The Crown

[scenicdesign71]

At this point I'm pretty much tossing a coin to determine what shows "deserve" their own thread.  Though this one may not go anywhere beyond this initial post, I have enjoyed the series so far, and it has been going for some time now, so there's plenty to discuss if one had the inclination to do so.

I should admit that even a series this plush and engrossing can do only so much to soften my lifelong indifference to the British royals.  Nevertheless, The Crown is beautifully produced, well-written, and the cast is wonderful.  As far as historical accuracy, I'm afraid I still can't make myself care enough to follow the innumerable arguments about this or that liberty taken by the show's writers.  But I'm baffled as to why anyone would expect absolute, punctilious devotion to truth from a TV drama, even if it were possible with a group of subjects already this obsessively scrutinized from every possible perspective (a level of scrutiny that, paradoxically, demotes objective factual precision in this context from a merely doomed and misguided goal to a wholly ridiculous one).  I suppose I might feel somewhat differently if I were approaching the show with more previous knowledge of, and interest in, the real-life figures and events it depicts; but as it stands, I guess ignorance is bliss.

In any case, after finally starting to watch the series a couple of years ago (during the shutdown, but already several years after the first season originally premiered; I was a late and semi-reluctant joiner), the first four seasons have been an unexpectedly satisfying watch, and I will undoubtedly tune in for Season 5.