Masterpiece: Victoria

Daisy Goodwin wrote this instead of Julian Fellowes. So, the story is not as tight or marvelous. The first two episodes are regrettable while Ms. Coleman gets going. But, when Albert enters the stage, this series rises to a whole new level. The romance of Victoria and Albert was epic in reality and this presentation is just as wonderful as the real thing. Ms. Goodwin throws in a hearty mixture of real history and emotional drama. You wind up wishing for Prince Albert to save the day. And he delivers. Hooray! Well worth watching. The series rolls in computer graphics. It seems to be everywhere and is really good. But, having seen the real Ms. Coleman, you realize they worked on her too. The young 18 year old Victoria is flawless. You can not believe it is the 30 year old Jenna Coleman, though she is beautiful enough. The graphics does not beat you over the head but blends with the story so that you wonder where they found this 1830's England. Still I long for Fellowes to give some humanity below stairs. Ms. Goodwin relegates the servants to thievery, chicanery, and bone headed mistakes. Don't have any historical notes about the servants. But, really, did they lack all honorable attributes?

I miss watching Jenna Coleman as Clara in Doctor Who, so I was thrilled to know she was also portraying Queen Victoria, my favorite monarch.... She does a wonderful job as the young queen, and the supporting actors and filming are fantastic. Sadly the drama is not comedic at the least, and the amount of drama gives me a headache, just like Downton Abbey did. Still, I love the drama and definitely recommend it to Victorian fans.

Wonderful, fascinating and well acted. The first season of "Victoria" is just what I hoped it would be. I'm so looking forward to next season. The production values are very high. I bought this because I have always been fascinated by Victoria. I have read many books written about her. Masterpiece Theater did a wonderful job. The music is so haunting to me in the opening and closing credits. The coral singing is perfect. See this, buy this, you will get your money's worth for sure.

This was best docu drama series I've watched! It was the PBS unedited Prime Video series. Really great actors/actresses, well matched. This series was so interesting and well made, I was looking for Season 2! I hope they do finish the story. Jenna Coleman (Queen Victoria) particularly good. I didn't know much about this Queen's reign until after seeing series. I've seen a few photos on Pinterest and that was about all I knew. This series will make a history lover out of anyone!!!

Beautifully done! This is an excellent series. What a great look at the Victorian period in England to help us understand the life and customs of the period. You get a very different and vibrant impression of Queen Victoria. But when will we be able to get the second year in a US format DVD? That part is very frustrating. Will it ever be released? Before you get hooked on this series, you might want to be sure that it will actually be available.

The first year of the series tells the story of Queen Victoria from the moment she becomes queen and through the early years of her reign and monarch. The story is beautifully done. Great story. As for disk quality the Picture and sound quality are great. Don't be turned off that this is a PBS series. The series was originally produced for the British commercial network ITV. Can't wait for next year's series. Bit scary that the beginning ads and previews don't have any sound. We thought we might have gotten defective disks.--But the series has sound.

I'll begin by addressing a controversy that other reviewers are noting: whether or not the DVD's episodes have been edited. I have a very good memory for movies and television series and can usually spot where edits have been made when I'm watching a DVD version. I have not noticed any such edits in Victoria. That's not to say I'm perfect and couldn't possibly have missed something, but I do have a good track record. Furthermore, DVD versions of television series produced in Britain generally contain more material, not less, as compared to the versions shown to US viewers on Masterpiece or other PBS productions. Again, I haven't noticed anything "extra" in these eight episodes, which is not to say there isn't any, but usually I do spot things like that. In watching the eight episodes of the first season of Victoria it's important to keep in mind that this is historical drama, not straight up history. Queen Victoria is one of my favorite historical characters and I've read many of her biographies, plus many histories of her family and of Britain during her reign. To me, the actual events of Victoria's reign are fascinating and full of drama and romance. Therefore it's somewhat disappointing that the writers and producers of this mini-series thought they had to spice things up a bit and make it close to a stereotypical bodice-ripper. Not that that doesn't lead to some intriguing moments: I was impressed by the ingenuity the writers displayed in working out different ways for Prince Albert to tear his shirt in front of Victoria, for example. Nevertheless this mini-series is an engaging piece of work. I enjoyed the elaborate sets and costumes, the detailed scripts and well developed characters, and appreciated the obviously heavy research. The cast is superb, especially Jenna Coleman. I also appreciated the "downstairs" characters, who give viewers a better idea of how the "other half" (actually the other three-quarters or more) lived in Victorian England. There are some things that bothered me: official etiquette was often ignored, allowing characters to speak to the Queen before she spoke to them, or sit down in her presence without permission, or even touch her. Also, while Victoria was undoubtedly infatuated with Lord Melbourne, the mini-series makes it look like she was ready to marry him, or at least go to bed with him. Even so, I enjoyed this series and will look forward to future seasons.

This is a beautifully made series - well written, well acted, well directed, and thoroughly enjoyable all round. The entire cast is very, very good; there was not one performance that struck a false note, but when you have a really good script, as this is, you will always get great performances. Jenna Coleman, as Victoria, is excellent, and totally believable. For such a young girl, she gives a very mature portrayal. As I said, all of the cast is excellent, but I particularly liked Peter Firth as the wicked Uncle Cumberland. Firth gives a slyly, wily, performance as the Uncle who is next in line to the throne, (and scheming of ways to get rid of Victoria) and is a delight to watch, but then Firth is always good in everything he does. My favourite of all was Rufus Sewell as Lord Melbourne. Sewell gives a very touching and emotional performance as Victoria's favourite Prime Minister, her "Lord M", (who is devoted to Victoria, and even a little in love with her), but he is also beautifully restrained and very moving. It's always a pleasure to watch beautiful acting when the performers are at the top of their game, as Sewell is in this. If you like history, and really good drama, you will love this. And from all that I have read of Victoria, this show is basically historically accurate, considering, of course, the allowances that must be made for dramatic writing. I highly recommend it, and look forward to the second season.

De buena calidad, cumple lo que dice en la publicación, buena imagen, buen audio, claro es un Blu-ray... llegó en tiempo y forma

Extraordinary on two levels at least. First, the historical. I think what I was like at 18 and capable of. Or I should say incapable of. Then I see Victoria at the same age ascending the British throne to preside over an empire that will grow to be the most extensive the world has ever seen. A fable it must be, yet it wasn’t, nor all she had to confront and overcome to survive: plots, intrigues, political pressures, maternal labour and childbirth and even an assassination attempt. Second, the extraordinary production itself: the scripts, acting, costumes, sets, direction, photography, CGI and music. Season One (8 episodes) leaves one wanting much more. Jenna Coleman as Victoria is divine, every inch a queen, even if one small in stature, and Tom Hughes is brilliant as her consort, the German Prince Albert whom she will marry. One could single out any member of the ensemble cast for excellence, though possibly my favourite, apart from those playing the happy royal couple, is Rufus Sewell as Lord Melbourne, he the great confidante and advisor of Victoria. The young princess-queen has a crush on Lord Melbourne, but he is wise and strong enough to resist it. He knows where such foolish love could lead and what damage it would do to the monarchy and country. Plus he is old enough to be her father. As Prime Minister he can only minister to her, advising her as a thoughtful uncle might, protecting her from the slithering vipers and sycophants that abound about her at court. We see Victoria as she truly was when young: lively, spontaneous, passionate and playful. She was also pretty, charming, confident, clever and headstrong, though her critics often labelled the latter quality stubborn and obstinate. She knew what her future might be and approached it psychologically prepared, extraordinary woman that she was. ITV thinks the series could run for as long as six seasons, which would be fantastic. The story begins in 1837 with the death of King George IV, Victoria’s uncle. The young princess ascends the throne the following year (1838), resisting and crushing all thoughts of proxy rule under the auspices of a regency until she turns 21. Her main opponent in the regency debate is Sir John Conway, a favourite advisor of Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent. Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840 and they remained married and devoted to one another until Albert’s death from typhoid in 1861, aged just 42. Season One follows the fortunes of the monarchy only up to the time of the birth of Victoria’s first child (Princess Vicky, who will grow up to become the unfortunate mother of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. The royal couple will go on to have 8 more children). It’s possible that Tom Hughes could last in the role of Albert until the time of the prince’s death, though one assumes Jenna Coleman as the Queen could not last much longer beyond it. If the series follows Queen Victoria into middle and old age, it will probably require another two actresses in the role. The amazon.co.uk price is very reasonable considering the quality of the production. With its many subtleties, nuances and details, it deserves to be watched more than once or twice. I recommend viewing it with the English subtitles activated, so as not to miss any of the dialogue, especially so because some German is spoken at court. This is first-rate television and ITV have gone all out to ensure that historical authenticity is respected. Exquisitely made and deeply moving, it’s television art at its finest. You will not be disappointed.

Bei "Victoria" handelt es sich um die erste Staffel einer Serie des britischen Fernsehsenders itv, die von August bis Oktober 2016 auf eben genanntem Sender in Großbritannien lief. Die erste Staffel besteht aus 8 Folgen, die jeweils eine Länge zwischen ca. 45 und 60 Minuten haben. Da die Serie scheinbar zahlreiche Zuschauer vor den Bildschirm gelockt hat, hat der Sender vor Kurzem bekannt gegeben, dass nun eine zweite Staffel incl. Weihnachtsspecial gedreht werden wird, die dann 2017 im britischen Fernsehen ausgestrahlt wird. Zum Glück, ich freue mich nämlich schon sehr darauf :). Bisher ist die Serie lediglich in Großbritannien auf DVD erschienen, in Deutschland bekommt man sie regulär (noch) nicht und meines Wissens nach ist auch (noch?) nicht klar, ob man die Serie synchronisieren und in Deutschland veröffentlichen wird. Möchte man sich diese wunderbare Serie nicht entgehen lassen, muss man also mehr oder weniger gezwungenermaßen auf die englische Fassung zurückgreifen, was aber nicht weiter schlimm ist. Man versteht die englischen Dialoge auch ohne Untertitel sehr gut, zumindest wenn man über Englisch-Grundkenntnisse verfügt. Zudem ergibt sich der Sinn sowieso fast immer aus den Handlungen der Figuren, sodass man der Handlung durchgängig gut folgen kann. Ganz ehrlich: es gibt Verfilmungen der Austen-Klassiker, bei denen man sich am altenglischen Original orientiert hat und die deutlich schwerer zu verstehen sind als "Victoria". Also nur Mut, von eventuellen sprachlichen Hindernissen sollte man sich auf gar keinen Fall von dieser tollen Serie abhalten lassen! Inhaltlich steht das Leben und die Regierungszeit von Queen Victoria im Mittelpunkt. Die Handlung setzt ein, als Victoria mit gerade einmal 18 Jahren zur Regentin eines der größten Königreiche der damaligen Zeit wird. Man begleitet als Zuschauer ihre ersten Regierungsjahre und kann sich auch nur annäherungsweise vorstellen, wie schwierig es für so ein junges, schlecht vorbereitetes Mädchen gewesen sein muss, von heute auf morgen plötzlich Queen sein zu müssen und ständig in der Öffentlichkeit zu stehen. An ihrer Seite hatte sie den charismatischen Lord Melbourne, der ihr zum Freund geworden ist; in der Serie sind die Macher sogar noch weiter gegangen und haben Victoria tiefere Gefühle für den deutlich älteren Lord Melbourne geschrieben. Die Victoria-Melbourne-"Beziehung" (das meine ich jetzt nicht unbedingt im Sinne einer Liebesbeziehung) nimmt einen Großteil der Folgen ein und ist anfangs sehr präsent. Wie wir aber alle aus dem Geschichtsunterricht wissen, hat Victoria schließlich den Deutschen Albert von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha geheiratet und ist sehr glücklich geworden mit ihm, obwohl die beiden so unterschiedlich waren. Also ist es klar, dass auch das Kennenlernen, die Hochzeit und die ersten Ehejahre des Paares in der Serie thematisiert werden, die mit der Geburt der ersten Tochter Victoria endet. Ich bin keine Historikerin und kann deshalb natürlich auch nur schwer beurteilen, wie sehr man sich an historische Fakten gehalten hat und wie viel letztlich Fiktion ist. Ich bin aber seit Jahren ein großer Fan der Regency-Zeit und sehe mir alle Verfilmungen, Serien und Filme zu der Zeit an und finde, dass die Serie sehr gut gelungen ist. Schon die Titelmusik hat etwas unheimlich Edles, Zeitloses und Majestätisches und passt genauso wie der Vorspann super zur Serie. Auch bei der Ausstattung und den Kostümen hat man sich stark an der damaligen Zeit orientiert, sodass es für Regency-Fans auch optisch eine Freude ist die Serie anzusehen. Und auch schauspielerisch bin ich absolut begeistert worden. Allen voran Jenna Coleman, die ich bisher nur aus "Death comes to Pemberly" kannte (dort spielte sie ja Lydia), die mich in "Victoria" aber schier begeistern konnte. Queen Victoria war - gaubt man diversen historischen Berichten und anderen Filmen - nicht unbedingt ein einfacher, sympathischer Mensch, aber Jenna Coleman hat es trotzdem geschafft, dass man "ihre" Victoria ins Herz schließt. Das zweite Highlight ist für mich Rufus Sewell, der DIE perfekte Besetzung für Lord Melbourne darstellt. Ganz ehrlich, man kann absolut nachvollziehen, warum die junge Victoria eine Schwäche für den charismatischen und attraktiven Lord entwickelt hat, denn diesem kann man einfach nicht widerstehen. Ich fand es so extrem schade, als er die Serie verlassen musste, denn damit hat die Serie einiges an Glanz verloren. Aber auch der junge Schauspieler Tom Hughs als Prinz Albert konnte mich absolut überzeugen, denn dieser hat den hochsensiblen, mitfühlenden, intelligenten und introvertierten Prinzen erstklassig gespielt. Gerade bei der Figur Albert sehe ich noch enormes Potential und bin schon sehr gespannt wie er sich in der zweiten Staffel entwickeln wird. Jenna Coleman und Tom Hughs sind laut britischer Presse inzwischen übrigens ein Paar; die Chemie und das Knistern zwischen den beiden merkt man auch in der Serie und hat der Liebesgeschichte zwischen Victoria und Albert gut getan. Schade fand ich, dass die deutschen Phrasen und Dialoge sehr schlecht gesprochen wurden und man sofort hört, dass es sich um britische Schauspieler handelt. Gerade die deutschen Prinzen hätte man doch locker mit deutschen Schauspielern besetzen können, was der Serie noch mehr Authenzität verschafft hätte. Zudem kann ich es nicht verstehen, da man mehrere deutsche Schauspieler im Cast hat/te. Aber gut, das kann ich noch verschmerzen. Etwas störend hingegen fand ich die Tatsache, dass auch immer wieder Szenen aus der Dienerschaft mit in die Handlung eingebaut wurden, ganz im Stil von erfolgreichen Serien wie "Downton Abbey". Bei "Downton Abbey" fand ich den Wechsel zwischen "Downstairs" und "Upstairs" noch gelungen und essentiell für die Serie und deren Erfolg, bei "Victoria" hingegen nicht. Viele Handlungsstränge wurden nur kurz erwähnt oder angeschnitten und nicht weiter erwähnt, sodass ich mich gefragt habe, was das sollte. Zum Beispiel die Szene, als Penge auf der Treppe kurz seine alte Liebe trifft; hätte man den Handlungsstrang weiter verfolgt, dann hätte ich es ja noch verstanden, aber das ist dann unter den Tisch gefallen. So ging es mir auch bei vielen anderen Szenen der Angestellten, nur die Liebesgeschichte zwischen Nancy und dem Koch wurde etwas mehr ausgebaut. Ich bin mal gespannt, wie die Macher der Serie disbezüglich weiter verfahren werden; so ganz überzeugen konnten mich die Geschichten und Szenen der Angestellten bisher nicht. Alles in allem ist die erste Staffel von "Victoria" absolut sehenswert, wenn man auf historische Kostümdramen, Liebe, Emotionen und Intrigen steht. Die erste Staffel ist schon sehr vielversprechend und ich werde mir die zweite Staffel auch auf jeden Fall kaufen sobald sie verfügbar sein wird. Ich kann mir auch gut vorstellen, dass "Victoria" ein Erfolg in Deutschland werden könnte; vielleicht nicht ganz so sehr wie z.B. "Downton Abbey", aber ein Publikum gäbe es definitiv! Man darf gespannt sein, wie es weitergeht....

Adoro questa serie tv e appena ho visto l'offerta a 12 euro circa non potevo non approfittarne. Il dvd esiste solo in lingua orginale finora in italia non è stata fatta la versione nella nostra lingua... e direi anche meglio cosi' perchè La serie in lingua orginale è molto meglio, in quanto la traduzione in italiano non è per niente precisa e perde un po' rispetto alla lingua originale. Nel dvd ci sono i sottotitoli ma solo in inglese e sono presenti solo negli episodi della serie, nei contenuti extra no. RACCOMANDAZIONE PER L'ACQUISTO: Esistono due versioni della serie in dvd: -una INGLESE (EMESSA DALLA ITV) -una AMERICANA (EMESSA DALLA PBS) SE VIVETE IN EUROPA ACQUISTATE LA VERSIONE ITV DELLA SERIE IN QUANTO VIENE RICONOSCIUTA DAI NOSTRI LETTORI DVD, ALTRIMENTI SE AQUISTATE LA VERSIONE AMERICANA(PBS) IL DVD NON VERRA' RICONOSCIUTO DAL VOSTRO LETTORE. PS: CHI è FAN DELLA SERIE SAPRà CHE LA VERSIONE PBS (AMERICANA) HA DELLE SCENE IN PIù RISPETTO A QUELLA INGLESE DELLA ITV , EBBENE QUESTO SOLO IN ONDA SULLA TV AMERICANA. NEI DVD IN ENTRAMBE LE VERSIONI (INGLESE E AMERICANA) HANNO INSERITO GLI EPISODI DELLA VERSIONE INGLESE(ITV).