Victoria on Masterpiece

[Timewalker]

Not sure if the show is really called "Victoria" or if "Victoria on Masterpiece" is the real title because it's part of what used to be known as Masterpiece Theatre.

Either way, I'm up for a conversation about it, if anyone else is watching it.

The second season started this week, and so help me, I do like Jenna Coleman as Victoria (any Whovians here know how much I hate her as Clara, so maybe it's just that particular role that rubs me the wrong way).

One thing I'm wondering about is how historically accurate this is. I'm not up on this era of English history, so I'd have to do quite a bit of reading to know how well the time and place and people are being reproduced.

Thoughts, opinions, likes, dislikes?

 

[Owain Taggart]

Well, it may just be that I'm not the correct demographic, but I found it quite soapy as compared to The Crown. Seems to focus a lot more on the romance side of things, rather than how they affect the world around them. I gave up about midway through the first season while watching with my parents when I realized that I wasn't enjoying it.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

One thing I'm wondering about is how historically accurate this is. I'm not up on this era of English history, so I'd have to do quite a bit of reading to know how well the time and place and people are being reproduced.

Loosely. It has a similar relationship to history as The Tudors had with its own era.

Thoughts, opinions, likes, dislikes?

It's entertaining. I sometimes find it ponderous, and you can tell that it's on a restrictive budget. In terms of narrative style and focus, it reminds me of Downton Abbey; as Owain Taggart says, it's "soapy." But it has a certain charm; the "Victoria discovers sex" episode was strangely amusing, and the episode where she gives her uncle's morganatic wife a courtesy title so her uncle can return to court was touching.

 

[danellis]

It certainly does concentrate on the personal relationships much more than The Crown does (somewhat ironically, given that the real Victoria's role was more overtly political than Elizabeth's Windsor's is).

FWIW I enjoy both shows.

I'm not an expert of 19th Century Britain by any means, but I do recognise a lot of the broad themes.

Without wanting to give too many spoilers: I looked into a major (and particularly "soapy") storyline regarding Prince Albert. It's feasible and possible, but there's no direct evidence of it.

dJE

 

[Velocity]

I like the cast. Albert is such a hot guy in this show, although his brother seems more down to earth. Poor Albert was given a shock in the last episode but nobody really knows the truth. But Albert, being Albert, is shocked and shaken to his core.

 

[Timewalker]

The costume ball was kind of sad for Albert. The only time he gets to wear a king's crown is at a costume party.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I'm enjoying it, largely because of Jenna Coleman and the incredible production values. I agree with the Downton Abbey comparison, a thought which occurred to me almost immediately during the first episode.

Much like The Crown, I'm regularly checking the show's history, which is unsurprisingly liberal with the facts. If nothing else, at least the two shows are encouraging people such as myself to read up on the history.