What TV show did you last watch a season of on DVD/Blu-ray?
Jul 27, 2019 11:22:01 GMT
theravenking, HirundoRustica, and 1 more like this
Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Jul 27, 2019 11:22:01 GMT
Just finished rewatching Season 1 of Victoria again on Blu-ray (this must be my third or fourth time rewatching it, I think), as I'm rewatching the first two seasons before I watch Season 3 (which I haven't yet seen).
I was already a fan of Jenna from Doctor Who. Yes, I’m one of the seemingly few people who actually liked her on that show and will never understand the over-the-top hatred directed towards her. The way some people act - holding a grudge against her for ONE character she played - is just sad, really. But I digress.
From the first episode of Victoria, I've found the show compelling. Jenna is very good in this type of role. Yes, Victoria has her moments where she thinks she knows best and then is proven mistaken (and called on it), but she’s obviously meant to be quite young in the beginning and Jenna conveys this young woman trying to deal with such responsibility and people working against her behind her back. Honestly, I understand her mistrust of certain other people and don't blame her for a lot of what she did (whether it was a mistake or not).
It didn’t take long before I was sympathizing with her character, and she has really EXCELLENT chemistry with Rufus Sewell (who I was glad to see not playing a bad guy for a change, as most of the roles I’ve seen him in I think he’s played the villain. Movies that I’ve seen with him where he plays a good guy I could probably count on one hand. His main 'good guy' role I remember him for is from the TV mini-series The Pillars of the Earth). His Lord Melbourne (or, as he'd come to be called by Victoria, 'Lord M') was a very compelling character in his own right, but when sharing the screen with Jenna Coleman as Victoria? The two of them reached a whole new level.
Straight away Victoria and Melbourne were the characters I was most interested in. Every time they were onscreen together, I was completely invested in the relationship between them. Which was just as well, as there were a few characters who I really didn’t like – though I wondered if that was the intent and we were meant to not like them. It was nice to see Nell Hudson from Outlander here in a role that wasn't as thankless as Laoghaire from that show (though it was odd at first not hearing her speak with a Scottish accent). Another example of seeing an actor on this show who I mainly know for playing a villain in other things I've seen them in (but is playing a 'good guy' here) is David Oakes as Albert's brother, Ernest. It's so good to not want his character dead. He's actually quite enjoyable here, as Ernest seems much more 'loose' than his brother. I also like his relationship with Harriet, the Duchess of Sutherland. Yes, she's married (though I find it odd we never seem to see her husband), but they just work so well together/have nice chemistry.
One character I *did* immediately love was Victoria’s dog, Dash, though (just like I did in the Emily Blunt movie, The Young Victoria - which was the version of these characters I'd previously seen, and I really liked that movie too).
One of the best (and funniest) scenes on the show, which just so happened to feature Dash, was the one where he was watching Victoria jumping up and down ten times (because that was what she'd been told she needed to do if she wanted to still have 'sexytimes' with Albert whilst not getting pregnant).
It was sad to see Victoria and Melbourne have to say their goodbyes once she married Albert.
Speaking of, after Victoria/Melbourne, the character of Albert (and the actor who portrayed him, Tom Hughes) certainly had an uphill battle in winning over myself (and I imagine others as well), as Jenna Coleman and Rufus Sewell were just so good together onscreen. At first, I wasn't very fond of Albert (with his criticism of Victoria, his condescending attitude towards her, his nitpicking, whining and jealousy over Lord M). He won a few points when he helped Dash, who'd injured himself...though he then lost some points when he just left Victoria out there with her injured dog because they had an argument. They seemed to argue quite a lot, and more often than not I was on Victoria's side. However, occasionally Albert made some fair points and it was good to see him actually get to do some stuff he wanted (mainly because it kept him from complaining too much - though at least he wasn't as much of a moper/complainer as Matt Smith's Philip was in The Crown). It was good to see Albert not be so 'stiff' all the time and I liked that he had enthusiasm for certain things (his joy at riding the locomotive being a good example).
After getting to know his character over several episodes, I eventually came to not-mind Albert and was able to not be too bothered by Melbourne's absence. I think Albert worked with Victoria in a different way to Melbourne. Both challenged her, but Albert wasn't able to keep his 'cool' as much as Melbourne did. In the end, I was able to accept Albert as the show's male lead (though still get frustrated by him on occasion). It was interesting to learn that Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes are together in real life. I think that helps with their onscreen chemistry.
Everything on this show looks great (including the sets, costumes, etc), and the show's theme is very effective (it has a somewhat 'haunting' feeling to it). I also appreciate how 'simple' the opening credits are. Jenna Coleman proves her face is one that can have a whole opening credits sequence based around/focused on it (and this isn't even the only one I've seen do that - the TV mini-series I watched with her in it called The Cry did something vaguely similar).
I really loved the movie The Young Victoria with Emily Blunt, and while it took me a while to warm up to the show's version of Albert (whereas I liked Rupert Friend's interpretation in the movie a lot quicker), I grew to to love this show too within its first season (back when I watched it for the first time). It's so good to see Jenna have her own series.
Now, onto another Season 2 rewatch!
From the first episode of Victoria, I've found the show compelling. Jenna is very good in this type of role. Yes, Victoria has her moments where she thinks she knows best and then is proven mistaken (and called on it), but she’s obviously meant to be quite young in the beginning and Jenna conveys this young woman trying to deal with such responsibility and people working against her behind her back. Honestly, I understand her mistrust of certain other people and don't blame her for a lot of what she did (whether it was a mistake or not).
It didn’t take long before I was sympathizing with her character, and she has really EXCELLENT chemistry with Rufus Sewell (who I was glad to see not playing a bad guy for a change, as most of the roles I’ve seen him in I think he’s played the villain. Movies that I’ve seen with him where he plays a good guy I could probably count on one hand. His main 'good guy' role I remember him for is from the TV mini-series The Pillars of the Earth). His Lord Melbourne (or, as he'd come to be called by Victoria, 'Lord M') was a very compelling character in his own right, but when sharing the screen with Jenna Coleman as Victoria? The two of them reached a whole new level.
Straight away Victoria and Melbourne were the characters I was most interested in. Every time they were onscreen together, I was completely invested in the relationship between them. Which was just as well, as there were a few characters who I really didn’t like – though I wondered if that was the intent and we were meant to not like them. It was nice to see Nell Hudson from Outlander here in a role that wasn't as thankless as Laoghaire from that show (though it was odd at first not hearing her speak with a Scottish accent). Another example of seeing an actor on this show who I mainly know for playing a villain in other things I've seen them in (but is playing a 'good guy' here) is David Oakes as Albert's brother, Ernest. It's so good to not want his character dead. He's actually quite enjoyable here, as Ernest seems much more 'loose' than his brother. I also like his relationship with Harriet, the Duchess of Sutherland. Yes, she's married (though I find it odd we never seem to see her husband), but they just work so well together/have nice chemistry.
One character I *did* immediately love was Victoria’s dog, Dash, though (just like I did in the Emily Blunt movie, The Young Victoria - which was the version of these characters I'd previously seen, and I really liked that movie too).
One of the best (and funniest) scenes on the show, which just so happened to feature Dash, was the one where he was watching Victoria jumping up and down ten times (because that was what she'd been told she needed to do if she wanted to still have 'sexytimes' with Albert whilst not getting pregnant).
It was sad to see Victoria and Melbourne have to say their goodbyes once she married Albert.
Speaking of, after Victoria/Melbourne, the character of Albert (and the actor who portrayed him, Tom Hughes) certainly had an uphill battle in winning over myself (and I imagine others as well), as Jenna Coleman and Rufus Sewell were just so good together onscreen. At first, I wasn't very fond of Albert (with his criticism of Victoria, his condescending attitude towards her, his nitpicking, whining and jealousy over Lord M). He won a few points when he helped Dash, who'd injured himself...though he then lost some points when he just left Victoria out there with her injured dog because they had an argument. They seemed to argue quite a lot, and more often than not I was on Victoria's side. However, occasionally Albert made some fair points and it was good to see him actually get to do some stuff he wanted (mainly because it kept him from complaining too much - though at least he wasn't as much of a moper/complainer as Matt Smith's Philip was in The Crown). It was good to see Albert not be so 'stiff' all the time and I liked that he had enthusiasm for certain things (his joy at riding the locomotive being a good example).
After getting to know his character over several episodes, I eventually came to not-mind Albert and was able to not be too bothered by Melbourne's absence. I think Albert worked with Victoria in a different way to Melbourne. Both challenged her, but Albert wasn't able to keep his 'cool' as much as Melbourne did. In the end, I was able to accept Albert as the show's male lead (though still get frustrated by him on occasion). It was interesting to learn that Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes are together in real life. I think that helps with their onscreen chemistry.
Everything on this show looks great (including the sets, costumes, etc), and the show's theme is very effective (it has a somewhat 'haunting' feeling to it). I also appreciate how 'simple' the opening credits are. Jenna Coleman proves her face is one that can have a whole opening credits sequence based around/focused on it (and this isn't even the only one I've seen do that - the TV mini-series I watched with her in it called The Cry did something vaguely similar).
I really loved the movie The Young Victoria with Emily Blunt, and while it took me a while to warm up to the show's version of Albert (whereas I liked Rupert Friend's interpretation in the movie a lot quicker), I grew to to love this show too within its first season (back when I watched it for the first time). It's so good to see Jenna have her own series.
Now, onto another Season 2 rewatch!