I had low hopes for this going in, but I am a huge fan of historical drama so I thought I would give it a chance. It was actually worse than I expected. XD
The dialog was terrible. The music, besides being overpowering, was terrible and disarmingly modern for a period show. Most of the young characters are just wrong on so many levels. It is as if they stepped out of modern times into this world. They seem to have no idea how their world operates despite the fact they have lived there their entire lives and been raised to excel or rule. I will not even get into all of the historical inaccuracies...
The performances were not too bad actually, but the dialog was so out of place that it would feel more appropriate in a modern series. I think a number of the actors could give great performances if given better dialog.
I did find myself interested in some of the story despite the complete dumbing down. The political plots and all of the individual scheming were intriguing. However, the way they over-explained things and the way that the characters are completely wrong for the period were too much for my suspension of disbelief.
In some ways the series has potential, and I can see people who normally do not watch historical dramas being entertained because they do not know just how bad it is, but it was the worst pilot of the 2013 Fall season I have ever seen.
I really liked the show! It was beautifully shot (for cw its amazing), well acted and had a really intriguing plot. I've heard a few people complain (on different sites) that its inaccurate...its historical fiction...its not pretending to be accurate. Also: no show is accurate regardless. I'll be tuning in again :)
Wow, you encapsulated my thoughts exactly on this show! Thank you, because I really don't want to spend the energy on Reign that it would require for me to type all that out. So thanks.
Saw it Wednesday night (Canada). Couldn't agree more. The performances were so weak (especially that one scene, you know what I mean ;P) it was painful,
As I stated, It was not all bad, but I do not understand why they would chose to use a specific time and place, with both well-known characters and well-known history, and then chose to ignore so much of what made 16th century Europe what it was!
If they were not going to follow the historical norms of the era, why keep the setting in that era? Why not create their own story with different players and just say it was based on and parallels Mary, Queen of Scots? For some reason they decided to base their show on a historical story without basing their story in the environment that actually shaped and was part of the original story?
It's like little kids playing dress up, the CW is playing dress up! It's less historical drama and more the CW playing at historical drama! XD
My thoughts exactly! It's simply a Medieval Gossip Girl. And what about those dresses and hair? Who wore something like that in 1500'? And that was supposed to be 'a more mature CW'.
I really liked it too! I had no expectations whatsoever, I know this is inaccurate, but it entertained me! I didn't think the acting was that bad. I'll be tuning in again. And oh, mean Ann of Green Gables!
you have to deatached yourself on the historical POV to really like the show, i mean it clearly has some of it, but most of all is intended to liked younger audiences so they change it, you cant make a show like "The White Queen" that was full of Drama and action and expect to be a HIT on the CW cause it`s not going to happen cause the CW that is a network that atracts younger people and what did they do, they do A "Gossip Girl Medieval times" with a little bit of action and sorcery to make it a little bit more interesting, I have to say i like it i was a fan or I`m a fan of GG so why would i hate this show, i`ll give it a try but i really dont think it will get a second season, lets see how it goes in the upcoming weeks....
They said the Pilot was horible and they re-do it for this fall and wasnt choose i could only imagine it was worst than this and i mean really really bad!
Pilot was good, not great. The sets and clothing were lovely in HD even if they were not accurate. The whole dancing at the wedding scene was random and made no sense. This show is trying to be Gossip Girl but instead of being New York "royalty" they are actual royals! Not sure overall if I will continue with it.. probably tape the next few and see how it goes. Also the scene that was supposed to be cut out? Watched it in Canada on CTV 2 Thursday and pretty sure it was the full scene. Not sure if the full scene aired on M3 (also in Canada but airs on Wednesday).
English accents at the time were more like the generic american accents of now, so it's even weirder that she speaks in a way that was entirely unknown at the time, lol. She should have a French accent thou, like she did in real life.
I'm not sure that this can be called an historical drama when it's ignoring the history of the character entirely; the age she seems to be in this she would have been back in Scotland marrying her cousin and then plotting to kill him, lol. I have no idea why they chose her to base this kind of story around, when they could have used many other historical characters more accurately and still made this kind of show.
Indeed. I commented about that somewhere else on this post. They took Mary Queen of Scots and then removed all the details that were part of the story and ignored them. Only keeping details they wanted to the point that the story id not Mary Queen of Scots anymore.
Would have been better off using a completely fictional and made up show reality than a real world historical history.
The second episode was even worse. I made it 10 or 15 minutes in and quit. Just TERRIBLE.
I have to admit that, for the moment, I am liking the show although be it as a guilty pleasure piece of fluff entertainment. The 'druids' in the wood and the 'ghost' Clarissa are intriguing me and make it worth watching for me atm, but if their reveal is too quick/unsatisfying then I can see my interest fading pretty quickly.
The court itself with its wishy washy political/power hungry characture's are pretty boring and standard CW fair unfortunately :(
I can see how some people would like it, but it ticks too many of my pet-peeve boxes and is just not for me.
Historical inaccuracies aside, the dialog is beyond annoying to me. The scene in Episode 2 with Nostradamus and the Queen where they spend minutes stating blatantly obvious facts was just dreadful. I quit watching at that point.
Ha yeah, it's very much a tell instead of show what's happening with the 'baddies', which is odd when they are managing to do the opposite for other parts of the story. It's something that seems to be a norm with the new shows this season, Sleepy Hollow being one of the worst offenders imo.
Uh yeaaaah. XD So not into shows that spell things out so obviously that even lobotomized people can follow the series.
I am still watching Sleepy Hollow, but I am losing interest. I hope it starts having some deeper stories with multi-episode arcs soon... It would be nice too if Ichabod did not have the answer immediately so the team had to actual struggle a bit.... Just saying! XD
I've only made it to about episode 3-4 (I can't even remember tbh XD) so far, it's another show this season which interests me a great deal, and I can see how it could be brilliant, but hasn't yet lived up to it's potential imo.
Definitely one of the better new shows of the season even if it does not "improve" how I would like. I agree though, with some small adjustments it could become something really different and special, more than just a supernatural procedural. Here's hoping!
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I had low hopes for this going in, but I am a huge fan of historical drama so I thought I would give it a chance. It was actually worse than I expected. XD
ReplyDeleteThe dialog was terrible. The music, besides being overpowering, was terrible and disarmingly modern for a period show. Most of the young characters are just wrong on so many levels. It is as if they stepped out of modern times into this world. They seem to have no idea how their world operates despite the fact they have lived there their entire lives and been raised to excel or rule. I will not even get into all of the historical inaccuracies...
The performances were not too bad actually, but the dialog was so out of place that it would feel more appropriate in a modern series. I think a number of the actors could give great performances if given better dialog.
I did find myself interested in some of the story despite the complete dumbing down. The political plots and all of the individual scheming were intriguing. However, the way they over-explained things and the way that the characters are completely wrong for the period were too much for my suspension of disbelief.
In some ways the series has potential, and I can see people who normally do not watch historical dramas being entertained because they do not know just how bad it is, but it was the worst pilot of the 2013 Fall season I have ever seen.
Has no pilot worst that Back In The Game e Lucky 7
ReplyDeleteI liked Back in the Game much more, but did not watch Lucky 7.
ReplyDeleteI also liked Dads and We Are Men more, despite not really enjoying either sitcom.
Gossip girl set in the 16th century. Pass
ReplyDeleteScottish queen with english accent.
ReplyDeleteWhy?
Baaaaaad. Just bad.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed it. It was a fun show that was an enjoyable guilty pleasure.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the show! It was beautifully shot (for cw its amazing), well acted and had a really intriguing plot. I've heard a few people complain (on different sites) that its inaccurate...its historical fiction...its not pretending to be accurate. Also: no show is accurate regardless. I'll be tuning in again :)
ReplyDeleteWorst acting ever. There were a few slightly redeeming performances, but overall it was awful!
ReplyDeleteWow, you encapsulated my thoughts exactly on this show! Thank you, because I really don't want to spend the energy on Reign that it would require for me to type all that out. So thanks.
ReplyDeleteSaw it Wednesday night (Canada). Couldn't agree more. The performances were so weak (especially that one scene, you know what I mean ;P) it was painful,
ReplyDeleteHa! XD
ReplyDeleteThanks.
As I stated, It was not all bad, but I do not understand why they would chose to use a specific time and place, with both well-known characters and well-known history, and then chose to ignore so much of what made 16th century Europe what it was!
If they were not going to follow the historical norms of the era, why keep the setting in that era? Why not create their own story with different players and just say it was based on and parallels Mary, Queen of Scots? For some reason they decided to base their show on a historical story without basing their story in the environment that actually shaped and was part of the original story?
It's like little kids playing dress up, the CW is playing dress up!
It's less historical drama and more the CW playing at historical drama! XD
exactly! just come up with some new country and rename the characters... l;d be more interested cuz that means creativity..
ReplyDeleteVery Poor Pilot!! Won't survive this season!!
ReplyDeleteCouldn't Agree more,just wait till tonight's ratings!!i can't even imagine!!
ReplyDeleteI really wish they would have gone with the selection it must have been better than this.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly! It's simply a Medieval Gossip Girl. And what about those dresses and hair? Who wore something like that in 1500'? And that was supposed to be 'a more mature CW'.
ReplyDeleteI really liked it too! I had no expectations whatsoever, I know this is inaccurate, but it entertained me! I didn't think the acting was that bad. I'll be tuning in again. And oh, mean Ann of Green Gables!
ReplyDeleteyou have to deatached yourself on the historical POV to really like the show, i mean it clearly has some of it, but most of all is intended to liked younger audiences so they change it, you cant make a show like "The White Queen" that was full of Drama and action and expect to be a HIT on the CW cause it`s not going to happen cause the CW that is a network that atracts younger people and what did they do, they do A "Gossip Girl Medieval times" with a little bit of action and sorcery to make it a little bit more interesting, I have to say i like it i was a fan or I`m a fan of GG so why would i hate this show, i`ll give it a try but i really dont think it will get a second season, lets see how it goes in the upcoming weeks....
ReplyDeleteThey said the Pilot was horible and they re-do it for this fall and wasnt choose i could only imagine it was worst than this and i mean really really bad!
ReplyDeletePilot was good, not great. The sets and clothing were lovely in HD even if they were not accurate. The whole dancing at the wedding scene was random and made no sense. This show is trying to be Gossip Girl but instead of being New York "royalty" they are actual royals! Not sure overall if I will continue with it.. probably tape the next few and see how it goes. Also the scene that was supposed to be cut out? Watched it in Canada on CTV 2 Thursday and pretty sure it was the full scene. Not sure if the full scene aired on M3 (also in Canada but airs on Wednesday).
ReplyDeletethe dude dies, she marries someone else then someone else again, end of story!
ReplyDeleteEnglish accents at the time were more like the generic american accents of now, so it's even weirder that she speaks in a way that was entirely unknown at the time, lol. She should have a French accent thou, like she did in real life.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that this can be called an historical drama when it's ignoring the history of the character entirely; the age she seems to be in this she would have been back in Scotland marrying her cousin and then plotting to kill him, lol. I have no idea why they chose her to base this kind of story around, when they could have used many other historical characters more accurately and still made this kind of show.
ReplyDeleteIndeed.
ReplyDeleteI commented about that somewhere else on this post. They took Mary Queen of Scots and then removed all the details that were part of the story and ignored them. Only keeping details they wanted to the point that the story id not Mary Queen of Scots anymore.
Would have been better off using a completely fictional and made up show reality than a real world historical history.
The second episode was even worse. I made it 10 or 15 minutes in and quit. Just TERRIBLE.
I have to admit that, for the moment, I am liking the show although be it as a guilty pleasure piece of fluff entertainment. The 'druids' in the wood and the 'ghost' Clarissa are intriguing me and make it worth watching for me atm, but if their reveal is too quick/unsatisfying then I can see my interest fading pretty quickly.
ReplyDeleteThe court itself with its wishy washy political/power hungry characture's are pretty boring and standard CW fair unfortunately :(
I can see how some people would like it, but it ticks too many of my pet-peeve boxes and is just not for me.
ReplyDeleteHistorical inaccuracies aside, the dialog is beyond annoying to me. The scene in Episode 2 with Nostradamus and the Queen where they spend minutes stating blatantly obvious facts was just dreadful. I quit watching at that point.
Ha yeah, it's very much a tell instead of show what's happening with the 'baddies', which is odd when they are managing to do the opposite for other parts of the story. It's something that seems to be a norm with the new shows this season, Sleepy Hollow being one of the worst offenders imo.
ReplyDeleteUh yeaaaah. XD
ReplyDeleteSo not into shows that spell things out so obviously that even lobotomized people can follow the series.
I am still watching Sleepy Hollow, but I am losing interest. I hope it starts having some deeper stories with multi-episode arcs soon... It would be nice too if Ichabod did not have the answer immediately so the team had to actual struggle a bit.... Just saying! XD
I've only made it to about episode 3-4 (I can't even remember tbh XD) so far, it's another show this season which interests me a great deal, and I can see how it could be brilliant, but hasn't yet lived up to it's potential imo.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely one of the better new shows of the season even if it does not "improve" how I would like. I agree though, with some small adjustments it could become something really different and special, more than just a supernatural procedural. Here's hoping!
ReplyDelete