vaguely academic musings on television
Maybe, slowly, The Crown is finding its form again. After "Annus Horribilis" casually changed everything about a speech on public record, "The Way Ahead" does the opposite, and is much better for it. The 'tampongate' phone call between Charles and Camilla, when it is shown in full towards the end of the episode, is also... Continue Reading →
And I have questions... How did this happen? Who is coming back? Was the finale all a dream? Can I get a refund on my farewell tour ticket (kidding, I'm definitely still going)? And most importantly: can a regular soap opera survive on a streaming network with a stupid name? Yes, thanks to the positive... Continue Reading →
I'll start with the good news: this is easily the best episode of The Crown's fifth season so far. In a lot of ways it writes itself, with a clear historical narrative and focal point of a well-known public speech, but this allows the show to return to its strengths, put the Queen at its... Continue Reading →
To say I was not impressed by the second episode of this season of The Crown is putting it lightly. A meandering narrative and the absence of most of the main cast created a frustratingly pointless hour, that I was ready to quickly forget about. So imagine my surprise when the very next episode not... Continue Reading →
Remember in 2020, when The Crown went down to five seasons, and then back to six after all? Because, so we were told, there was enough rich story potential to redouble the order of 90s episodes? I can only assume that after making this decision, Peter Morgan sat down at his desk and wrote "The... Continue Reading →
It seemed natural that the marketing around The Crown's fifth season would decentre Elizabeth II, given the death of the real Queen. Which inevitably means a lot of Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki as Charles and Diana, neatly playing in to the media's general desire to focus on them too. Surprisingly, and somewhat disappointingly, though,... Continue Reading →
reading the visual 