. This was once a superior costume drama, moments of 20th-century history packaged into an upmarket soap opera. But as the storylines catch up with the present, the show is edging towards trashy telenovela. 'If we were an ordinary family and social services came to visit, they'd have thrown us into care and you into jail!' That's the Prince of Wales addressing the Queen, as played by Dominic West and Imelda Staunton. Perhaps this is why Netflix is adamant it doesn't need a disclaimer at the start of every episode: dialogue so absurd that only a complete idiot would think it were true. Alas, the world is full of idiots. Of course, when this fifth series was filmed, its creators didn't know that the Queen would die weeks before the launch date. But did no one at Netflix review the first few minutes of the show and consider a re-edit? The Queen, whose health remained an entirely private matter throughout her life, is being examined by a doctor. Her medical records are up on screen. 'If we can just pop your stockings off, Your Majesty,' says the physician. Granted, we never see her in a state of undress, yet it feels oddly indecent. Then there is the strained marriage between Charles and Diana. This was tackled in series four but that era felt a world away, with a teenage Lady Di roller-skating around the Palace listening to her Walkman. Now, Charles and Diana's vicious arguments are witnessed by their sons and when we look at the actors playing William and Harry – as they try, heartbreakingly, to support their mother – we cannot help but see the real princes. William, newly arrived at Eton, is shown feeling anxious and wretched as Diana uses him as an emotional crutch. It has never been more clear that the writer, Peter Morgan, cares nothing for the feelings of the real people he is portraying. In a breathtakingly callous move, he uses the death from cancer of five-year-old Leonora Knatchbull, and){kind=link}
Peter Morgan’s Netflix drama began as a love letter to the late Queen. These days, he’s wielding his poison pen
Bad taste and bad timing combine in the new series of The Crown (Netflix). This was once a superior costume drama, moments of 20th-century history packaged into an upmarket soap opera. But as the storylines catch up with the present, the show is edging towards trashy telenovela.
“If we were an ordinary family and social services came to visit, they’d have thrown us into care and you into jail!” That’s the Prince of Wales addressing the Queen, as played by Dominic West and Imelda Staunton. Perhaps this is why Netflix is adamant it doesn’t need a disclaimer at the start of every episode: dialogue so absurd that only a complete idiot would think it were true. Alas, the world is full of idiots.
Of course, when this fifth series was filmed, its creators didn’t know that the Queen would die weeks before the launch date. But did no one at Netflix review the first few minutes of the show and consider a re-edit? The Queen, whose health remained an entirely private matter throughout her life, is being examined by a doctor. Her medical records are up on screen. “If we can just pop your stockings off, Your Majesty,” says the physician. Granted, we never see her in a state of undress, yet it feels oddly indecent.
Then there is the strained marriage between Charles and Diana. This was tackled in series four but that era felt a world away, with a teenage Lady Di roller-skating around the Palace listening to her Walkman. Now, Charles and Diana’s vicious arguments are witnessed by their sons and when we look at the actors playing William and Harry – as they try, heartbreakingly, to support their mother – we cannot help but see the real princes. William, newly arrived at Eton, is shown feeling anxious and wretched as Diana uses him as an emotional crutch.