The Crown: Wolferton Splash
November 4, 2016 6:41 PM - Season 1, Episode 1 - Subscribe
A young Princess Elizabeth marries Prince Phillip. As King George VI's health worsens, Winston Churchill is elected prime minister for the second time.
This is one of those pieces that is very well-cast but because many of the actors are famous for other very famous roles, it can be a little distracting. John Lithgow is very good as Winston Churchill! But I keep getting distracted by the fact that John Lithgow is playing Winston Churchill.
The other thing I note in the first couple episodes is how much it likes to use smoking as dark foreshadowing, particularly of illness and death. On the one hand obviously we all now know smoking legit kills you (and legit killed George VI and I think Margaret), OTOH like everybody smoked back then and focusing on it only as a harbinger of doom, and only having death-marked characters doing it, starts to seem awfully modern.
LOVING IT SO FAR, THO. The replica of the wedding gown seemed nearly exact (I'd love to see closeups of the embroidery!) and the jewelry has been recognizably correct.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:03 PM on November 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
The other thing I note in the first couple episodes is how much it likes to use smoking as dark foreshadowing, particularly of illness and death. On the one hand obviously we all now know smoking legit kills you (and legit killed George VI and I think Margaret), OTOH like everybody smoked back then and focusing on it only as a harbinger of doom, and only having death-marked characters doing it, starts to seem awfully modern.
LOVING IT SO FAR, THO. The replica of the wedding gown seemed nearly exact (I'd love to see closeups of the embroidery!) and the jewelry has been recognizably correct.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:03 PM on November 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
Eileen Atkins as Mary of Teck is truly excellent, btw. Scene-stealingly good.
(Also all the reviews keep talking about her "sumptuous" wedding dress when in point of fact the satin was less than £1/yard and bought with rationing coupons. She did have the advantage of all those pearls and crystals at her disposal for the embroidery, tho. I feel like you can see the difference in the quality of the fabric between the wedding and coronation dresses, tho -- same designer, same silhouette, much more high-quality fabric for the latter.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:28 PM on November 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
(Also all the reviews keep talking about her "sumptuous" wedding dress when in point of fact the satin was less than £1/yard and bought with rationing coupons. She did have the advantage of all those pearls and crystals at her disposal for the embroidery, tho. I feel like you can see the difference in the quality of the fabric between the wedding and coronation dresses, tho -- same designer, same silhouette, much more high-quality fabric for the latter.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:28 PM on November 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
This show just makes me want more doctor #11.
posted by bleep at 10:40 PM on November 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by bleep at 10:40 PM on November 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
It's really wonderful, but it's interesting because it's of a living monarch. I keep wondering - did she have anything to say about it? How must she be feeling?
posted by corb at 11:46 AM on November 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by corb at 11:46 AM on November 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
" I keep wondering - did she have anything to say about it? How must she be feeling?"
There have been so many movies that at least tangentially featured Elizabeth II recently, most notably "The Queen" and "The King's Speech." It's reported that she liked "The Queen" (starring Helen Mirren and about the death of Diana), enough to invite the movie's team to meet her, and that movie was kind-of critical of her. She apparently quite liked "The King's Speech" and its portrayal of her parents and had very kind things to say to the filmmakers about it. I'm a little curious as "The Crown" gets farther into the present, especially as it portrays Philip's failings, but the first season was pretty deferential and shows Elizabeth in a very sympathetic light. Her parents and sister are all dead and from what I've read about past portrayals, it was their reactions she was more concerned about and protective of; I think she's not so fussed about how she herself is portrayed. (Although Philip? I'm curious.)
But really I'm much more curious to have her go see Hamilton in the West End!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:39 PM on November 11, 2016 [5 favorites]
There have been so many movies that at least tangentially featured Elizabeth II recently, most notably "The Queen" and "The King's Speech." It's reported that she liked "The Queen" (starring Helen Mirren and about the death of Diana), enough to invite the movie's team to meet her, and that movie was kind-of critical of her. She apparently quite liked "The King's Speech" and its portrayal of her parents and had very kind things to say to the filmmakers about it. I'm a little curious as "The Crown" gets farther into the present, especially as it portrays Philip's failings, but the first season was pretty deferential and shows Elizabeth in a very sympathetic light. Her parents and sister are all dead and from what I've read about past portrayals, it was their reactions she was more concerned about and protective of; I think she's not so fussed about how she herself is portrayed. (Although Philip? I'm curious.)
But really I'm much more curious to have her go see Hamilton in the West End!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:39 PM on November 11, 2016 [5 favorites]
I'm a bit further than the first episode, but to my surprise, I keep having really conflicting feelings about the whole thing, that have more to do with current events than the show itself.
I love the acting and the beautiful production, but find myself wondering nearly obsessively: is this how it really happened? Would X really have spoken to Y like that? How much is made up, something told to us because it's a better story than reality? Am I being manipulated? Which - even though in this case, it wouldn't be for any nefarious reasons rather than for the sake of an enjoyable narrative, to add drama and poignancy - is suddenly making me uncomfortable as hell.
I think at this point I would probably have the same problem with anything "based on a true story", because of this background radiation of half truths, truthinesses and downright lies that seems to permeate the world we are currently living in. It's like I keep having a mild allergic reaction to even tiny little deviations from the truth now, even in the form of quality entertainment.
I'm not normally like this. Usually I can appreciate a good dramatization and accept that it may require taking quite a few liberties.
Oh well.
posted by sively at 4:01 AM on November 14, 2016 [3 favorites]
I love the acting and the beautiful production, but find myself wondering nearly obsessively: is this how it really happened? Would X really have spoken to Y like that? How much is made up, something told to us because it's a better story than reality? Am I being manipulated? Which - even though in this case, it wouldn't be for any nefarious reasons rather than for the sake of an enjoyable narrative, to add drama and poignancy - is suddenly making me uncomfortable as hell.
I think at this point I would probably have the same problem with anything "based on a true story", because of this background radiation of half truths, truthinesses and downright lies that seems to permeate the world we are currently living in. It's like I keep having a mild allergic reaction to even tiny little deviations from the truth now, even in the form of quality entertainment.
I'm not normally like this. Usually I can appreciate a good dramatization and accept that it may require taking quite a few liberties.
Oh well.
posted by sively at 4:01 AM on November 14, 2016 [3 favorites]
She certainly nails the voice.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:10 AM on November 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:10 AM on November 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by oh yeah! at 7:26 PM on November 4, 2016