Top Five Favorite Episodes of "THE CROWN" Season One (2016)

Below is a list of my favorite episodes from Season One of the Netflix series, "THE CROWN". Created by Peter Morgan, the series starred Claire Foy and Matt Smith as Queen Elizabeth II and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh: 

TOP FIVE FAVORITE EPISODES OF "THE CROWN" SEASON ONE (2016)

1. (1.02) "Hyde Park Corner" - Due to King George VI's poor health, Princess Elizabeth and her husband Philip, Duke of Edinburgh embark upon a tour of the Commonwealth on his behalf. However, a family tragedy forces the couple to end their tour in Kenya and return home to Britain.

2. (1.05) "Smoke and Mirrors" - This episode focuses on the death of Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth II's grandmother and on her own coronation over two months later. Meanwhile, the Queen's uncle, the Duke of Windsor, clashes with her private secretary, Tommy Lascelles, after being asked not to attend the coronation.

3. (1.08) "Pride & Joy" - While Elizabeth and Philip embark upon a stressful Commonwealth tour in 1954, the Queen's younger sister Princess Margaret takes on more royal engagements, much to the consternation of Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

4. (1.07) "Scientia Potentia Est" - While the Soviet Union tests their new H-bomb, both Prime Minister Churchill and Deputy Prime Minister experience major health crisis, unbeknownst to the Queen. Meanwhile, she becomes aware of her limited education and hires a tutor.

5. (1.06) "Gelignite" - When Princess Margaret and her divorced lover, Peter Townsend, ask Elizabeth's permission to get married, the latter promises to give her support. Unfortunately, Private Secretary Lascelles and the Queen Mother advise against supporting the marriage.

"THE CROWN" Season One (2016) Photo Gallery

Below are images from Season One of the Netflix series, "THE CROWN". Created by Peter Morgan, the series starred Claire Foy and Matt Smith as Queen Elizabeth II and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh: 


"THE CROWN" SEASON ONE (2016) Photo Gallery

"SYLVIA" (2003) Review

"SYLVIA" (2003) Review

I finally watched "SYLVIA" on DVD. After all I have heard about the movie, I had expected to be disappointed by it. To be truthful, I found it quite interesting biopic that was especially enhanced by the leads' performances. But . . . "SYLVIA"was not a perfect film. 

Set between the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, The movie's revelation of the Sylvia Plath/Ted Hughes courtship, followed by their marriage turned out to be very interesting and rather intense. I suspect that many had expected it to take sides in the couple's breakup. To its credit, the movie avoided this route. There were no heroes/heroines and villains/villainesses in their story . . . just two people who had failed to create a successful marriage. In fact, the movie presented the possibility that both Plath and Hughes had contributed their breakup.

To be honest, I think that Gwenyth Paltrow and Daniel Craig's performances as Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes had more to do with the movie's main virtue than the director, Christine Jeffs or the screenwriter, John Brownlow. Also, both Jared Harris as Al Alvarez and Blythe Danner as Aurelia Plath, gave able support. But it is obvious that this movie belonged to Paltrow and Craig, who brought the intensity of the Plath/Hughes marriage with an honesty and rawness that - if I must be honest - I sometimes found hard to bear.

But even those two were not able to save the movie's last half hour from almost sinking into an abyss of unrelenting boredom. I suspect that Jeffs and Brownlow wanted to give the moviegoers an in-depth look at Plath's emotional descent into suicide, following the break-up of her marriage to Hughes. But I wish they could have paced the movie's ending a little better than what had been shown in the movie theaters. The movie's last half hour nearly dragged it to a standstill.

Despite the last half hour, I would still recommend "SYLVIA". In the end, it turned out to be a pretty interesting look into the marriage of the two famous poets. I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

"SYLVIA" (2003) Photo Gallery

Below is a gallery of photos from the 2003 movie based upon Sylvia Plath's relationship with Ted Hughes. "SYLVIA" starred Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig: 


"SYLVIA" (2003) Photo Gallery