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Victoria Review: This Stellar Treatment of a Teenage Queen Is on Masterpiece for a Reason

(Episode 1.01)

By Keri Lumm  |  January 15, 2017 | 10:00pm
PBS
TV Video Victoria

Have you been enjoying The Crown Well, good news: Now you can watch another queen’s life story play out on the small screen, and you don’t even have to pay for a Netflix subscription.

Your tax dollars paid for this (0.014% of your tax dollars, in any case), and it was money well spent.

The first episode is double length, and it feels long. Sit down expecting a movie with a sequel. Since there are no commercials, you might want to DVR the episode in case you need an intermission.

It was hard not to compare this version of Queen Victoria’s story with that of the film version, starring Emily Blunt.

I loved that film, but found this Queen Victoria to be just as compelling.

The show begins with Victoria as a young girl who knows she’s in line for the throne, as do her mother and her mother’s boy toy, Sir John Conroy. They have both sheltered and controlled this young girl at Kensington Palace, but no longer.

The show depicts a young girl who’s playing with dolls—and then is suddenly thrust into the role of Queen.

It’s amazing that someone so young, with no experience and just some advisors, was able to navigate her rule so well, and so early. Yes, she makes mistakes, as all people do, but what she accomplishes in her life is astounding. Especially when you consider that she had zero life experience, and was only in charge of an empire because of who her parents were.

The show does an excellent job of showing her fall for a father figure in Lord Melbourne. It kind of reminds me of Celine Dion and René Angélil—except these two don’t get it on.

With Melbourne’s help and constant support, Victoria is able to throw off the bondage she feels from her mother and her friends.

The first episode of Victoria shows this struggle from childhood into adulthood in a masterful way.

No doubt, this show is part of Masterpiece for a reason.

Keri is a professional chatterbox who loves watching TV & movies, reading about pop culture, and gawking at any craziness on the internet. You can follow Keri on Twitter.

 
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