Few men have been more gifted at
examining the relationship of power within the walls of the British government
over the last decade than Peter Morgan. Though once he explored the walls of
American power spectacularly in Frost/Nixon,
his major focus over the last decade has dealt with the British Parliament
and its relationship to the current monarchy, most famously in The Queen and a series of TV movies
involving Tony Blair. So it seems that there are few men better suited to
explore in depth the monarchy of Queen Elizabeth II than Morgan as he has begun
to do so in Netflix's The Crown.
Envisioned as a six season series,
each season dealing with a decade in the Queens reign, the first season begins
with Elizabeth (the brilliant Claire Foy)
marrying Prince Philip (Matt Smith, a revelation for those who only know
him from Doctor Who). Showing her as
a radiant young woman not even twenty, the opening episodes deal with the rather
simple life of being a member of royalty. But responsibility is hinting at very
early on when her father, George VI (Jared Harris) begins coughing up blood,
and before the first episode is a quarter over undergoes a serious operation,
which is eventually revealed to be cancer. (As this is 1952, the King keeps
smoking, as does everyone else.) Because the standards of royalty are
maintained, the King is among the last to know, but begins to do his level best
to prepare his eldest daughter for what he knows is inevitable. Sending
Elizabeth and Philip on the continental tour (the British Empire
is still holding together), the Princess is in Kenya
when her father finally passes away. The series now deals with her facing her
responsibilities even as she knows the world is about to change, literally and
personally.
That Morgan is a skilled writer
will come as a shock to no one who knows that he is the master of Broadway, London ,
and Hollywood . And considering that
the series is, at least this season, a period piece more than anything else, it
shouldn't come as a huge shock that he gets almost every detail of 1950s London
well. He shows an England that is still recovering from the Second World War,
an empire that is on the verge of dismantlement, and a system that doesn't seem
to be prepared to recognize the changing of the times - particularly in the
case of Winston Churchill (SAG Award winner John Lithgow), who has great
political and oratorical acumen, but can not except that the England he grew up
in is no more, and will soon face a challenge from Home Secretary Anthony Eden
(Jeremy Northam). It is also stunning, particularly for those who only
associate the King and Queen as these vaguely distant elderly people we see on
the news, as vital young adults now faced with responsibilities they did not
ask for. (This is particularly clear of Philip, a vital young man who must now,
for the rest of his life, walk a few paces behind his wife.) It seems to have
the details about the rest of the royal family, particularly Elizabeth 's
sister Margaret and the affair she will have with Peter Townshend.
The
Crown has already presented itself as a strong contender for this year's
Emmys, taking the Golden Globe for Best Drama earlier this year, and winning
multiple prizes for Foy and Lithgow. It is clear, even this early on, that this
is a series that deserves to be considered in the same breath as The Americans and Mr. Robot as one of the best series on TV. Those who tune into it,
perhaps still reacting from Downton Abbey
withdrawal, should be warned, though. This series moves, so keep up the pace.
My score: 4.75 stars.
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