"The Crown" (2016-Present) - Netflix Drama Series on Queen Elizabeth II


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
I have mixed feeling and have not watched anything as yet but might hang on until the Christmas holidays.
 
An Ard Ri said:
I have mixed feeling and have not watched anything as yet but might hang on until the Christmas holidays.
Click to expand...

And not even the Hol´s will make me watch that crap!!Lies from A to Z...
Actors...no...`public` men and women...if you catch my drift!!Bogus.
Making a fast buck over the backs of the RF??...Get out!!How cheap!!

I kicked Netflix out because of it,disclaimer or not,trash.
 
I'm about halfway through the series and I'm surprised at how tame, and kinda boring, the series is. The 90's was an explosive year for the BRF but its all coming off a bit dry. Episode 3, about the Al Fayad's, was a real chore to watch. Princess Anne is once again one of the best things about this series. Diana's portrayal this series is so far a bit more balanced and rounded and it can't be overstated how eerie Debicki is as the late Princess. Peter Morgan's thesis on Prince Charles continues to grow in a strangely positive light. He really views him as a deeply flawed, but good, man. His thesis on the Queen is a bit more lost and I'm not sure what he is trying to say yet. I am very much enjoying Olivia Williams as Camilla.
 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-63584041

The Crown new season watched by 1.1m in UK on launch day, first official ratings say

More than a million people in the UK watched the new series of The Crown on its first day of release, the drama's first official TV ratings show.

Netflix joined ratings system Barb last week, meaning viewing figures for the streaming giant's UK audience are available for the first time.

About 1.1 million people saw at least one episode of The Crown's season five on TV sets on Wednesday, Barb said.

That compares with 7.9 million who watched I'm A Celebrity on ITV.

However, the audience for The Crown's new season - which launched amid a flurry of controversy and publicity - will watch over a longer period, rather than all tuning in on one day.

And more will view it on laptops, tablets and mobiles, which are not included in the Barb figures.

Obviously people watch Netflix differently to regular TV and it was released mid week but still I would have expected more people to watch personally.
 
I'm about to start episode 7. It's not as bad as I had expected given the advance reviews.

I don't like Imelda Staunton as QEII -- from a physical perspective. She is just way toooo diminutive and her features are way tinier than QEII.

Jonathan Pryce is OK as Prince Philip.

Domenick West is a very hot Charles.

I think Elizabeth Debicki is far too skinny to play even a bulimic Diana. And, she's leaning into the downward glance a bit too much.

I also think they should have stayed with Bonham Carter as Margaret. The new Queen Mother looks more like Queen Mary; the new Anne is O.K.

I'm a bit uncomfortable w/the Leonora story line. Let me poor child Rest in Peace.

I think the Philip-Penny story line is handled tastefully. Frankly, I can believe that it was an entirely platonic friendship based upon mutual interests and mutual support.


So far ... not that bad!

JMHO
 
So far I think it's ok. I like the new actors.
 
I am liking it okay. Imelda as some of the Queens mannerisms. James a Murray as Prince Andrew is hilarious. I like it. The Al Fayd episode seemed a bit useless and with the valet. Was that true. Didn’t know anything about Dodi though, only he died in Diana’s car.
 
FigTree said:
I am liking it okay. Imelda as some of the Queens mannerisms. James a Murray as Prince Andrew is hilarious. I like it. The Al Fayd episode seemed a bit useless and with the valet. Was that true. Didn’t know anything about Dodi though, only he died in Diana’s car.
Click to expand...


The rough fact that Edward VIII had a Bahamian valet named Sydney Johnson who was later hired by Mohamed Al Fayed to teach him about British culture is true. All the actual scenes are imagined and embellished.
 
Finally done.
-Debicki is really eerie, but of course that's why she's compelling to watch.
-Timothy Dalton did not disappoint. :)
-The actresses playing Anne and Camilla were also particularly good.
-Jonathan Pryce is great generally, just not quite buying him as Philip. Glad they didn't go the libel route with Penny.
-Staunton is not bad as HM, but I have never seen Order of the Phoenix, so maybe I am reverse-biased.
-Anyone notice Edward only had lines in the last episode? Why pay the guy to show up in the background?
-West is not bad as Charles. The whole season was far more sympathetic to Charles (and John Major) than I expected.
-I enjoyed "Mou Mou". It was enjoyable to see Sydney Johnson again and the more decent side of Al-Fayed.
-We got our obligatory Claire cameo. How will they come up with a way to keep giving her money next time? :D
-Even Alex Jennings was fun. Wonder if David actually read those books.
-Oh yes. Martin Bashir is a scumbag, but we knew that already. I'm actually curious what else he lied and faked in his career other than Diana?
-The absolute worst point was Bertie Carvel. Who is he supposed to be playing, again? :whistling: I miss Michael Sheen.

So.....how is next season meant to start?
 
Last edited:
FigTree said:
I am liking it okay. Imelda as some of the Queens mannerisms. James a Murray as Prince Andrew is hilarious. I like it. The Al Fayd episode seemed a bit useless and with the valet. Was that true. Didn’t know anything about Dodi though, only he died in Diana’s car.
Click to expand...

quite the opposite, it was Dodi's father who owned or hired the car and Diana was traveling in Dodi's transport.
 
The actors cast as Sue Hussey and Penny Mountbatten are perfect.

I found the scenes with HM and William and the televisions very amusing.
 
Leopoldine said:
The actors cast as Sue Hussey and Penny Mountbatten are perfect.

I found the scenes with HM and William and the televisions very amusing.
Click to expand...

Yup. Senan West looks nothing like young William, but he displayed a pretty good job of loving a family that's nothing but embarrassing in one form or another. Wills getting to navigate the generational technology gap was really funny — even though we know the Queen was pretty tech-savvy herself.

Which maybe means the show shouldn't have made the point she and Philip had "nothing in common"? :/

I also noticed there was no disclaimer, even after the earlier news.
 
Ok, I ended finishing up the whole series quicker than I expected. Its much tamer than the media raucous would have you believe. At times it was actually quite bland and not very interesting. Though the imaginary and "bending of the truth" this season are kind of unnecessary since there is already so much to work with from the 90's.

The "tampongate" was an interesting story to revisit and one of the more surprisingly tender moments in the series. It was just an in love couple being funny, sexy and playful. It actually made me feel more protective of the Charles and Camilla's relationship.

Diana's portrayal was interesting and made me sad. Debicki is, to use the word again, eerie. There were so many split seconds were I felt like I was actually watching Diana. I felt like this series really leaned into the "Diana was her own worst enemy" thinking. It was painful to watch how unstable and paranoid she was during that time.

William entering the Crown is really weird. Its an uncomfortable reminder that he was old enough to be caught in the middle and understand what was happening around him. No wonder he has put so much effort into creating a very stable family life for himself.

Peter Morgan seems to have lost steam in his thesis for the Queen and Prince Phillip. I've enjoyed Imelda Staunton, she definitely feels like she is playing an older version of Claire Foy's queen. There were LOTS of flashbacks during this series which I take as a sign of weak storytelling and trying to garner nostalgia for the previous seasons.

I was really hoping for a Camilla-centric episode, especially since the actress playing her did is so well. She was the most vilified and hated woman in Britain during that time and a whole episode could easily have been written about what she had to endure from the nation at that time.

The actor playing Tony Blair looks more like an actor doing a Rob Brydon tribute act. A glaringly bad bit of casting. It looks like they've set up the final series to begin with the death of Diana. As with previous series, I wish there was even more of Princess Anne, the Crowns version of her is a hoot!
 
I’ve only watched the first two episodes so far but have to say I’m struggling with some of the new casting so far.

I feel like the actress playing Diana has gone way overboard with the “downward glance”.

Imelda just doesn’t work as the Queen.
 
crm2317 said:
I’ve only watched the first two episodes so far but have to say I’m struggling with some of the new casting so far.

I feel like the actress playing Diana has gone way overboard with the “downward glance”.

Imelda just doesn’t work as the Queen.
Click to expand...

I feel exactly the same about Debicki and Staunton. They are both a struggle for me.
 
suztav said:
I feel exactly the same about Debicki and Staunton. They are both a struggle for me.
Click to expand...



Agreed here too. Staunton has this kind of… sneering manner that makes the Queen seem far more stuck up and emotionally cold than I think she ever seemed in real life.

And Debicki feels like an over the top caricature. I bet she wins awards though.
 
It also occurs to me that HM didn't get an occasion to tell anyone how much they suck this season, as she did to her uncle, Philip, a few prime ministers, and Charles. I miss that, too.

I wonder, since the actual Queen only died two months ago — probably not enough time for substantial rewrites and reshooting — was it really just a coincidence Charles (and Camilla) were so much more sympathetically portrayed this season, or was Morgan always smart enough to know he shouldn't make an enemy of the guy who is now sitting on the throne?
 
Marmaduke Hussey's portrayal left me speechless. What was the point of that bedtime scene?
 
Leopoldine said:
Marmaduke Hussey's portrayal left me speechless. What was the point of that bedtime scene?
Click to expand...

-I think there was meant to be a slight joke in there as the women at the Palace asked Sue immediately before if there wasn't something she could do in bed/at bedtime to convince him.
-That being said, they could have easily found a much more tasteful way of showing Duke as an amputee.
-It's called "fan disservice". (The opposite of naked Matt Smith.) Why they're doing it, I don't know, either.
 
I am now at episode 6 what is quite interesting (fate of the Romanovs) but overall I am a bit bored. So far the wow factor of previous seasons is missing, especially the outstanding performances like the previous Charles or the Maggie Thatcher portrait.
I was expecting a much stronger focus on Charles and Diana but they hardly feature.
I am really warming up to Pryce as Philip while there is something about Staunton I really dislike as QEII.
 
The Romanov ... scenes were tough going.

And I thought that the previous Charles was a sniveling malevolent creep. Dominic West injects some dignity, pathos and savoir-faire into the portrayal. That last guy was a mosquito. A mean one.


I think Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce were good ...excellent, really. The jarring bits were the ancillary actors looking so much like their "principals" while Imelda and Jonathan took a bit of getting used to. I got over it.
 
The biggest irony with the Romanov scenes is that Alexandra would have likely spoken English with her family. If they knew about George's parrot, I can't believe they didn't know about that.

I guess it just wasn't "realistic".
 
All i can say is that i was suprised, and pleasantly suprised, by this season.

I was expecting , maybe after reading too much Daily Mail articles, a vitriolic tale of the infamously tumultuous 90's with some Armageddon consequences to the present reign. At the end it was clearly not the case.

As such, for those who were eagerly waiting an anti Charles and Camilla manifesto (spare me, you know who you are) it was not the case either. Quite the contrary, actually.

Despite the fact that this season lacked the style and panache of the previous ones, i do think Peter Morgan managed to give a very honest and balanced view of those very sensitive times for the BRF : the Wales are not saints nor vilains, they are just humans with sometimes contradictory feelings, Camilla is down to earth and supportive, The Queen a bit spectator of her own reign ...

The "artistic licenses" are still there, sometimes irritating or frankly laughable . Still it was pleasant to watch. Just pleasant, not fascinating anymore.
 
Last edited:
Code:
Nico said:
I was expecting , maybe after reading too much Daily Mail articles, a vitriolic tale of the infamously tumultuous 90's with some Armageddon consequences to the present reign. At the end it was clearly not the case.

As such, for those who were eagerly waiting an anti Charles and Camilla manifesto (spare me, you know who you are) it was not the case either. Quite the contrary, actually.
Click to expand...

I’ve been following the reaction to season 5 on Twitter and I can confirm that those people are indeed very disappointed.

PS. Am I the only one who thinks that Dominic West is a dead ringer for the late Oliver Hoare (one of Diana’s BFs)? I knew he looked like somebody, just not prince Charles - still like him in the role regardless.
 
Last edited:
I have finished it. It was fine. I mean the actors are always brilliant.

It also feels like bringing the drama to an end and going back full circle to the younger versions which is such a nice touch…for a drama obviously. And it is a drama and not fact.
 
I do appreciate that they made it clear that an isolated Diana was a target for someone like Mohamed Al-Fayad who had an agenda of his own that wasn’t admirable.
 
:previous: I just finished episode 8, the Panorama interview, what I found very well done. Same here, they clearly stated that Diana was lured into this interview by false pretence, a criminal act.
 
Nico said:
The "artistic licenses" are still there, sometimes irritating or frankly laughable . Still it was pleasant to watch. Just pleasant, not fascinating anymore.
Click to expand...

Yes that was my main take away as well. It was still an entirely pleasant and gorgeous show to watch. I will finish the last series no doubt. But the essence that made the show so fascinating and irresistible to watch were missing this series. The rumours are that the series will end with Charles and Camilla's wedding, which with the way the series has progressed, seems like the most appropriate way to end it.
 
Part of "William and the Telly"... or maybe that's just "William Telly". It's funny even while some of Morgan's metaphor remains eye-rollingly obvious.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Marengo
  • Locked
Netflix Docu-Series of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (2022)
49 50 51
Replies
2K
Views
173K
Ista
Ista
Marengo
  • Sticky
Queen Elizabeth (1926-2022) and the Duke of Edinburgh (1921-2021)
2 3
Replies
61
Views
8K
Asteria12
A
J
God Save the Queen anthem
Replies
0
Views
70
jf161
J
M
Distribution of the Jewels of Queen Elizabeth II
2 3 4
Replies
105
Views
11K
muriel
muriel
Z
The new order of precedence
Replies
2
Views
7K
LauraS3514
LauraS3514

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom