I'm sorry if it wasn't clear, but as far as I'm concerned "overrated but still good" is EXACTLY my opinion on DA. It has many, many good things going for it, particularly the cast-- for example, I think Laura Carmichael never gets NEARLY enough credit for her performance. But is it also occasionally contrived, poorly paced, and unintentionally hilarious in its melodrama? Also yes.

I enjoy it quite a lot as a soap. But it's still over-praised and not as innovative as a lot of the young fans think it is (my point re Upstairs Downstairs).