The Crown - final season first half - no spoilers please ;)

Can you resist watching this tonight? Is it Daily Heil telly?

I quite like Debicki but she’s too tall for Diana. 

The casting for this later era is poor generally.

Finding the Diana stuff dull.  I have never understood the fuss about her, whatever "magic" she had about her was entirely lost on me.  Nothing against her just did not and never will get understand the whole Diana cult and finding her irritating as portrayed on screen.

that said the actor playing her does an uncanny portrayal, unlike Dominic West who not only looks nothing like Charles but gives off entirely different vibes.

I thought I would hate it but actually really enjoyed the first (I think) 4 series.  It's beautifully shot and well acted. Down hill from there though and Dominic west is just ludicrous casting for Charles. I just can't get past it. The whole energy he brings to it is completely wrong. 

I agree Donny, really terrible casting that it is quite hard to understand.  The series has been variable in its castings (the best was Foy imo) but you can see why everyone was cast, cannot see why West was cast at all.

I can see why West was cast.  They need Charles to seem at least somewhat likeable/fanciable for the American market. West does a fantastic line in difficult/damaged hot bloke whose heart is broadly in the right pace. It's what he did so brilliantly in the Wire.  They need it to be believable that Diana was in love with him at the start, not just an idea of him that was never real. 

That isn't Charles though. He is a petulant spoilt ar8e with a victim complex. 

"They need it to be believable that Diana was in love with him at the start"

But surely that was a job for the last actor that played him, Josh O'Conner (who was believable as Charles) when they met and  married?   If there was time to cast a heart throb in order to make it more believable/cinematic it was then - but they didnt they went for realism.

Finding the Diana stuff dull.  I have never understood the fuss about her, whatever "magic" she had about her was entirely lost on me.  Nothing against her just did not and never will get understand the whole Diana cult and finding her irritating as portrayed on screen.

 

I was saying something similar to my American friend's parents over dinner the night she died. Breakfast was awkward. Felt like I had done it myself. 

Watched three episodes. I think it would work better if Diana's death was off screen and she wasn't really in it and the series was framed around how the other Royals processed the death.  

I'm finding it dull beyond belief and was a fan of the earlier series. The middle generation cast really nailed it I thought 

 

The only good thing is the soundtrack. It's like stepping back into the summers 1996-97 with Dodgy, Chumbawumba, George Michael and all the songs that were just so then

 

Of course this is piss easy to pull off 

The royal family, and Mohamed Al Fayed, find out about the deaths of Diana and Dodi. The royals go to church near Balmoral, and Prince Charles flies to Paris to retrieve Diana's body. Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth's subjects clamor for her to reflect their grief and comment on Diana's death, but she is reluctant to, until the very end of the episode when she delivers an address live from Buckingham Palace. This episode also features the ghosts of Diana and Dodi.

Fan of series, but latest ones are not great. The ghost sceens are bizarre. Dominic west is poorly cast, sort of just about got away with it last series, not this one. Earlier Charles actor so much better. Looks like next enstalment will be worse with the Kate/wills love story.

Agree with all of the above, particularly the ghost scenes. I’d wager a decent sum they wouldn’t have done that if Brenda was alive.

As an aside I though the bloke who played Mo Fayrd was superb.

Also I’ve enjoyed every variation of Anne throughout.  Probably still wood.

Bit of a shame in some respects as there are a few subplots that have the makings of good drama: 

Charles' machinations to rehabilitate Camilla in the aftermath of the death of "our Queen of Hearts" 

Camilla's journey of acceptance by Queenie

Andy getting drawn into Epstein's world 

Wills/Kate and the associated meeja frenzy + hints of phone-hacking 

Unwoke Harry 

The early/ mid ones were so brilliant and so well cast. I might have to rewatch them as December night in viewing. The Charles at school and miserable scenes were so well done and the whole Princess Margaret and Unsuitable Men episodes were amongst the best I think - such good scripts and focus on the heartbreaking reality of duty vs love. 

I will never understand the Dominic West casting.

I am enjoying it but have only got as far as St Tropez. Such a nice normal fun family holiday. It’s sad they didn’t have more.  Josh O Connor was very good. He did Spoilt and Ruthless and abusive very well. Dominic West is playing himself. Philanderer but likeable. I think it’s quite a good reflection of how different someone can be if they are with someone they do not love.