn as Tituba, a West Indian slave woman who becomes another victim when witch-hunting hits its peak. The Crucible won the 1953 Tony Award for Best Play for its original production, along with a Best Featured Actress Award for Beatrice Straight, who played Elizabeth Proctor.

One of my favorite comedies currently on TV, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, comes back with new episodes starting January 25th on the CW. When we last saw Rebecca (the crazy person in the title), she was hosting her mother for the holidays while still yearning after Josh Chan, the sweet but kind of dim boy she once loved, while Greg, the friendly neighborhood bartender who is much better suited to her, was having Mom problems of his own. Oh, yeah, and they were all singing and dancing, along with Rebecca's boss and her friend at work, AND her neighbor, Heather, who is now apparently dating Greg. Oops! The musical numbers and the top-notch cast -- Rachel Bloom, Donna Lynne Champlin, Santino Fontana and Vincent Rodriguez III, for starters -- make this a worthwhile way to spend your Mondays at 7. Much better than any Bachelor(ette), am I right?

Back on the local scene, you may want to make room for A Night of Comedy with Terri Ryburn on Thursday, January 28th at the Eagles Club, 313 S. Main Street in Bloomington. Terri describes her comedy as "clean, but edgy," noting that she happily takes on "family, friends, the workplace, some ex-husbands, and other absurdities" in this comedy fundraiser that aims to bring something called The Best of Hank and Rita to town. Parking is in the Eagles lot south of the building, on the street, or in the parking deck one block north. Doors open at 6:30pm, with a cash bar, snacks, and bar food available, and Terri's Night of Comedy starting at 8.

After that, it's straight on to The Best of Hank and Rita. What is it? It's a Barroom Operetta, of course, about a fictional husband-and-wife country-pop duo who hit the top of the charts briefly in the 70s, but have been on the skids more recently. As the show opens, it's 1986, and Rita is planning to leave Hank as soon as this show is over. Except he doesn't know that, which is where the honky tonk and tears come in. Hank and Rita will also play at the Eagles Club, on Friday, January 29, and Saturday, January 30, at 8 pm each night. Tickets are $15 in advance at hankandrita.com or $20 at the door (if any are still available). Terri's plans for Hank and Rita are more complicated than just these two nights of show, but I will save that for a more complete preview closer to the shows. For more information now, contact Terri Ryburn at tlrybur@ilstu.edu or Kathi Davis at kathidavis309@comcast.net

If you have room to squeeze in another awards show, you might want to make it the Screen Actors Guild Awards, broadcast on both TNT and TBS on January 30. This one tends to be a bit more subdued than the Globes, but a lot better prognosticator for the Oscars and the Emmys, and, hey, at least they didn't nominate Lady Gaga, so there's that. But that doesn't mean I've forgiven SAG for ignoring Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Fargo and The Leftovers and their fantastic actors. I doubt they care whether I'm throwing a hissy. But I still am.

And the "Spring" TV Season Begins...

Who remembers when there was one TV season, running from September to May? Now we have two (or more) with a lot of shows taking a hiatus over the holidays and coming back in the new year. That means cliffhangers, questions and lives in peril in November and December, with no resolution till January.

We haven't seen Downton Abbey on PBS Masterpiece since last February, but it returns next Sunday with new episodes about the adventures of the Crawley family, their servants and their friends and enemies. Click here for a preview of what's ahead at the Abbey. Let's just say, "The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!"

The Good Wife also comes back next Sunday night on CBS, jolting us back into the drama surrounding Florrick Agos & Lockhart. Alicia's campaign for State's Attorney has hit more than one bump, even if she does have a very hot campaign manager (Broadway's Steven Pasquale). Will she bow out? Or pulverize David Hyde Pierce's Frank Prady, who has revealed a nasty side under his warm TV persona? Will she hook up with the very pretty and smart Finn Polmar now that she and the hubby have agreed they can lead separate lives in private? We saw Cary (the Agos in the firm's name) take a plea for supposedly counseling drug lord Lemond Bishop and his thugs on how to break the law without getting caught, but will he end up back in jail or on the lam? Where ya goin'? Barcelona? And what about Kalinda? Not to mention the rest of Lockhart Gardner left behind, like the odious David Lee and sneaky Louis Canning (Michael J. Fox)? And what will happen to the cheeky process server played by Nathan Stark, the son of ISU's Lori Adams and John Stark?

January 4 is a jam-packed Sunday night, with returns from Brooklyn Nine Nine, CSI, Family Guy, Madam Secretary, Revenge and The Simpsons as well as Downton Abbey and The Good Wife.

Two new shows will also be taking bows. Well, Celebrity Apprentice 7 is hardly new. Or interesting. But The Donald and his collection of crazies, blowhards and nutballs will be back. This season's cast of misfit toys includes a Jonas Brother, an NFL star who should know better, two Olympic gold medalists who should know better, slew of reality TV personalities and a couple of dubious "journalists."

The other new show is a more curious (and much more interesting) proposition. What with Once Upon a Time on ABC and Grimm on NBC, not to mention all the vampires, superheroes and immortals running around the networks and all the fairytale movies that have come and gone in recent years (Into the Woods, Frozen, Maleficent, Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman, Red Riding Hood, Jack the Giant Killer, Tangled, a bunch of Shreks and the companion Puss in Boots, etc.) you may wonder if we really need another fairytale show. Well, we're getting one whether we need it or not. This time it's Galavant, a musical comedy romp about a knight errant intent on getting back his lady fair. Yes, I said "musical." It sounds a bit like Spamalot meets When Things Were Rotten.

Dan Fogelman, the screenwriter behind movies like Crazy, Stupid, Love, Tangled and Bolt, is executive producer on this project, with composer Alan Menken (Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast) and lyricist Glenn Slater (The Little Mermaid, Tangled) providing all the songs for what ABC is billing as "a 4-week comedy extravaganza."

The cast include British actor Joshua Sasse as Galavant,  Timothy Omundson (Psych) as his enemy King Richard, Vinnie Jones as Richard's chief henchman, Mallory Jensen as the lady love everybody is galavanting after, plus Ricky Gervais, John Stamos, Weird Al Yankovic and Rutger Hauer in guest roles.

Galavant appears to be set for two half-hour episodes each Sunday night from January 4 to 25, taking over Once Upon a Time's 8 to 9pm Eastern/7 to 8 pm Central time slot. Check out its ABC site for a sneak peek at the music, the cast and other behind-the-scenes info.

DOWNTON Is Back, with Remembrance, Romance and Russians. Lots of Russians.

It seems as if we've been waiting forever, but Season 5 of Downton Abbey will be back on our screens very soon. Sunday, January 4, at 8 o'clock Central to be precise.

Just to whet your appetite, George Clooney and some other interesting folks have popped up in a spoofy charity video that's making the rounds. Yes, George does look like he belongs at Downton. And so does Joanna Lumley, at her AB Fabbiest as an irreverent angel. But back to Season 5...

Because Downton's episodes air in England well before they get here, intrepid sleuths (or people who visit England) already know what will happen to the Crawleys and their friends, lovers, enemies and servants in the momentous year of 1924.*

You will recall that we made it through World War I back in season 2, so it's fitting that we are ready for Remembrance Day and a war memorial as the denizens of Downton Abbey begin the new season. This Remembrance plot puts Lord Crawley and his faithful servant Carson at odds, signaling the continued erosion of the all-encompassing power of the nobility in British society.

Some stories from the past -- Mary's hot and cold running suitors, Edith's baby and her missing baby daddy, former chauffeur Branson caught in a no man's land between the working class and the aristocracy, Thomas scheming behind the scenes, and Bates and Anna's possible involvement with a murder -- continue in Season 5, although some characters we've met before -- like Cora's American mum and brother, played by Shirley MacLaine and Paul Giamatti -- have thankfully departed.

One change is just how much romance there is and how many characters (and generations) are involved. In other words, it isn't just Mary getting all the action. The romance in Season 5 includes the return of a long-lost love, several proposals (not all of them what you might call "decent"), a wedding, and suitors with Russian connections for both a grande dame and an ingenue, neither of whom is Mary.

Guest stars include Matt Barber, Anna Chancellor, Penny Downie, James Faulkner, Richard E. Grant, Sue Johnston, Rade Serbedzija and Catherine Steadman as dishy new arrivals, romantic rivals, and general complications in the Crawley family circle. I continue to hope that Imelda Staunton, the real-life wife of Jim Carter, who plays Carson, will show up, but no luck on that score yet.

For all things Downton Abbey, including preview pictures and video, reminders of where the plot left off in Season 4, games and quizzes, a Q&A with the real owner of Highclere Castle, and a place to shop for Downton trinkets and books, try the main PBS site for the show.

*I harbor fervent hopes that somebody fun -- Rose? Branson and little Sybil? -- will travel to New York and catch Fred and Adele Astaire in Lady Be Good at the Liberty Theatre on Broadway in December 1924, but that will have to wait till after the events of this season, which only make it to autumn of 24.

Happy 2014!

Neither snow nor sleet nor gloom of night -- nor the turn of the calendar from 2013 to 2014 -- will stay these theaters from the performance of their appointed shows. Here's what's happening on stages and screens (including our television screens) in January:

Television is heating up very soon, with Community offering a supersized double episode to open its fifth season tonight on NBC, CBS also gearing up Elementary and a slew of sitcoms tonight, and ABC going with a show called The Assets, about real-life spy Aldrich Ames and the woman out to unearth him. Looking ahead to Sunday, Downton Abbey will bring its brand of classy Brit soap back to PBS, The Good Wife and its snappy legal escapades return that same night with an episode called "Goliath and David," and we'll see about that amnesia thing on the "Homecoming" episode of Revenge over on ABC.

The Golden Globes start awards mania off for the season on NBC on January 12.  After that, American Idol begins its 13th season on FOX on the 15th, the Critics Choice people give out their movie awards on the CW on the 16th, and Benedict Cumberbatch and his Sherlock return to PBS on the 19th.

To celebrate the new year and the onset of awards season, Champaign's Art Theater Co-op will be showing Oscar bait Nebraska, with Alexander Payne (The Descendants, Sideways) directing Bruce Dern as a man from Missouri who convinces his son, played by Saturday Night Live's Will Forte, to take him to Nebraska to pick up dubious lottery winnings; Philomena, a tour-de-force directed by Stephen Frears (The Queen) with perennial nominee Judi Dench as a mother who comes to America looking for the son who was taken from her years ago; and Inside Llewyn Davis, with the Coen brothers focusing on a prickly folk musician teetering on the edge of a career in Greenwich Village in 1961. Nebraska is playing tonight through January 9, while Philomena begins tomorrow at 7:30 pm, also ending on the 9th, and Llewyn Davis starts on the 10th. The Art schedules different performances in the afternoons and evenings, so be sure to check their website for times and dates before you go.

The Normal Theater is also focusing on high-profile recent releases with potential award nominees, with The Book Thief, a good companion piece for The Diary of Anne Frank (see below) since it involves a young girl in Germany during World War II, playing from January 9 to 12; Enough Said, James Gandolfini's last film that has garnered good notices and lots of attention for star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, from January 16 to 19; and All Is Lost, Robert Redford's solo effort about a man lost at sea, from January 23 to 26.

Community Players opens its year with The Diary of Anne Frank, the award-winning play based on the diaries of a young Jewish girl trying to survive hidden in an Amsterdam attic with her family during the Holocaust. Anne Frank takes the stage at Players with a preview on January 16 and regular performances January 17-19 and 23-26. The play linked to above was written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, but Wendy Kesselman changed it slightly for a 1997 production starring Natalie Portman as Anne, and that's the script Players is using. Veronika Betts will step into those shoes for Community Players, with a supporting cast that includes Nathan Bottorff, Rebekah Easling, Amanda Fisher, Jake Rathman, Tom Smith, Tyler Stark,Tricia Stiller, Paul Vellella, Alan Wilson, Penny Wilson and Tim Zaitseff.

The musical Hello, Dolly! has seen a lot of different Dollies over the year. Carol Channing, Pearl Bailey, Eve Arden, Yvonne de Carlo, Phyllis Diller, Betty Grable, Lainie Kazan, Dorothy Lamour, Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, Martha Raye and Ginger Rogers all played the role, along with, of course, Barbra Streisand in the movie. The original Broadway production ran for seven years and won ten Tony Awards. Everybody loves Dolly! Sally Struthers, who rose to prominence playing Archie Bunker's daughter on the TV show All in the Family, will be Dolly when the show comes to the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts January 21. Struthers previously played the role of the irrepressible matchmaker in 2005, and has been hoofing it up on tour as Dolly since October of last year. You can see all about this touring version here or check out BCPA info about it here. Trivia note: I saw Sally Struthers on stage sometime in the early 70s when she brought a little piece called A Girl Could Get Lucky to Pheasant Run Lodge, whose playhouse was part of the resort hotel where I worked as a front desk clerk. At the time, we all thought she was way cuter than we expected from TV. And that was the sum total of my critical reaction.

Don't forget that Heartland Theatre is open for submissions for both its New Play projects, with a February 1 deadline for the Fowl Plays 10-minute play competition and entries accepted through May 1 for one-act plays written to fit the Escape theme. This year Heartland is offering a $150 prize to each of the three winning one-acts in the latter contest. All the details on both contests are available under the links in this paragraph.

Spoilers Aplenty -- DOWNTON ABBEY in 2014

The Season 4 Cast Photo

The delicious Downton Abbey, the confection that showcases the privileged classes in England enjoying their privileges (and occasionally enjoying their servants) in the first part of the 20th century, will begin airing its fourth season on PBS stations next Sunday, January 5. If you didn't know that, you haven't been paying attention, what with previews, sneak peeks, and behind the scenes video on new characters, current characters and how they get the history right.

There's even a spoofy musical version of a Downton Season 4 episode, performed at New York's 54 Below with glimpses of Laura Osnes and Jeremy Jordan -- she's the ghost of Lady Sybil and he's one of the new characters -- with Colin Mochrie playing creator Julian Fellowes, the narrator of this funny piece. Spoilers are sort of imbedded in that, although you pretty much have to have a scorecard to figure them out.

Still, with all the previews and casting news floating around, plus, of course, the fact that the episodes have already aired in England, there are lots and lots of spoilers out there if you want to find them. And I did. That means you will learn a whole bunch of things about who's doing what to whom in Season 4 if you keep reading past this point.

DANGER DANGER -- SPOILERS AHEAD!!! 

INCLUDING THE PICTURES!!!

Are you ready? Okay then. Let's go.

Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) and Tom Branson (Allen Leech) are still mourning the loss of their spouses, but also exploring the possibility of new love. No, not with each other. Mary is faced with a series of unsuitable suitors, from an engaged man, Anthony, Lord Gillingham (Tom Cullen), who also comes with an odious valet (Nigel Harman) who creates great difficulty for Anna and Bates; the return of the Honorable Evelyn Napier (Brendan Patricks), someone Mary once found too boring to consider; and Napier's boss, Charles Blake (Julian Ovenden), a dishy if somewhat abrasive type who arrives as part of a new economic plan for Downton. That plan involves pigs, of all things, which does not gladden the heart of Mary's father, Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville).

Lady Mary and Branson juggle their responsibilities

Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) may be overdue for a few moments of serenity, but she's not going to get it. In fact, Edith's affairs of the heart get even stormier when her married boss, Michael Gregson (Charles Edwards) larks off after the elusive prospect of a divorce. When trouble looms and Gregson is out of sight, Edith finds herself sharing secrets with her aunt, Lady Rosamund (Samantha Bond) and (reluctantly), her grandmother, the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith), to chart her course.

Violet, the Dowager Countess, is also engaged in the usual battle of witticisms and insults with Isobel Crawley (Penelope Wilton), but Isobel may attract an admirer of her own when all is said and done. (Tally ho, Isobel!)

Jack Ross the jazz singer

At the other end of the family tree, young and impressionable Rose (Lily James), the wild child in the family, is entranced by all the wrong sorts of men, including Jack Ross, a handsome African-American jazz singer (Gary Carr).

We also get to see more of Cora Crawley (Elizabeth McGovern) and her free-spirited American mum (Shirley MacLaine), with another member of the family – Cora's reckless brother Harold, played by Paul Giamatti – added to the mix.

The formidable Harriet Walter pops up as Lady Shackleton, a  pal of the Dowager Countess, and opera singer Kiri te Kanawa appears as -- you guessed it -- an opera singer!

Lady Rose and the Prince of Wales

Plus we'll get a peek at the Prince of Wales. This is Edward, the eldest son of George V and Queen Mary, the one who will eventually abdicate the throne so he can marry Wallis Simpson. That's years in the future, of course, but still fun to get to see him here, portrayed by actor Oliver Dimsdale as a bit of a lothario who needs help from a coterie of Crawleys.

Below stairs, there is no lack of love, but also no lack of heartache for Anna (Joanne Frogatt) and Bates (Brendan Coyle) -- see note above about Gillingham's evil valet -- plus the usual maneuvering and manipulation from Thomas (Rob James-Collier) and the return of Branson's stalker, that saucy minx Edna (MyAnna Buring) now playing at being a lady's maid.

Alfred (Matt Milne), the "hobbledy-hoy" footman, dreams of a life higher up the food chain, Molesley (Kevin Doyle) continues to try to find a spot (any spot!) for himself, and Jimmy (Ed Speelers), Ivy (Cara Theobald) and Daisy (Sophie McShera) hanker after each other (and Alfred) in a love quadrangle of sorts set around the kitchen, to the consternation of Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol).

All that leaves is Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) and Carson (Jim Carter), who are in serious need of a day at the seashore.

Well, it also leaves death, disappearance, cheating, assault, illicit love, a baby, blackmail, a train ticket, a stolen letter opener, stolen letters, and a few stolen kisses. It wouldn't be Downton Abbey without a tempest over the teacups, would it?

I Love a Surprise: ARGO Wins Again at the Screen Actors Guild Awards

Last night's Screen Actors Guild Awards honored many of the usual suspects -- Daniel Day-Lewis and Tommy Lee Jones from Lincoln and Anne Hathaway for her performance in Les Misérables on the movie side, and ABC's Modern Family, Claire Danes from Homeland, Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad, Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey from NBC's 30 Rock , Kevin Costner (Hatfields and McCoys) and Julianne Moore (Game Change) for mini-series or TV movies -- with a few surprises as well.

Argo, the clever little thriller directed by (and starring) Ben Affleck about breaking a handful of Americans out of Iraq, took the trophy for Ooustanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, the SAG equivalent of Best Picture, upsetting Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook and Les Misérables and taking the lead in Oscar predictions. Don't forget, however, that The Help won in that category at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last year, while The Artist took Best Picture at the Oscars. You just never know...

Other SAG winners included Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook, lauded for her Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture. (Best Actress is so much easier, isn't it?) Lawrence and Jessica Chastain, nominated for Zero Dark Thirty, have been considered the top contenders for Oscar's Best Actress for quite a while, and they both won at the Golden Globes. Does this SAG Award mean Lawrence is edging ahead in that race? I kind of think so, considering how many SAG members also vote for the Academy Awards.

The other big upset of the evening was on the television side of the aisle, as the Downton Abbey cast took top honors for TV dramas. That meant a win over the likes of the much-lauded Homeland, Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire actors. I'm not sure that's warranted, honestly. As much as I love Downton Abbey, I found myself straying last season because of the contrivances involving Matthew and Mary and much of the murder plot. I think Homeland and its stars had a better year, Mad Men was pretty good except for that Too Much Megan problem, and Breaking Bad was as riveting as ever. Boardwalk Empire is too violent for me (looking at you, Gyp Rosetti) so I'd put it in last place on this list, but any of the other casts could've edged out Downton and I wouldn't have complained.

The Screen Actors Guild also honors stunt ensembles, and those awards went to Skyfall, the James Bond movie, and TV's Game of Thrones.

Best dressed? Tina Fey looked great in a snazzy black Oscar de la Renta gown with movie star hair, and Kerry Washington was a stunner in a sparkly white-and-silver Rodarte dress.

But for my money, Marion Cotillard walked away with the fashion prize in Dior Haute Couture, mixing a creamy white bodice with a full skirt (with pockets!) in a lovely shade of blue. French blue, of course. Cotillard may not be picking up as many awards as Lawrence and Chastain for her performance in Rust and Bone, but she's certainly setting the fashion standard.

And speaking of Jennifer Lawrence... Uh oh on the wardrobe malfunction, when her navy Christian Dior dress split apart at a thigh-level tier when she got up to accept her award. Oh well. A see-through pants suit on Oscar night didn't hurt Barbra Streisand all that much in the long run.

DOWNTON ABBEY, ONCE UPON A TIME and Lots More TV Back This Week

It's the time of the season for TV.  Mostly returning TV, but a few premieres are sneaking in here, too. So if you're sick of all the reruns or can't wait one minute longer to see what's happening on your favorite show after a cliffhanger in November or December... You just may be in luck. If, like me, you're waiting for Mad Men, Arrested Development and Parks and Recreation, you'll have to wait a little longer.

Downton Abbey, back January 6 with Season 3

In the meantime, this weekend we get Downton Abbey, giving us Season 3 of adventures for the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants, as well as the entrance of Shirley MacLaine as the big bad American mother-in-law. And Once Upon a Time, with Captain Hook and the evil Queen of Hearts storming into town on a pirate ship.

And two new shows begin early next week, with Deception, which looks like NBC's version of Revenge, on Monday, and The Abolitionists, a mini-series on PBS about the people working to end slavery in America, on Tuesday. NBC's 1600 Penn is new, too, but already sneaked its premiere episode in December. One small note about Deception: The murder victim at the center of the story is played by One Life to Live's former Jessica Buchanan, Bree Williamson. Let's hope playing a dead girl works out as well for her as it did for Amanda Seyfried, who was the late Lilly Kane on Veronica Mars before breaking big.

Note that ABC's Happy Endings and Don't Trust the B are opening their seasons in odd Sunday time slots, but will return to their regular Tuesday locations this week as well. NBC's The Biggest Loser also has two shows this week, with a Sunday special premiere and a regular Monday show.

Oh, and Chicago Fire, Elementary, Law & Order: SVU, Parenthood, Person of Interest and The Big Bang Theory are already back, so if those are your shows, you'd better already be tuned in.

Here's what coming up (and coming back) this week:

Friday, January 4: Last Man Standing (ABC, 7 pm), Malibu Country (ABC, 7:30 pm), CSI:New York (CBS, 8 pm), Blue Bloods (CBS, 9 pm), Merlin (Syfy, 9 pm)

Saturday, January 5: Austin City Limits (PBS, check local listings for time)

Sunday, January 6: Once Upon a Time (ABC, 7 pm), Bob's Burgers (Fox, 7:30 pm), The Biggest Loser (NBC, 8 pm), Downton Abbey (PBS, 8 pm), Family Guy (Fox, 8 pm), The Good Wife (CBS, 8 pm), Revenge (ABC, 8 pm), American Dad (Fox, 8:30 pm), Happy Endings (ABC, 9 pm), Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (ABC, 9:30 pm),

Monday, January 7: Antiques Roadshow (PBS, 7 pm), The Bachelor (ABC, 7 pm), Switched at Birth (ABC Family, 7 pm), Bunheads (ABC Family, 8 pm), Castle (ABC, 9 pm), Deception (NBC, 9 pm)

Tuesday, January 8: NCIS (CBS, 7 pm), Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family, 7 pm),  Raising Hope (Fox, 7 pm), Ben and Kate (Fox, 7:30 pm), The Abolitionists (PBS, 8 pm), Go On (NBC, 8 pm), Justified (FX, 8 pm), The Lying Game (ABC Family, 8 pm), NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS, 8 pm),  New Girl (Fox, 8 pm),  The Mindy Project (Fox, 8:30 pm), The New Normal (NBC, 8:30 pm),  Cougar Town (TBS, 9 pm), Private Practice (ABC, 9 pm), Vegas (CBS, 9 pm)

Wednesday, Jan 9: The Middle (ABC, 7 pm), The Neighbors (ABC, 7:30 pm), Modern Family (ABC, 8 pm), Suburgatory (ABC, 8:30 pm), Nashville (ABC, 9 pm)

Thursday, Jan 10: 30 Rock (NBC, 7 pm), Grey's Anatomy (ABC, 8 pm), The Office (NBC, 8 pm), 1600 Penn (NBC, 8:30 pm), Scandal (ABC, 9 pm)

For more information about any of these shows, click the link under the show's name.

Downton Abbey Tidbits (and a Gingerbread Abbey!)

Are you ready for the return of Downton Abbey on January 6th? Lots of good stuff afoot in Season 3, with Bates in jail, convicted of murdering his horrible first wife; Anna hanging tough, determined to get him out; Lady Mary and Matthew making it official; Edith still looking for love; the Earl in financial trouble; and Cora's American mother landing on their doorstep to further complicate matters (and clash with the formidable Dowager Countess).

Shirley MacLaine will be on hand to play Martha, Cora's mum, going up against Dame Maggie Smith as Violet, the Dowager Countess who is at the ready with a withering glance or a cutting remark.

You can see a video preview of Season 3 from Masterpiece here or watch a scene (showing the clash referred to above) from the first episode here. Or, if you're more in the mood to relive the past, you can watch Season 2 episodes online.

The Colbert Report offered a really unusual way to ramp up to Season 3 with a mashup between Downton (and its cast) and Breaking Bad. "Breaking Abbey" is definitely worth your time. Soon Downton will be kicking it with mad bitches and benjamins... (That last should be a hint that there are bad words in the video. Forewarned and all that.)

Also in preparation for the new season (and for the special Christmas episode in Britain, the one we won't see till May) a baker has made a gingerbread version of the Abbey itself. It's pretty odd. And cool. But also odd. Watch Downtown Abbey, the Gingerbread Version, here. You can compare the gingerbread one to the real one pictured in "Breaking Abbey."

More DOWNTON ABBEY on the Way!

As we here in the States eagerly await the arrival of Downton Abbey, Season 3, the Brits (who've already seen all of that one except the special Christmas episode) are celebrating the news that there will be a Season 4.

The newest news is that filming for Season 4 will begin at Highclere Castle and London's Ealing Studios in February, with eight episodes, plus another Christmas episode, set to be broadcast on Britain's ITV later in 2013. No word yet on when exactly these episodes will be set, although it sounds as if we'll still be in the early 1920s.

Laura Mackie, Director of Drama at ITV, gave these hints in the official announcement: "Viewers can look forward to more drama, comedy, love, hatred, jealousy, rivalry, ambition, despair and romance," Mackie said. "We’re thrilled to welcome back a drama series that has become a much anticipated part of all our lives every autumn and achieved success around the globe."

Meanwhile, Season 3, which takes the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants from Spring 1920, when Lady Mary and Matthew are finally planning their wedding and Bates the valet is still languishing in jail, through the following Christmas. Expect more drama from evil servants O'Brien and Thomas, even though they're now foes instead of co-conspirators, family complications for all the Crawley women, and more turmoil over that bloody inheritance involving the Earl of Grantham and Matthew, the heir apparent.

Will true blue Anna find evidence to exonerate Bates? Will Daisy ever be anything but a scullery maid? Will Mary and Matthew fall into wedded bliss? Will Edith find a love of her own? What about Sybil, pregnant and married to the Crawley's former chauffeur? And how will Cora's free-spirited American mother, played by Shirley MacLaine, factor into all of this?

The show's British fans already know the answers to those questions, but Americans will have to wait till January 6 to find out. PBS will air Season 3's episodes over seven Sundays, with a marathon of Season 2 episodes starting December 2nd at 8 pm to ramp up to the new ones.

Urbana's WILL adds a Sneak Preview of the first episode of Season 3 at I Hotel on December 18, with Krannert Center costumers and dessert to sweeten the evening.

If you want to see videos and pictures and interviews to whet your Downton appetite, check out PBS's main Masterpiece site. There are good teasers out there on iTunes, but stay away from the Downton Abbey Facebook page unless you want to be spoiled!

Teasing Season 3 of "Downton Abbey"

Season 3 of "Downton Abbey" won't be back on PBS until January 6, 2013, but in the meantime...

The PBS site is offering some tempting hints about what's to come, and some snippets of video have been out and about on various media sites.

So what do we have to look forward to?

Yes, Matthew and Lady Mary are still planning to wed, and yes, Sybil is still married to her socialist chauffeur and expecting a baby. Poor Bates has been convicted of offing his horrible wife, but at least he isn't sentenced to death anymore, and his true love, Anna, is staying on at Downton Abbey now that Mary called off her plans to go to America to get away from her nasty fiance, Richard. Expect plenty of challenges for all of those relationships as "Downton Abbey" moves into the post-World War I period and political, social and economic strife ramp up. Think about it — the Jazz Age, Hemingway and Hitler are on the horizon.

But the biggest change afoot at the moment for the Crawley family is that American Grandma is coming to town. Shirley MacLaine has joined the cast (she's in the picture above, next to Dame Maggie Smith as Violet, the Dowager Countess) as the American mother of Cora, the Countess of Grantham, who is played by Elizabeth McGovern. MacLaine's Martha Levinson arrives and immediately clashes with Smith's Dowager Countess, showcasing class and culture conflicts between the aristocratic values of the British empire, represented by Violet, and brash, new American ways, represented by Martha. That's front and center in the video you can see here.

"You Americans never understand the importance of tradition," snipes the Dowager Countess as an opening salvo.

"Yes, we do," replies the unimpressed Mrs. Levinson. "We just don't give it power over us. Maybe you should think about letting go of its hand."

PBS offers this "tantalizing glimpse ahead," telling us that "Downton's impeccable butler, Carson (Carter), breaks in a new footman, who happens to be the nephew of the scheming lady's maid O'Brien (Siobhan Finneran). Following Matthew and Mary's engagement, Robert sticks to his duty to maintain Downton more firmly than ever — even as other great houses are crippled psychologically and financially in the wake of World War I."

Sounds exciting, yes? I'm not sure I can wait for January. But I guess I'll try.

"Downton" Withdrawal? Try "Titanic" and "Sixbey."

Yearning for "Downton Abbey"? Season 3 won't be here till September 2012 in the UK and January 2013 in the US, but you can still get a little bit of a "Downton" fix.

The PBS "Downton" site has videos, interviews, photos and merchandise, including DVDs for Seasons 1 and 2, a lovely book, and an "official soundtrack" cd. They're offering 15% off plus free shipping through Monday (if you buy at least $90 worth of "Downton" or other PBS merch.)

In other news,"Downton" creator Julian Fellowes has written a four-part miniseries simply called "Titanic," with parts 1-3 airing tonight on ABC to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in the north Atlantic. Part 4 is scheduled for tomorrow at 8 central. The miniseries features some 89 major characters, with Linus Roache as Hugh, Earl of Manton, Geraldine Somerville as his wife, James Wilby as J. Bruce Ismay, and Linda Kash as the "unsinkable" Molly Brown. ABC's main page for this "Titanic" effort is here, including behind-the-scenes videos and trailers and whatnot. This 2012 "Titanic" mini aired in Canada and in the United Kingdom last month, where reviewers noted that Fellowes' script once again focused on the haves and the have-nots, the upstairs and the downstairs, as he did in "Gosford Park" and, of course, "Downton Abbey."

Over on NBC, Jimmy Fallon has begun his own "Downton" tribute called "Downton Sixbey." (His studio is 6B. Sixbey, get it?) The first episode is embedded below for your viewing entertainment.