Netflix The Crown series 4 starts tonight...who will be watching it?

I stopped watching it when Olivia Colman took over as the Queen. She is just wrong.

I have heard that the royals are furious about the distortion and exaggeration of their lives, but it is a drama, not a documentary, so needn’t be true to life. I can see that I would be cross, too.

I’ve just watched episode 1, and agree with mancgirl that Mrs Thatcher does seem like a parody of herself. I’m not wild about Olivia Colman’s Queen, as she comes over as very dour. I thought Charles and Diana’s first meeting was a bit odd. Weren’t they supposed to have met in a ploughed field? Anyway, I may just squeeze in episode two now!

Thank goodness Grandmabatty I was beginning to think I was seeing things?

I watched episode 1 today and agree with what others have said. Mrs Thatcher seems like a complete caricature and the voice is not right and totally annoying.

Olivia Colman, when interviewed, said she walked "like a butcher's wife" (or something similar) and I agree - she does, and not at all like the Queen. She isn't right for the part.

And Daddima you are right about Charles and Diana's first meeting. In this episode it seemed bizarre. But then we have to remember that a great deal of this is fiction.

Re Charles not being able to marry Camilla, not only was she a young woman with sexual history which went against her, but also I believe she married Andrew Parker Bowles while Charles was away at sea in the Navy. She didn't wait for him.

Just watched Ep1 and about to watch Ep2, finding it really strange watching events through which I’ve lived and remembered, whereas previous events were, well, not really remembered apart from Aberfan...

Never watched it before. DH watching. Seen 30 minutes and bring on the b....y revolution. Can't stand royal family and if they are actually like this OMG I am definitely correct in thinking get rid!!! No words to express how disgusting this portrays them! Never in my life would I have thought (as always left of left wing) I would feel sorry for Maggie Thatcher either. Ok so now into next episode since looking through Gransnet and into how teenage Diana was treated - get me a gun!

I confess to having watched several episodes today - well it was raining!

What I find most interesting is the commentary on political events at the various times in the series.

There were some very clever direction, camerawork and scripts. I find it an impressive series, in spite of not being any sort of royalist - it feels like a commentary on my life.

The script for the Thatchers was very poor. It was cartoonist somehow. The actress's voice isn't right either. KTrying too hard?
Olivia Coleman is just being Olivia Coleman. Her brown eyes seem wrong for the Queen.

I didn't enjoy it, as I felt a lot of the actors seemed so wrong for the parts they portrayed.

Also I hated seeing the stag hunting. Awful.

harrysgran

Yes I've watched first 3 episodes bit random but did anyone notice the mouse running across the floor in the queen mothers sitting room the scene where everyone is waiting to hear if Charles had proposed

Yes!! Saw the mouse. Very realistic. I am sure the “house” has lots of them

I loved series 1-3 and was so looking forward to it. I’ve watched the first 2 episodes and I’m struggling to warm to it. I’ll stick with it and see how it unfolds but I don’t feel any urge to binge watch this time round.

I saw the rat... there will be lots of ‘them ‘ in buck palace.
Enjoying but its my bedtime now. Hope not to get a night time caller.....must have been a terrible shock for the queen.

I have watched about five episodes - the final thing I saw was HMS Hermes just leaving for the Falklands (my husband should have been on it, but he was on home leave prior to joining his new ship- Hermes - when it was being prepped to leave. He rang his boss and asked if they wanted him to finish leave early and join the ship but was told no, they wanted to sail with a crew who were fully au fait with the ship, and so he was left behind)

But what I was left wondering is - has Netflix blown it's lighting budget on other programmes? Every indoor episode appears to have been lit by a 40w light bulb. Does it HAVE to be so dark? I could barely make out what was happening in some scenes.

I know the rumour is that the Palace is dimly lit, but come on - if you're going to show people interacting, at least let us SEE them!

Just watched the first two episodes. Up late because DH is not feeling too brilliant. The Crown is a great distraction.

I'm quite proud of myself for switching off before it ran into episode 3.

Yes - most definitely. Will be watching it tomorrow. Really enjoyed the first three.

Looking forward to Imelda Staunton taking over.

I like this series , if only for the costumes, but it reinforces the fact that the royal family are just one big soap opera for the public to gawp at.

I read that a lot of the stuff about Charles and Camilla carrying on in the early days of his marriage to Diana just didn’t happen - he didn’t see her for 5 years although they phoned each othe. He was telling the truth when he said in the famous interview that he wasn’t unfaithful to Diana until his marriage had irretrievably broken down - when she was probably having affair to o. I think it’s a shame that after gradually becoming more popular this will turn many people against Camilla again. The producers try to make things as sensational as possible to keep the audience gripped.

Hands up I binge watched the whole of season 4. I would never call myself a royalist although my parents were. I was a fan of Diana and we were the same age,i remember buying into the fairytale of their marriage.
I think it is ten hours of sumptuously filmed escapist fantasy. There are elements of social history and royal history but a lot of conjecture to.
There have been so many exposes of individual members of the royal family it is probably true that they are snobbish,cold and dysfunctional.!
I think Olivia Colman although a good actress was a disappointment after Clare Foy. As someone else said I always was aware it was Olivia Coleman playing the Queen. I found the actor playing Prince Philip quite distracting as well,his expressions were quite peculiar.
Many have said the portrayal of Thatcher was good. For me it was borderline caricature, the voice was ok but the body movements ridiculously stiff. Strangely enough I was most surprised by my empathy for Thatcher and was cheering her on during some scenes! Of course a lot of those scenes were fictional. Interesting comparisons were made between Thatcher and the Queen as women in positions of power in a mans world and the sacrifice personally they made although I think those sacrifices were down to individual personalities and I think emotionally they would have been the same whatever their position.
I certainly dont think the Royal family are portrayed in a positive light, I cant think of one of them that comes across as a decent human being. Charles in particular comes across as weak and rather pathetic and I'm sure it has the potential to damage any good PR on his and Camillas part over past decade or so.!
I think I would rather have a Royal Family than a President but that they should be pared down drastically.
Overall it's a good dramatic watch that I enjoyed!

Dorsetcupcake thank you for your positive review.
I'm looking forward to watching it; but it's difficult - it simply cannot live up to the first two series.
Claire Foy was sublime.
OC was up against it from the start; and she is terribly miscast. (I don't think that she is such a great actor.)

For everyone saying that they would never watch - don't knock it till you've tried it, but watch season 1.

My favourite episode was the one about Graham Southerland painting Churchill's portrait.
It was so moving. It was a like a film in its own right.

I'd be interested to hear others' favourite episodes over all series, and their favourite actors.

Couldn’t sleep so against my better judgment watched a couple of episodes. Insomnia sorted.

Mieow Lucca!
Which series did you watch?

Not miaow to say I found a programme boring surely ? It’s. Nothing to do with any views in the monarchy by the way.
I watched the first series and quite enjoyed it. Dipped into others but gave up so tried the new series last night. I found it dull sorry! ( As if an intelligent woman like thatcher would go to balmoral without some appropriate clothing.) the Charles character seems exaggeratedly wet, Olivia Colman is as others have said not right for the role.

FannyCornforth it may have a few irritations but as a drama its brilliant! I for one am weary of trailers for dramas that never live up to the hype! Certainly now more than ever a bit of escapism is just what is needed and this certainly fits the bill?.

I cancelled my Netflix subscription so won't be watching. I saw a brief clip on Breakfast TV this morning. The depiction of Diana was almost a caricature. I don't hold any strong views about her but if this is the level of the fictionalised show then I haven't missed much.

www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a34661910/the-crown-balmoral-test-royal-family/

I was intrigued by the idea of a Balmoral Test and it is certainly portrayed in the series as cruel and unreasonable behaviour on the part of the Royals. It does seem to exist. Perhaps it is a hangover from their schooldays ( for those Royals who went to school) and offers a distraction to jolly up their day.
I am binge watching and so far none of the characters are in anyway likeable. As I know none of them personally, I cannot say whether the portrayal is accurate or not.