The Crown [Netflix]

[SerHaHa]

Just finished this series - being Canadian whose family hails from England, I've been a bit of an Anglophile by nature.  My father led the local security detail for the Queen on her tour here in Canada in 1977 when I was 4 years old, he was with the Special O department of the RCMP then, and he was very proud of this event.  My drill pipe band also played in front of the Queen in the UK and other members of the Royal family back in the 80s.
  So, I have a certain attachment to this Netflix program.

 

As another pointed out, the actor who played Phillip nailed him, when he asked if an African soldier had stolen his Victoria Cross medal...heh, great writing.  I remember when Philip said in Hong Kong while I was living there "the thing I most admire about you Cantonese folks is that if it has 4 legs and isn't a table - you shall eat it!".  He thought this uproariously funny, the Cantonese, not so much.  I still laughed.

 

Great program, captured the Queen and Lithgow captured Churchill brilliantly, the best Churchill since Brendan Gleeson's IMO.

[red snow]

On 05/11/2016 at 6:20 PM, TickleMyToes said:

Watching episode 2, Phillip is indeed, a total dick. haha

That's something. Phillip and Lithgow Churchill are the only things that would tempt me to watch.

[C Rutherford]

Well finished the first run.

A bit blah overall.  Had quite a few flaws that didn't keep me from watching but had me ready to fast forward and by episode ten had me really weary of it all.

First and overall, it hammered home the severe lack of really good writing that the acting required.  The main characters were so one note by the end.  Philip had absolutely no nuance and only was written as a plot device so many times it was not funny.  And Smith played it too cartoonish too many times.  Probably the direction, because the actress who played Margaret had so many of her tones and style down pat and yet there was a constant need to fall into arch camp with her that took away from any of it.  I was always laughing at the heavy handed scenes of the great "love" with Townsend.  Who came off a bit creepy in the latter episodes.  Not sure if that was intended or not.

Churchill, the two kings and the five initial female leads (Lady Churchill, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret) luckily were well cast and really delivered performances that kept the quality from falling into Masterpiece post-Downton drivel.
 

But even Churchill ended up being too much.  Writing wise.  He was a pompous orator but did they have to have his character eat up so many scenes over and over again?  Did I really need the director to hammer home how profound and declarative every single moment Churchill "defined" the monarchy, the crown, the nation, the commonwealth?  No.  It ended up feeling too self-important and trying way too hard to make it all so very very IMPORTANT! 

Second the whole series hammered home how, despite the attempts to tie into the timeliness of the current Queen's age and span of reign- how muddled the writers are at incorporating history into the lives of the royals.  It feels shoehorned too often.

The third that was hammered home for me was how much more interesting this could have been had they done a series starting with the royals at the start of Edward VII's death.  The dysfunction and I have to suspect horrid parenting of George V and Mary was so much more interesting for a soap opera about the royals and the crown.  The Duke of Kent.  Prince John.  Queen Mary's insecurities and raging snobbery as a result.  Or have the first "series" ten episode run start with the death of George V and end with the death of George VI and focus on the shift in perceptions of the British public.  I say this simply because the acting of the two men playing David and Bertie are so well done and serve as a nice counterpoint to the direction and focus on Lithgow's Churchill.  I'm not finding a flaw in Lithgow.  But I do find the way the focus in placed on him in the last four episodes a huge drain on momentum.*

I got a little tired of the flashback as self-important theme setting and narrative establishment.  I think delivering a linear narrative that is of quality is harder, but it is also much better when done right.  The flashbacks had a sense of weakness here by the end.

*My great-grandmother actually was socially well connected and socialized with the Churchills when she and her second husband lived on London in the late forties.  She actually saw the 'lost' portrait and said it was genius (I'm not sure how she saw it).  She also said he was an incredibly self-important self-centered man.  But one of the most charming and avid listener's at the same time.  I did a school report on him and got some details.  One thing I remember was her laughing and calling him the poshest snake oil salesman she ever met.  Even when he was delivering a load of bullshit - he knew it was bullshit, he knew the person he was telling it knew it was bullshit -- he did so with incredible charm, wit and even self-deprecating laughter that you simply went along and felt privileged for doing so.  I'm kind of sad that Lithgow didn't get a chance to go there since the writers and director were determined he spent almost all his time doing "This England" even when sipping tea.

[KiDisaster]

Finally got around to watching the first episode last night. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I think not being a Dr. Who fan helps cause I don't have the problem of seeing Matt Smith as any other character

[Zorral]

Watched the first episode.  It is slow; these people are boring.  Royalty or not, they are dull and not fun, or interesting.  Maybe if one were into shooting . . . .

 

[HexMachina]

5 minutes ago, Zorral said:

Watched the first episode.  It is slow; these people are boring.  Royalty or not, they are dull and not fun, or interesting.  Maybe if one were into shooting . . . .

 

It's not a show where a lot seems to happen, but the first episode was definitely the weakest for me so far. It's not a brilliant show but I do think it becomes a little more interesting in later episodes. I think this is why, as @C Rutherford says, Margaret was so often directed as arch camp. They needed some sort of *gasp-drama* to liven things up somewhat.

I am really enjoying Foy as Elizabeth though. And the Coronation was wonderful 

[Martini Sigil]

We watched the first episode, and the lack of action and/or drama is OK with me... right now (with everything else that's going on) I can go for something interesting, if not boring.

[Commodore]

episode 3 was unintentionally hilarious

the drama revolved around what name she would take and where she would live. High stakes! With Hans Zimmer epic background music and everything!

[Dr. Pepper]

I really enjoyed it.  It's pretty light fare, which was what I needed.  Something to have on in the background.  Plus there's this complete fascination with how on earth the British people (or anyone living in a monarchy) can actually stomach this.  I mean, reading royal news is a fun past time for me, but it all seems like make believe half the time because it's so foreign.  Like, these are just people but both they are their public act like they are legitimately gifts from someone's gods.  It makes everything seem ridiculous and enormously hilarious when things like, as Commodore mentioned, names and residence or even who one would marry become so high stakes.  

I watched it before the US election so it was nice to have another country I could sit back and snicker at.  Lol.  If only I knew a week ago when I know today.  

[Howdyphillip]

I will be finishing the series tonight...Quick question... Do you think the Queen would take back her unruly American children now? I'd give it a go.

[Channel4s-JonSnow]

On 11/13/2016 at 7:47 PM, Dr. Pepper said:

I really enjoyed it.  It's pretty light fare, which was what I needed.  Something to have on in the background.  Plus there's this complete fascination with how on earth the British people (or anyone living in a monarchy) can actually stomach this.  I mean, reading royal news is a fun past time for me, but it all seems like make believe half the time because it's so foreign.  Like, these are just people but both they are their public act like they are legitimately gifts from someone's gods.  It makes everything seem ridiculous and enormously hilarious when things like, as Commodore mentioned, names and residence or even who one would marry become so high stakes.  

I watched it before the US election so it was nice to have another country I could sit back and snicker at.  Lol.  If only I knew a week ago when I know today.  

Its a strange thing being British. Even though there is this family that takes all our money and land, just to sit in a castle and look pretty.. somehow we are immensely proud of the fact they exist and on some level like the fact that they lord it over us peasants. 

Also because there is such a facination from other countries as well. My mrs is from Europe and is far more interested in the monarchy than me, so when we watch this show, its her who is gripped, wanting to know what is true and isn't. I can fill in the gaps in information for her too. 

I actually really like the show, even if its not something I would watch if I was single. It has very high production values and most of the cast (Matt Smith the exception) is very good. 

[C Rutherford]

9 hours ago, Howdyphillip said:

I will be finishing the series tonight...Quick question... Do you think the Queen would take back her unruly American children now? I'd give it a go.

 

How about she just take the unruliest of them all, that half Scottish rotten mound of cheez wiz in a suit?

On a few other forums I've seen talk/discussion as to what kind of series we would have gotten had they waited (a respectable time) until the current Queen had died?  Whether the series was biting or was safe in how it treats the family. 

It is a bit odd how the show has this great production and rather nice sized cast of swirling semi-regulars (like Tommy Lascelles and Charteris to varying degrees) and yet has kind of completely shut out the extended royal family in many ways.  I thought Queen Elizabeth was rather close to some of her Kent and Gloucester cousins who were of close enough age,  Plus wasn't there a close cousin of Elizabeth's from either the Windsor side or through her Teck/Battenburg relations that was really involved in court life and part of Prince Philip's crowd that suddenly was frozen out a bit in the sixties and of course was not covered in the British press but caused tabloids elsewhere to wonder if she and Philip were having an affair for several years?

But reading a bit on the Margaret controversy was well as the plotline that the show had follow the Duke of Windsor and it seems like it takes a tame stance on the family when it could have been a bit, not meaner, but perhaps explore some of the stuff the royals never had to deal with even by today's standards simply due to the press having to abide by certain strictures that belie the notion of a free press.

[Zorral]

Now -- this is exciting!  The 1952 fog! (episode 4). This is the people of England, well, at least of London.  A little more about the dangers of Churchill too.

[Mladen]

On 11/8/2016 at 6:05 PM, C Rutherford said:

I did have a case of the bad giggles at the end of the second episode at what I think was an attempt to get their own dramatic stirring moment akin to Dame Maggie smith's bravura performance as the Dowager Countess leaving Downton after the death of Sybil.  Unfortunately Queen Mary just came off creepy and as others have noted elsewhere she ends up looking like she wandered off the set of David Lynch's Dune film and I kept waiting for her to lift the veil and tell Elizabeth if she is ready to meet her Gom Jabbar.

Thank God I was not the only one thinking of that  

On Episode 4... I have to say so far, even though it sometimes borderlines with bore pace, it has its moments. There are no cheap dramatics, at least not so far.

I kind of like it. The assess are being assess, silly girls are being silly girls and overall, people seems to be people... Regardless of that HRH standing in front of their names.

And I heard there will be 6 seasons of this... Hoping for Dame Mirren to be Elizabeth II in latter editions  

[Zorral]

12 hours ago, Risto said:

And I heard there will be 6 seasons of this... Hoping for Dame Mirren to be Elizabeth II in latter editions

O noes!!!!!

O well, nobody will make me watch it, so, so what?  

[Mladen]

21 minutes ago, Zorral said:

O noes!!!!!

O well, nobody will make me watch it, so, so what?  

Yeap... Although I have to say the music... My god, the music...It is incredibly beautiful. Truly haunting. Mr Zimmer we all grew to love and admire.

I am not sure about 6 seasons to cover Elizabeth's enough... It seems a bit too much. Yeah, there were many crisis during her reign and many changes and it would be interesting to see the show tackling them, but honestly, six seasons of family drama seems a bit much. It needs to rely more on real events, but it would be difficult knowing how Elizabeth was closeted politically.

I am not hating it, but I don't feel the great passion about it. I am on Episode 5... It may change to the end of the season.

One thing that I have to say I particularly love is the conversation between Queen Mary and Elizabeth about the necessity of monarch being completely unpolitical. There is something about nice regarding that position and how that secures that she is the Queen of everyone. That one was deftly done, IMO.

[Zorral]

It's just that the real impacts upon the English people and the millions of their colonies are just glossed over in favor of very glossy and smart visuals that show them being loved loved loved, even in Kenya, when rebellion was going all over in Eastern Africa -- not a mention of that.  It's all about I AM THE BLOODY QUEEN NOW AND ALL MUST WALK BEHIND ME, I am looking at you, Philip (and if anyone deserved to walk behind it's that putz, right? Yah, I liked those parts.  I'm shallow that way about people like that.)  

But, ay-up -- nobody is going to force me to watch it, so I should shut-up and allow everyone to find their viewing pleasures where they wish, because that's just about the only rights we are going to have left soon! (among other reasons, of course!)

[Mladen]

41 minutes ago, Zorral said:

It's just that the real impacts upon the English people and the millions of their colonies are just glossed over in favor of very glossy and smart visuals that show them being loved loved loved, even in Kenya, when rebellion was going all over in Eastern Africa -- not a mention of that.  It's all about I AM THE BLOODY QUEEN NOW AND ALL MUST WALK BEHIND ME, I am looking at you, Philip (and if anyone deserved to walk behind it's that putz, right? Yah, I liked those parts.  I'm shallow that way about people like that.)  

But, ay-up -- nobody is going to force me to watch it, so I should shut-up and allow everyone to find their viewing pleasures where they wish, because that's just about the only rights we are going to have left soon! (among other reasons, of course!)

Well, as one critic said this is "Windsors' best PR on TV".  And that is how monarchies operate today. They create desirable bachelors, the weddings that are must see. Look at Peter Morgan's previous work on "The Queen". At the end of that movie, no one cared about Diana. It was all about HER. Which was the point of the movie itself. And I suppose the position hasn't changed here. They want to represent the monarchs, or better, THIS MONARCH, in the light of public duty, someone who sacrifices her personal life, love etc. You sympathize with her. And when all is said and done, you are supposed to thank the God for their existence. Otherwise we wouldn't have something to strive for.

And yeah... Our most sacred liberty is to choose what we watch... And by God, we shall defend it...  

[Zorral]

10 minutes ago, Risto said:

And yeah... Our most sacred liberty is to choose what we watch... And by God, we shall defend it...

Shield Wall UP! DVDs and Netflix subscriptions at the ready!

 

 

[Mladen]

This show beautifully scratches my Downton Abbey itch, but it sometimes lacks the spirit. As was determined earlier, it lacks true importance and it is borderline soap opera. But, at moments it provides some depth and the music is truly outstanding. It is acted beautifully, so I enjoyed it... And at the end of the day, that's all that counts