The Crown

Haven't seen it. Is Margaret prettier than Elizabeth in the series?

I watched the first five episodes over the holidays. I'd recommended it if you're into worshipping Matt Smith's ass. Otherwise pretty vacant.

Yes the actress Margaret is pretty. Especially in closeup. The actress for HRH is regal but not as pretty as Elizabeth R was as a young woman. But well cast. The actor for her husband is jolie laide with a hot bod.

I'm quite impressed how they make really trivial things seem very dramatic.

Yes so many times in this series, R4. Why I find it uber campy.

(Notice how the R1 spot has devolved into being filled by a useless twat. She must be fed - couldn't google it, of course.)

At least the production values are good. The plot lines are quaintly sanitized. Everything about Margaret so much in love with Townsend, but actually she was seeing (meaning fucking) at least two other beaus at the time and trapped herself into the whole scandal because of her need for some attention.

Smith so far is a lousy Philip. He tilts his head down, squints, and purses his mouth. But his ass was nice.

At least they made Bowes-Lyon unappealing at first. None of the charming, smiling, glitter-eyed mother of the country. Just a bitter, sour, alcoholic widow. It made her ascent in the last episode seem plausible, and the actress earned a measure of likability.

Jared Harris as George VI was miscast but sympathetic. Eileen Atkins was perfect (as always) as Queen Mary. Her and Lithgow's Churchill's - such an interesting casting - performances set the frame for Elizabeth becoming the queenly queen.

Apart from the sanitizing and difficulty with Philip's substory, the script for the first season was very, very good. Action was well-placed. It looked gorgeous and mostly accurate. (One understands the need for replacement sets, but the Sandringham, Balmoral, Buckingham Palace and Downing Street proxies were great.

Jeremy Northam as Eden was outstanding. Alex Jennings as the Duke of Windsor managed a shocking sympathy in the scene where he shows, on the telephone with Liz, how he understood better than anyone what being the monarch meant. And setting Lord Mountbatten as a cunt was welcome.

In fact, all of the supporting players are superb.

Finally, Claire Foy struggled through most of the season with Elizabeth. She lacked the right spirit and appearance in much of her scenes, although she intellectually understood what it was about. She is sympathetic, bright, kind, balanced - but it ain't Elizabeth.

In the last two episodes, things improved, they managed her "look" better, and she was able to give up the jejune shit. But I still wonder if they couldn't have handled the critical casting better, although I don't know who they could have found.

Sure it's fluff, but it's good fluff.

Sorry.

I forgot to "MARY!" myself.

MARY!

And, yes, of course, the camp value is there, but from the perspective of anything related to the history of the throne since the Duke of Windsor's abdication, there seldom has been a moment in real life that was not the same puffing of trivia into importance and the shuffling of important matters into the corner. That's what a symbolic monarchy is all about! Make it look good and do it right and do it better than anyone else! And then retreat into silken finery and horsey rural snuffiness and look down on everyone else on the planet.

Enjoyed it. Very skilled actors.

I watched the whole season over three days.

I didn't think I'd like it, but I enjoyed the actors and the locales very much.

I fell in love with the monarchy a few years ago and have watched every documentary, every silent Pathé video, every trooping the colour video and every single royal appearance available. Claire Foy is a great actress, but she never captures the Queen's smile. HM has always been one to just smile and get on with it, but Foy just internalizes everything and her giant eyes make her look panicked all the time. I feel like the mini-series completely omitted the way she interacts with literally every single person she greets in public, very kind and gentle, smiling, interested in their life, etc. It was all dread, all the time. She has to take an injection to relax her facial muscles, but Foy barely smiles lol.

The other thing that enraged me was the military protocol. Men wore hats inside (!) and ceremonial guards barely saluted. I almost cried aloud when the guards actually presented arms in one of the later episodes. Someone didn't do their homework in the early episodes. At least they got the Garter sashes and family order decorations correct.

The melodrama was a bit much. The long pause as Philip read his fealty oath was so ridiculous. Finally, they devoted SO MUCH exposition to many concepts already known to the informed viewer, like Queen Mary explaining the "Queens" to the servant. It was super corny, sort of like the mutants on X-men movies demonstrating their powers to each other. The cringe is almost too much to bear.

[quote]Otherwise pretty vacant.

Poor darling, it wasn't X Men.

A stunning, stunning series. Dazzling writing, and if Foy isn't showered with awards something is very wrong. Foy wasn't Elizabeth, but she created her own remarkably believeable Elizabeth, and brilliantly captured her hesitations and withholding, and other manifestations of her psychology. In her deep stillness and underplaying, she was phenomenal. Her eyes alone conveyed pages of narrative. Absolutely sensationally perfect casting.

Eileen Atkins is always a joy, but was wildly miscast. Queen Mary was an immense presence - as Chips Channon said, talking to her was like addressing St Paul's cathedral. Nevertheless, like Foy, Atkins created her own believable character.

Agree with reservations about Matt Smith, but I can't think of another actor who could have played Philip, and he was very good nonetheless. Pip Torrens as Tommy Lascales also deserves recognition: in every scene he brought a comical brigadier gravitas. His whippet thin, ramrod straight frame alone was fantastic.

Who is this historical character - Prince Philip's partyboy friend from the club and always racing about in the sports car together? The actor is very sexy.

I've presumed its his equerry Commander Mike Parker, a 'loose cannon' like Philip, who reportedly helped lead him astray. Apparently the second series is going to dip more into the background of Philip, which would be fun. Hopefully we get to see the rickity eurotrash father, and the beautiful nazi-marrying sisters. Below is one of them Cecilie of Hesse: do admit! In the birthday documentary of Elizabeth last year where they showed home videos, there was one of the ravishingly handsome blond Prince Karl at Balmoral. The fact the German cousins would holiday there after the war was I think kept rather quiet!

I believed Foy's Elizabeth in a way I never believed Portman's Jackie.

Prince Albert's cairn, at Balmoral.

Thanks, thats him I guess, Parker. The actor is Danny Ings. And now I see he has Sanpaku so maybe he's bad news.

OP, I'm not certain you understand what "camp" is. Yes, John Lithgow is enjoyably hammy as Churchill but there's nothing "campy" about The Crown.

I watched the sixth episode last night. I've found the series to be melodramatic at times, but I intend to stick with it. Claire Foy is brilliant as Elizabeth. And I don't think they could have found anyone who better matched the Queen's looks. I've enjoyed the dynamic between her and Phillip. I now completely understand why he's cheated on her throughout their marriage. All the promises to fulfill his wishes and make him feel more like an equal partner, and then she backed down due to the influence of others, same as the way she lied to her sister. I realize she was a very young queen, but she should have tried to have more backbone. Side note, I've read that The Crown is the most expensive show Netflix has produced thus far, and the viewership for it has been far lower than hoped.

Fair enough. But again, Bette Davis in Beyond The Forest is melodramatic (and campy). The Crown is not melodramatic.

But the Crown is often campy. High camp. Elizabeth on the phone with Margaret. Or the syrupy swelling score when Elizabeth fights for something then walks away and the palace is scurrying about getting ready for a state banquet, orchestration swelling swelling, and its presented as world important history and drama. It's camp. The fun and elegant kind. All camp isn't low camp.

I agree that The Crown is camp. Peter Morgan is a great writer who is really astute and 'gets' the absurdity of it all.

Bump

Why the hell did you bump this r21?

It isn't even the real DL thread on the show. But you since all you said is bump you don't even have anything you wanted to say about it.

bump

Is season 2 out yet?

I'm sorry your google is broken r24 and you are unable to answer this question.

No. It is not.

[quote] The other thing that enraged me was the military protocol. Men wore hats inside (!) and ceremonial guards barely saluted. I almost cried aloud when the guards actually presented arms in one of the later episodes.

MARY!

They also never got the pearls right!

In the 1950s all of the finest pearl necklaces were strung in graduated pearls.

R27 I got your pearl necklace right, here, MARY!

r9, they would have had the pearls right except they could not get them away from r9's clutches.

I'm looking forward to Fergie, but I finally did Seasons 1 and 2 and loved Lithgow's Churchill, but MacMillan was the most interesting because his "gallant" wife was the aunt of the guy JFK's sister married.

All those people are related...

Well I didn't think this thread needed bumping, when there have been other active 'Crown' threads. But I'll just leave a clip that I found very moving that I could never work into any of the other threads, with the new Queen being honored by the Maasai as she's leaving Kenya.