Fun
The Crown It Ain’t, but It’ll Do
Dear Kay,
OK, following in my recent trend of semi-recommending multi-episode binges, here’s a series that I have been watching this summer with great relish and also great conflict.
Versailles. It’s on Netflix.
Maybe it’s best to think of this show as a sort of home renovation series—think Flip This House, only the house is a giant hunting lodge outside Paris, inhabited by the ultimate house flipper, King Louis XIV. When you add in the endless intrigue of Louis’s relationship with his brother, Philippe, Duc d’Orleans, you’re looking at Property Brothers writ large. Extremely large.
So much campy hilarity in here—the soap opera at Versailles was legendary in real life. When you make a TV series featuring extremely clean and tidy young people misbehaving, there’s plenty of room for la scandale. Plenty of full-on sex scenes.
Lots of gruesome violence. Everybody is amazingly good at killing people using 17th-century technology, mostly made of rusted iron. Heads will roll. Etc.
The costumes are incredible, so great. Everybody looks like they’re lugging thirty pounds of garb. And the hair, on the women and especially on the men, is spectacular. I like that the villains all have stringy hair. The king and his brother clearly shop Sephora.
Honestly, as I’m gearing up for the finale of this 10-part first season (don’t worry, there are two more seasons beyond this one), I am dying to see what happens. George Blagden, the actor playing Louis XIV, is actually kind of great—Machiavellian, insecure, troubled.
And constantly worrying about how his house renovation project is going.
Love,
Ann
I’ve seen this on my Netflix lists, and I’m a sucker for historical dramas, especially period ones like this. Must add it to my ever-growing list of series I need to see (still have the luxury of another series of The Crown to get through yet, yay!).
I am eagerly awaiting season 3. If you enjoy this particular type of campy-ness, check out the party scene of Philippe, his lover, and a good chunk of the cast (in full costume, no less) all doing the Safety Dance. What a hoot!
Thank you for the recommendation. This is going in my que as soon as I finish this comment. And, may I say that I think you are brilliant.
I know you enjoy British tv, have you seen Scott and Bailey? It’s the same writer as Happy Valley and is about two women policemen. Great show! It’s now on Netflix. Also DCI Banks and Luther are on Netflix. I have Acorn and Britbox (with lots of favorites) but I’m enjoying finding some good ones on Netflix.
Loved Luther!
I Second all those recommendations!
If you want to get in on the ground floor, so to speak, of a new and terrific series, try Maigret with Rowan Atkinson (Yes, Mr. Bean and Black Adder himself) as Maigret! The series is based on the books by Georges Simenon written in the fifties and set in Paris. Atkinson is excellent as the quiet, thoughtful Maigret. There Ares only a few episodes out so far.
And if you have never seen Rowan Atkinson as.The Black Adder, your in for a lot of hilarity. There are about five seasons, each one set in a different time period from the Dark Ages through WW1 with Lord Black Adder and his descendents weaving his evil plots in each one. I think my favorite is Elizabethan, but they’re all great.
What channel is Maigret on?
Black Adder is hilarious! I like the regency series because of Hugh Laurie as a ridiculous Prince George. But Rowan Atkinson is really hot in Elizabethan garb and facial hair…
Yep, the Elizabethan series is my fave, particularly the one when the Whiteadders come for a visit….
That looks like fun! I’m currently binging on The Amazing Mrs Maisel, on Amazon Prime, but I’ll look at this one next! Thanks for the recommendation!
Thank you! I am perilously close to finishing Alone Together with teen son and didn’t know what to do!
Love the recommendations. I plan to be transported to Versailles today and spend the day knitting. I’ve always loved French history.
Glad to know you’re enjoying this series – I’ll have to give it another try. I saw it a long time ago on Netflix and thought it would be a lush viewing experience which I would revel in. But I must have randomly picked a particularly gruesome episode because I didn’t even make it through that one. Did have the lush visuals though! 😉
Not to wish a dramatic death on anyone, but wow, if one must die…. the last episode of Season 1 has it in spades.
For a pseudo-historical short (only 2 seasons, alas) series, try “Gallivant”. It’s a Medieval drama/comedy with musical numbers. If I remember correctly, the episodes are only 1/2 hour apiece, but they’re so much fun. So many “historical” and musical tropes to spot. Such a handsome hero, and such a villainous (I won’t give away which character).
Yes!