TV review: The Crown is patchy this time out. And it’s starting to feel tired
The Crown: Elizabeth Debicki, Will Powell, Senan West, Dominic West
Why did they leave out the toe sucking?
Season 5 of (Netflix) isn’t as bad as people are saying. But they dedicated close to a full episode on the rise of Mohamed Al-Fayed and never bothered showing us a US businessman sucking Sarah Ferguson’s toes in a French villa.
Worse again, this defining episode of the British monarchy in the 1990s was represented by Prince Andrew telling his ‘Mummy’, the Queen, that he was really embarrassed by his wife getting a toe job from a Yank. I’d say Mummy would have been happy if that was the most awful thing to emerge about Andrew's life.
So yes, is patchy this time out. And it’s starting to feel tired as well, in keeping with the latest Queen, Imelda Staunton, who subtly demonstrates that the Queen is starting to show her age as she heads into her sixth decade.
Staunton is a brilliant actress, but she just doesn’t convince as the Queen. I can hear myself thinking ‘really?’ every time she appears on screen.
But there is still tasty meat here. Jonathan Pryce is a new take on Philip — kind, firm, loyal, a bit horny for 70.
Dominic West is brilliant as Charles — cranky, and impatient, but in touch with the outside world in a way the others aren’t. There are a lot of scenes of him holding court and man-splaining, but if you’re top of the queue for the throne, you’re probably expected to hold court.
There is a sympathetic rendering of his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles.
The Tampongate scandal (a recording of Charles telling Camilla on the phone that he’d like to be in her pants was sold to the Daily Mirror), nearly crashed him out of public life. But here, it was just a bit of phone sex between a couple whose relationship was frozen in time because they couldn’t be together.
There is an excruciating scene where Camilla’s husband, Andrew, has to make small talk with Charles while summoning his wife to the phone, so she can get it on phone-style with the Prince.
And then there’s Diana. Elizabeth Debicki impersonates Diana, rather than interprets her, but I reckon it works. The famous revenge dress scene, where Diana turns up at a charity bash in a striking black dress shortly after Charles admitted adultery on TV, is duplicated here. You might as well be watching the original, iconic, footage.
That helps us to connect the Diana in with the one we think we know. That’s the only way to do this, because we’ve all seen ten Channel 5 shows about her life.
There is a bit of bowing and scraping — you’d nearly get a fit of the gawks watching what feels like a soft-soap corporate video about the good works Charles did with the Prince’s Trust.
Parts of Season 5 are patchy. But if, like so many others, you can’t get enough of the royal family, there is still loads for you here. Just no toe-sucking.
