| Author |
Message |
Spunky
Member
10-07-2001
| Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - 5:33 pm 
I liked the first part of the second season premiere Victoria, I have to say some recent wars are giving the Brits the guts to question, "What on earth are we doing in Afghanistan", 4 thousand British soldiers died in that country, I'm sure back then they really believed it was right to be there, but on this show the question was posed a couple of times, although I kept waiting for a valid answer but I heard none, and you'd think that history would have thought them a lesson and not repeat the same mistake of fighting again in that country, all they managed to do was losing more British soldiers. Peel was right, they should have left that country alone.
But Queen Victoria managed so easily to make them forget about that huge defeat by reminding them of Trafalgar and that they had the best army and navy in the world. Mmmm...
|
Spunky
Member
10-07-2001
| Monday, January 29, 2018 - 10:14 am
Well, good thing they did not have DNA testing at the time of Queen Victoria, it could not be proved if Albert, or Victoria for that matter, were indeed illegitimate, of course to many historians it's well known that royal families had many illegitimate children, however, I wonder how many Brits are feeling about the PBS production of Victoria insisting on this point, I just want to think that it's useless to speculate when it cannot be proven, just as Victoria told Albert, the DNA testing we have nowadays could have confirmed, but would the world have known the results? Prince Charles supposed had DNA test for his son Prince Harry, the world knows it's certain it is Prince Charles' son and not Lady Di's lover, but who knows? We keep wondering, but what's the use?
Anyway, I found the first episode of Elizabeth spies very well narrated with very effective visuals, lots of books and documentary on that made it look to me a story told over and over, but still it's fascinating, imagine if Cecil had the communication tools we have today, but since he only had a network of spies that took time to relay info, it's incredible that he was so capable of accomplishing to protect Queen and Realm. Although this new show heavily supports the proofs gathered by Cecil's spies, I still wonder that an imprisoned Queen of Scotland could have had the means to overthrow Elizabeth, it seems a bit impossible to me but who can really say what was true, how much was Cecil's paranoia and how much was Queen Mary's threat to Elizabeth, it remains to me a mystery but the show gives plenty of reason to evidence obtained by Cecil. I can't wait to see the next episode.
|
Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Wednesday, January 31, 2018 - 1:52 am
Has anyone seen a date for season 7 of Call The Midwife to start airing in the USA? I can only find sometime in March. The PBS website has always been a bear and was no different when I tried it minutes ago, just keeps reloading, grr.
I still miss Chummy.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, January 31, 2018 - 10:36 am
I think just spring.
But they have been re airing last season (that included Sister Ursula) and my DVR schedule has a marathon of the season before Jennifer left, so that means a new season is on the way.
|
Babyjaxmom
Member
10-20-2002
| Saturday, February 03, 2018 - 1:32 pm
Spunky, I just read an article the other day that said even modern DNA testing would not be able to tell if Albert was legitimate or not, since the two potential fathers were brothers and the DNA would be too similar to differentiate.
|
Spunky
Member
10-07-2001
| Monday, February 05, 2018 - 8:19 am
I tend to agree Babyjaxmom, and to think that they were 'first cousins', I guess they didn't care about consanguinity and their children were normal.
Another controversy with the series Victoria was the Irish famine of the 1840's, in the show we see the young queen wanting to help the Irish but her government was reluctant do to so, when in fact Victoria did not greatly care for Ireland, what was the truth? However, she did offer some money and even visited the country towards the end of the crisis.
|
Scout
Member
01-19-2005
| Monday, February 05, 2018 - 10:56 am
I started an older British PBS series on Amazon Prime called Crimson Field. It is really good, but intense. It’s set in France during WWI at a mobile surgical hospital. I think there must have only been one season?
|
Sugar
Member
08-15-2000
| Monday, February 05, 2018 - 6:56 pm
Yes, only 1 season of Crimson Fields.
|
Spunky
Member
10-07-2001
| Wednesday, February 07, 2018 - 9:45 am
Don't you love the new series "Queen Elizabeth Secret Agents", it's like the first version of James Bond. Considering the times it's incredible how Cecil, father and son, created the 'spiery' as it was called back then, a huge spy network and prevented so many times the killing of the Queen. They producers chose a 'very slow' way of story telling, the narrators talk very slowly as if they want the viewer to assimilate every single word, it worked for me because the slower they talked the more I wanted to hear.
|
Colordeagua
Member
10-24-2003
| Wednesday, February 07, 2018 - 1:24 pm
Spunky, I'll have to check it out. Sounds interesting.
|
Spunky
Member
10-07-2001
| Thursday, February 08, 2018 - 10:47 am
The third episode will air next Sunday, but there could be a way to view the first two episodes, sometimes other PBS channels repeat it.
I'm so curious to see how they discover the treason of Walter Raleigh under James I and if indeed it was treason.
|
Babyjaxmom
Member
10-20-2002
| Thursday, February 08, 2018 - 12:03 pm
I tend to agree Babyjaxmom, and to think that they were 'first cousins', I guess they didn't care about consanguinity and their children were normal.
Spunky, Queen Victoria had nine children. Almost all of them married European royalty, making today's British royal family related in some way to almost every royal family in Europe. Royalty almost always was expected to marry someone "worthy of them" (except for Henry VIII, who married whoever he wanted).
Here's an interesting tidbit I found: "Queen Victoria of England, who ruled from 1837-1901, is believed to have been the carrier of hemophilia B, or factor IX deficiency. She passed the trait on to three of her nine children. Her son Leopold died of a hemorrhage after a fall when he was 30." We also know that Prince Alexei of Russia (Victoria's great grandson?) suffered from hemophilia. Very sad.
https://www.hemophilia.org/Bleeding-Disorders/History-of-Bleeding-Disorders
FYI: Prince Philip is also a distant cousin of his wife, Queen Elizabeth II. I believe they are both descendants of Victoria.
|
Babyjaxmom
Member
10-20-2002
| Thursday, February 08, 2018 - 12:08 pm
Here is a family tree showing how both Philip and Liz are descended from Victoria.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/253186810282121371/
|
Cass_cat
Member
05-09-2011
| Thursday, February 08, 2018 - 1:17 pm
I caught episode 2... missed #1... It is REALLY good!!! not sure how being hung till nearly dead then disemboweled is better than the rack... both sound horrible... I guess the later is quicker???
Hope to find the series somewhere... netflix, acorn tv...
Made sure I'm recording Episode #3.
|
Cass_cat
Member
05-09-2011
| Thursday, February 08, 2018 - 1:21 pm
OHHH!! I found it online at pbs.org
http://www.pbs.org/show/queen-elizabeths-secret-agents/episodes/
I'm at work right now so can't investigate further... but I'm sure you have to be a member... can't believe I can watch it for free. Will definitely give it a go tonight though.
|
Babyjaxmom
Member
10-20-2002
| Thursday, February 08, 2018 - 2:56 pm
Cass_cat, I'm not sure what show you're talking about, but the rack was not used (on purpose anyway) for executions, but was more of an interrogation "tool." Being hung till nearly dead then disembowled then having your arms and legs removed (better known as being "drawn and quartered") was a really brutal form of execution. The British were really barbaric with their executions (boiling in oil, anyone?).
|
Cass_cat
Member
05-09-2011
| Thursday, February 08, 2018 - 4:29 pm
It's in episode 2... a doctor -suspected of trying to kill the Queen- was given a choice either confess (to something he didn't do) or face the rack... He was taken to the tower and stood in front of the rack... the narrator went on to say as a doctor he knew what that meant so he confessed to trying to kill the Queen... where they hung him till almost dead and disemboweled him...
Sure the narrator didn't say that he knew what would happen to him if confessed but I have to believe he had to know it would be worse than the rack...
|
Cass_cat
Member
05-09-2011
| Thursday, February 08, 2018 - 4:35 pm
Babyjaxmom... I agree... they really had some gruesome methods. Did you watch the series about various castles in Great Britain? They would show the dungeon and describe various methods... Drawn and quartered... while still alive... just horrible... Fascinating to hear about that you can hardly believe it really happened.
|
Babyjaxmom
Member
10-20-2002
| Thursday, February 08, 2018 - 4:35 pm
The rack was pretty brutal also. It was not used as a form of execution, but people often died during interrogation. Basically, it slowly pulled your body apart till your joints separated and your bones shattered. Ouch. And it could go on for hours if they were trying to get someone to talk. I often wonder what kind of a mind would come up with these horrible methods of torture. The rack was notorious for getting people to say what they wanted to hear, just to make it stop. Horrific!
|
Cass_cat
Member
05-09-2011
| Thursday, February 08, 2018 - 4:42 pm
I've thought the same thing...
|
Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Thursday, February 08, 2018 - 4:50 pm
Ack! I was going to watch this show, but after you guys discussing the torture, I will have to pass. It's just to disturbing for me.
|
Cass_cat
Member
05-09-2011
| Thursday, February 08, 2018 - 9:50 pm
Grooch... don't let our discussion stop you from watching. It's super interesting and any inclusion of torture is through the narrator... about 30 seconds.
The Castles in Great Britain series went into fair detail about torture methods throughout Great Britain's history... interesting stuff but scary horrible.
|
Grooch
Member
06-16-2006
| Friday, February 09, 2018 - 12:22 am
Ok, thanks. I'll give it a whirl then. 
|
Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Friday, February 09, 2018 - 10:54 am
I'm absolutely loving Victoria. It is so beautifully done to perfection. The casting, scripts, and scenery, everything flawless.
|
Cass_cat
Member
05-09-2011
| Friday, February 09, 2018 - 1:41 pm
Yeah... I've got them recorded... can't wait to watch!!!
|
