Authors:
  • Most of the soap operas always use the Christmas special to kill huge quantities of their characters. So they have trams coming off their rails, or cars slamming into each other or burning buildings. It's a general clean-out.

    "More Season 3 Conversation With ‘Downton Abbey’ Creator Julian Fellowes". Interview With Dave Itzkoff, artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com. February 19, 2013.