Victoria (Masterpiece Theater [& blu-ray])

This looks interesting. I almost always like historical period pieces (480-minute series):

Masterpiece: Victoria Blu-ray
Posted November 16, 2016 11:55 PM by Webmaster


PRE-ORDER NOW

​

PBS Distribution presents the Blu-ray release of Masterpiece: Victoria, which stars Jenna-Louise Coleman, Adrian Schiller, Tom Hughes and Rufus Sewell. The highly anticipated series follows the drama of the candid, spirited monarch who was perhaps the first woman to seem to have it all. Street date is January 31, 2017.

In 1837, a diminutive, neglected teenager is crowned Queen Victoria, navigates the scandal, corruption, and political intrigues of the Court, and soon rises to become the most powerful woman in the world. Coming to MASTERPIECE and Blu-ray in 2017, Victoria stars Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who) as Queen Victoria.

Following Victoria from the time she becomes Queen through her passionate courtship and marriage to Prince Albert, the lavish premiere season of Victoria dramatizes the romance and reign of the girl behind the famous monarch. In addition to Coleman, the stellar ensemble includes Rufus Sewell (The Man in the High Castle, Zen, The Pillars of the Earth) as Lord Melbourne, Queen Victoria's first prime minister and intimate friend, and Tom Hughes (Page Eight, Dancing on the Edge) as her husband Prince Albert.

Tech specs and special features have yet to be detailed.

 

Watched the opening episode last night. Not really up on the history of the period, and generally find the notion of hereditary monarchy distasteful but the 2 hours had it's charms - including the incredibly beautiful 18 year old Victoria reviewing the guard.

The style of the shooting was a bit annoying - jumping from one short scene to another, and the CGI was almost laughable. And the channel we see it on - a PBS from Detroit - is subject to outrageous and unaccountable (to me anyway) whooshing hissing notices between dialogue in many scenes.

The downstairs comedy (organized thievery among the staff) was over-the-top. BTW looked like the same kitchen-staff room where the Downton Abbey crowd used to gather?

 

Watched the premiere. It's a little more soap-opera-ish than I generally like, but it was pleasant enough, the actors are good, and it seems to hew reasonably closely to what's known historically. And yes, the CGI is terrible, but it does at least set the scene when used. Worth following for a while if you like this sort of thing.

John K.

 

Going by the short space of time covered by Episode 1, I expect there will have to be many more seasons/series of this if it's going to cover her entire reign. It wasn't as overly sympathetic and two dimensional about Her Majesty as I feared. Happen the Dr. Who girl done awright.

 

I tuned in.

I'm in - what else of worth is on Sunday night?

 

My wife and I are enjoying it a great deal. Rufus Sewell is good in everything I've seen him in.

 

We've been watching the show as well. I find it quite good, most of the time.

 

I found it hard to believe that Penge speaks German.

The sub-plot about the servant who is being coerced to steal to benefit the other woman is a bit annoying.

 

I've been enjoying it.

 

I didn't realize that Jenna Coleman is 30. It makes me feel better about her playing Victoria in old age. I was telling my wife that if the old age make up is as bad as the CGI then we're in trouble. I also don't see the need for the downstairs stories. I guess that's what people want after Downton Abbey though.

Chad

 

I don't see the need for downstairs stories. The story of her reign and children and grandchildren who moved into thrones throughout Europe, is fascinating by itself.

 

We've been watching. I was surprised to learn Lord Melbourne had some city named after him.

 

A second season is in production at the moment, as I've been made aware of a few local sites that have been considered for location shots.

 

Watching the second season, and speculating on how much (a lot) of dramatic licence is being taken. If Albert really was a bastard (in 19th century terms) I guess the same thing applies to all the present day descendant Hanovers (I mean Windsors )?

 

I been watching Victoria too, glad to see a thread about it.
It's been said that there has been speculation about Albert - his mother did have an affair with the uncle but some think it was after Albert was born. There's a PBS Masterpiece page on FB that I'm in and I asked that very question, if he was really the uncle's son. The answers seem to say it's not confirmed but possible...

 

I haven't been paying attention to this discussion at all...I got to "Jenna-Louise Coleman", and my brain just sorta glazed over...

 

Very interesting. The repeal of the Corn Laws story, if historically accurate, makes me think a little better of the Victorian era.

 

Love this show....

 

Wife LOVES it! Beautifully filmed, pleasure to watch.

sean

 

We're fans as well. Season finale this Sunday I think.

 

My wife and I enjoy the show a lot. At the pace the show is going, it will take a long time to tell the whole story. She was on the throne for 80 years! I expect they will have larger jumps in time between seasons soon.

 

I've quite enjoyed the show as well, but I don't think they're going to cover her 80 year reign.
My guess is the show will end just after the death of Albert.

 

Have begun watching The Crown on DVD, a very different style. Victoria features too many sub-plots and too frequent scene and character changes, and doesn't seem as realistic as The Crown. But every time I check on something in Victoria, I find there really was an incident such as Albert falling through the ice.

 

Into the current season on PBS of Victoria, and wondering how much truth there is to the Palmerston character, and other of the historical themes.

Did Victoria really demand that the Chartists be allowed to present their petition?