Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

It took seven months to film, and 22,000 sea shells wrapped in 3500 square feet of gold leaf to resemble the intricate plaster design on the walls of Buckingham Palace, to create this new 8-part series on the early days of Queen Victoria's reign. The story begins when Victoria becomes Queen in 1837 at the tender age of 18, and continues through her courtship and marriage to her first cousin, the German Prince Albert, to the birth of their first born son Bertie. Interestingly, Queen Victoria's white wedding dress set the trend for use of the color white for the bride's dress. Queen Victoria was the first English monarch to be photographed. Mark Twain said of Victoria that she was able to “see more things invented than any other monarch that ever lived.” I suppose Queen Elizabeth II has changed that record. Screenwriter, and Cambridge-educated author, Daisy Goodwin took inspiration from the 62 million words from Queen Victoria's 121 volumes of diaries to write the series. Victoria kept a diary from the age of 13 in 1832 until her death in 1901 at the age of 81. Goodwin studied history at Cambridge with an emphasis on Victorian times. Goodwin has written a novel on Victoria simply titled "Victoria" on which this story is based. This film juxtaposes Victoria's personal life with the challenges involved as Queen in a Constitutional Monarchy and Parliament. It's an intriguing balance and adds depth to the story. The film is lush and luminous with breathtaking sets and sumptuous Victorian fashions. The creators and producers hope to reach a non-traditional audience of young women, they say, and fill the void of Downton Abbey. “This is an opportunity for an arresting, truly memorable performance by an actress, as Glenda Jackson delivered with 'Elizabeth R' or Helen Mirren in ‘Prime Suspect,’” says Rebecca Eaton as quoted in the New York Times. “And Daisy Goodwin, not a roomful of writers, as the single creative force at the heart of the story is an opportunity for a very personal, deeply felt piece of work." Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who) plays the diminutive and feisty 4'11 Queen Victoria. You can see some candid pics of Jenna on her instagram with fellow actors, and even one pic of her holding a rat. Her husband, Prince Albert, is played by Tom Hughes (Dancing on the Edge), and Victoria's first Prime Minister Lord Melbourne is played by Rufus Sewall (The Man in the High Castle). In real life Lord Melbourne was 58 to Victoria's 18 years, but Rufus plays him as a dashing 48-year-old to add some romantic tension and attraction to the relationship. Lord Melbourne was mentioned on almost every page of Victoria's diary for awhile, so there may have been some attraction. Or, perhaps, he was the father-figure she missed in her own life. Dash, Victoria's beloved dog, is also portrayed in the film. The film is produced by Mammoth Screen which produced the hits POLDARK and the Inspector Morse mystery series ENDEAVOUR, popular with Anglophiles. In answering how this DVD version compares to the UK DVD, this U.S. version is 415 minutes in comparison to the U.K. version which is 510 minutes. A second season of Victoria is already being planned. Goodwin says of it in the New York Times: "It will be about the very modern dilemma of dealing with the job, children and a power struggle with your husband. It's about a woman who gets to call the shots in her life at a time that was very difficult for women, and that's a powerful thing. At the same times, it's quite sprightly and funny and romantic, and I think that's what is pretty much missing in the TV landscape now."