The obvious next step, of course, considering the established themes of The Crown – responsibility and duty taking priority over love and autonomy – is to show us the royal who shirked the former in pursuit of the latter; the man who, in his own words, couldn’t handle the responsibility. Prince, formerly King, Edward (here … >
‘Hyde Park Corner’ begins with Elizabeth (Claire Foy) and Philip (Matt Smith) on a tour of Africa, spending the duration of the episode in Nairobi. It’s a look at the decadence and dark side of royalty, with the first confrontation with the colonialism and imperial tendencies that the crown still represented at this point; Elizabeth … >
Netflix’s new royal drama The Crown, focusing on the reign of our current monarch Queen Elizabeth II, comes at an interesting time – aiming to fill the gap left by Downton Abbey, it plans to cover the full 64 years of her sovereignty. Hoping to be just as much of a longrunner as its main … >
For all Downton Abbey fans who are still feeling bereft: take comfort – The Crown is now on Netflix. Ten sumptuous episodes that provide an intimate look at the early years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. The sets are a feast for the eyes, the acting is brilliantly nuanced, and the writing and … >
With the Doctor taking a rest in 2016, a year apparently already too chock full of “national moments”, it is the perfect time for us raid the back catalogue of Doctor Who’s CBBC spin-off. Bringing back the much-loved companion who travelled with both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, The Sarah Jane Adventures capitalised on the … >
Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has described his third year in the role as “a tough, time time.” The year’s production was reportedly “fraught with difficulties” and featured the departure of Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill halfway through Season 7, the show’s 50th anniversary special and the departure of Matt Smith in 2013’s Christmas special. Moffat … >
This October will mark exactly five years since Doctor Who Confidential came to an end. BBC Three’s documentary series accompanied every episode of Doctor Who from ‘Rose’ in 2005 through to ‘The Wedding of River Song’ in 2011, providing a behind the scenes look at the making of the show. Not only did the series help to inspire the next generation to … >
Matt Smith apparently almost had a potentially fatal accident on the set of his new Netflix series The Crown. The upcoming royal family drama stars Smith as the Duke of Edinburgh alongside Claire Foy as his wife, Queen Elizabeth II. The Doctor Who actor reportedly nearly broke his neck when the horse he was riding bolted and charged off into nearby camera equipment while he was … >
As it reaches it’s five year anniversary, I decided to rewatch Doctor Who star Matt Smith’s 90-minute BBC film Christopher and His Kind. Directed by Geoffrey Sax (the director 1996’s Doctor Who TV Movie, don’t you know?), the 2011 biopic is based on the memoirs of English novelist Christopher Isherwood, a young man who travelled to Berlin in … >
The launch date has been announced for Netflix’s new royal family drama The Crown. Created by London-born writer Peter Morgan (The Queen, The Audience, Frost/Nixon), the series stars former Doctor Who actor Matt Smith as the Duke of Edinburgh alongside Claire Foy as his wife, Queen Elizabeth II. The Crown will tell “the inside story of Queen Elizabeth II’s early reign, revealing the … >