Here's a strange, aggressive bit of salesmanship: PBS Video is releasing Season 2 of Downton Abbey today (Tuesday, Feb. 7) on both DVD and Blu-Ray. But on television, here in the U.S., the series doesn't complete Season 2 for two more Sundays. So if you don't want to wait to see how this year's Downton Abbey adventures end, you don't have to...

You can order Season 2 of Downton Abbey, on both DVD and Blu-Ray, by clicking HERE. (And Season 1, for that matter.)

And if you're a fan of the show, you should, because these DVDs contain scenes and snippets edited out of the versions shown by Masterpiece Classic on PBS -- edits made purely to make the episodes fit into our country's more rigid time slots.

This isn't the first time episodes of a TV series have been offered on DVD before showing up on television, but Downton, which airs Sunday nights at 9 ET on PBS, has turned into enough of a TV phenomenon that it's especially noteworthy.

(For an account of, and explanation for, the show's impressive popularity, see TVWW contributor Noel Holston's latest The Grassy Noel column HERE.)

In fact, it's proven so popular that, according to some customers pre-ordering Season 2 on Amazon, there's a backlog -- so make sure to check the estimated delivery date before you order, in case the arrival of Downton will leave you more frustrated than excited.

The ending itself, though, is worth the wait, whether it arrives one if by land or two if by TV.

As a TV critic, I have my copy already...