nelsonmuntz
Point Center
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2011
- Messages
- 44,128
- Reaction Score
- 32,910
I generally like historical dramas, and the subject matter is fascinating, but this one kind of misses. It isn't terrible, and I will stick with it, but it could have been better.
Problems:
1) Too much exposition - I don't know if there is a way around it given that most viewers are not going to know much about the subject matter, but parts of the show seem like a teacher giving a lecture with History Channel re-enactments in the background.
2) Jason Clarke, on his good days, is a solid supporting actor. He doesn't have enough charisma to carry a huge production like this as the lead.
3) Russia's craziness is not really captured. At the time, Moscow and St. Petersburg did not have the elegance of the royal courts in London, Paris, Vienna or even Madrid. Even the Russian nobility were prone to sudden violence and cruelty that was not as common in western countries at the time, and the Russian countryside was much more primitive than in the west. They talk about some crazy things happening off-screen in the miniseries, and there are flashes of it in the show, like when the two officers attack Potemkin over a game of pool, but otherwise this show is just a run-of-the-mill period piece that could be anywhere in Europe. Pugachev's Rebellion was brutal and crazy, and a major threat to Catherine's rule, but is almost like a montage in this show.
4) Helen Mirren is a great actress, but is not right for this role. She is too old, and a little too elegant. Mirren is 74, Catherine the Great was 67 when she died, and the first two episodes take place when Catherine should be in her 40's. I know this was Mirren's pet project, but someone a little crazier would have been better. Helena Bonham Carter is one idea.
Catherine the Great had a reputation for big tastes, and crudeness. Instead, she is kind of boring and mundane in this miniseries. The show is interesting enough, but it feels like they could have done more with it.
Problems:
1) Too much exposition - I don't know if there is a way around it given that most viewers are not going to know much about the subject matter, but parts of the show seem like a teacher giving a lecture with History Channel re-enactments in the background.
2) Jason Clarke, on his good days, is a solid supporting actor. He doesn't have enough charisma to carry a huge production like this as the lead.
3) Russia's craziness is not really captured. At the time, Moscow and St. Petersburg did not have the elegance of the royal courts in London, Paris, Vienna or even Madrid. Even the Russian nobility were prone to sudden violence and cruelty that was not as common in western countries at the time, and the Russian countryside was much more primitive than in the west. They talk about some crazy things happening off-screen in the miniseries, and there are flashes of it in the show, like when the two officers attack Potemkin over a game of pool, but otherwise this show is just a run-of-the-mill period piece that could be anywhere in Europe. Pugachev's Rebellion was brutal and crazy, and a major threat to Catherine's rule, but is almost like a montage in this show.
4) Helen Mirren is a great actress, but is not right for this role. She is too old, and a little too elegant. Mirren is 74, Catherine the Great was 67 when she died, and the first two episodes take place when Catherine should be in her 40's. I know this was Mirren's pet project, but someone a little crazier would have been better. Helena Bonham Carter is one idea.
Catherine the Great had a reputation for big tastes, and crudeness. Instead, she is kind of boring and mundane in this miniseries. The show is interesting enough, but it feels like they could have done more with it.
