Riley Chow
Contributing Editor & Forum Moderator in Vancouver, Canada: https://www.goldderby.com/author/riley-chow/
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November 29, 2020 at 11:02 pm #1203884013
Occam’s razor: HBO never gave the finale to the press in advance because it was bad.
ReplyNovember 24, 2020 at 8:25 pm #1203869882My understanding is that Amazon’s priorities are John Boyega and Letitia Wright in lead for Small Axe.
November 24, 2020 at 1:26 pm #1203866874How did they shut out The Weeknd, even in the genre categories with all of the slots? This feels like the biggest snub since I do not know when. I feel like I should not even bother looking through the nominations list.
November 24, 2020 at 11:05 am #1203865243Going to take advantage of my moderating powers and lock this until next month. Watch Small Axe! Not that I have, but it is probably great.
November 14, 2020 at 8:35 pm #1203837680I noticed you had Anderson ahead at SAG and actually in second only behind Linney. I was just wondering is that because you think Anderson’s “over the top” (I don’t mean this in a bad way) type of loud performance is one that would appeal to SAG voters?
Pretty much.
Would you say that the maturity in the writing might give the show a boost for example at WGA and also would you say this is the undeniable series winner/frontrunner or do you think it’s vulnerable (due to its disjointedness) like seasons 1 and 3 were to being overshadowed later on during this Emmy season?
I would not call it a lock.
Claire Foy will appear super briefly no? Like seconds, i don’t think she’s elegible.
It is more than that.
I know Princess Margaret never had the biggest role in the monarchy, but it’s still disappointing they cast a well-known actress like Helena Bonham Carter and, according to several reviews, didn’t really utilize her.
How about last season? Having said that, it is funny that she did not make the poster either time (Charles and Philip, then Diana and Thatcher).
ReplyNovember 10, 2020 at 11:23 am #1203827320I think that I still slightly prefer the second season. That one had such momentum with Claire Foy’s performance, which was complemented by Matt Smith’s and Vanessa Kirby’s. Not really a fault of Olivia Colman, the queen just seems to have less going on in the period that this season depicts, so the season lacks an anchor. Diana’s arc is more of a through line, but she is also a less consistent presence. I do love that The Crown still values the episode as a narrative device, as that is increasingly and regrettably lost in the age of streaming. A few times this season, I would feel unsure early in the episode at what seemed like the exploration of a tangential plot thread, but I would be won over by the end. Still though, the season eventually seems to become just a little disjointed.
This is nitpicking in the sense that this is still a very good season and it could be my drama winner, but I suppose that what I am trying to get across is that this is not an addition for me to the pantheon of all-time great television seasons. It is not necessarily anyone’s fault, as history does not follow the logical structure of fiction.
What elevates this season is how much more mature the writing is. Whereas it always felt in the first three seasons like we were getting a bit of a rosy look at the royals because I assumed that Peter Morgan wanted to maintain cordial relations with them, the gloves are off this time. Charles is downright horrible, hence I am hesitant to predict him for nominations, but the queen also comes to come across very poorly as well. This is more interesting and layered dramatic storytelling. The writing is subtle in undermining the queen, who remains oblivious to the full picture and consequences of her actions. There are even nods to Philip’s adultery, which had been glossed over previously.
I cannot see Helena Bonham Carter getting nominated at the precursors. She only has a few lines in the first six episodes, then the seventh episode is Margaret-centric, but pretty standalone. She is not even in the eighth and goes back to figuring little after that. So it is both noticeable how long it takes for her to do anything and her showcase is also just early enough that she is forgotten by the end, being overwritten in memory by plot developments from the climax.
I saw a lot of praise here for the cinematography in the trailer, but Ben Caron and Adriano Goldman seemed to sit out more episodes than usual this season and I felt their absence in that I found the visuals less cohesive. The premiere would be a fine nomination for Caron, but the third episode is heartbreaking. It is Diana’s big one and Emma Corrin is outstanding. I will be rooting all season for her to win. She gets more big episodes and I previously mentioned that the season ends on her.
Gillian Anderson is very good too, but Corrin has much more of a rooting factor. We just saw Jeremy Strong beat Brian Cox. It is important though that the Globes awarded Cox without nominating Strong though and I could see the same happening here. It is just not a surprise that Anderson can give a big performance. This is a star-making performance by Corrin and the show itself is fully on her side. Diana is the hero of the season and she basically always comes across well opposite the established royals. I do not know where the sympathetic Charles that we got last season went, but I suppose that I am glad that we got to spend that time with him while we could.
There is never quite a Thatcher-centric episode in the way that Diana owns the third episode, Margaret owns the seventh, Michael Fagan owns the fifth and so on. The second episode is on track to be one, but she swaps out for its second half. The Thatcher storyline also takes a while to build and I wondered for much of the season whether the show would just keep to a rosy view like it had previously done for the royals. Like so many things this season though, it does end up coming around. “Fagan” is probably the best example of one where I was not on board initially, but I might recommend it as the writing submission now. My assessment is that either Anderson and Corrin vote-split or Corrin overcomes it. Maybe it does not matter in a plurality vote, but Thatcher’s larger-than-life mannerisms are inherently going to make impressions of her somewhat divisive.
This is a better performance by Colman than last season, but I cannot see her winning for it. Poor Tobias Menzies and Charles Dance. I cannot see them getting nominated after being snubbed when deserving last year with so much more material. I am sure that Menzies had a blast filming this season at least. It reminds me of Vera Farmiga coming back as a playful ghost for the final season of Bates Motel.
ReplyNovember 10, 2020 at 9:58 am #1203827106The Outsider series steadily built an audience on HBO — growing from 1.2 million viewers for its premiere to 2.2 million for the finale (+90%) — to become the network’s most-watched first-year series in the past three years with 11 million multi-platform viewers per episode. It also is believed to have done well in major international territories.
Nothing makes sense anymore. How bad could the pitch have been?
ReplyOctober 25, 2020 at 4:50 pm #1203802065The Globes have so few slots that there is no space for nonsense* in the form of roles with no material.
*They do nominate nonsense, but it is of a different brand.
October 25, 2020 at 12:11 am #1203801064I’m guessing Netflix only submits four supporting actresses (Anderson, Bonham Carter, Corrin, Doherty) and three supporting actors (Fox, Menzies, O’Connor).
I do not know a Fox.
I noticed no mention of Josh O’Connor. Any word on his role this season?
I have a hard time predicting outright villains, but Alexander Skarsgård and Patricia Arquette swept recently.
Apparently he has a lot of material but a huge turn around on his persona from last season.
Yep.
If Netflix are clever and O’Connor like Corrin ends up being in 8/10 of the episodes they ought to submit him in Lead and Menzies in Supporting.
9/10
According to Riley, episode 4 will be called “Fagan”. It will follow an intruder climbing through the palace gates and visiting the Queen in her bedroom.
Not #4.
Certain that Mountbatten’s funeral episode will be called Mountbatten.
Nope.
Did they even finish filming, ever? Lol
No, Jess Hobbs’s episodes are four minutes shorter than the others on average.
October 16, 2020 at 11:52 pm #1203783694Watched the first episode last week! Netflix gave us the first four episodes at the start of September, then the remaining four a couple of weeks ago. Feature coverage embargo lifts November 1st.
ReplyOctober 14, 2020 at 12:24 am #1203777082Do you think predicting Edgar Ramirez at the globes is plausible? Or, at least, more plausible than predict Sutherland?
I would be surprised if Ramirez got nominated anywhere, but I could see Sutherland hitting the Globes and he seems safe to me for the Emmys.
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