The Windsors
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| German title | The Windsors |
| Original title | The Windsors |
| Country of production | United Kingdom |
| original language | English |
| Year (s) | since 2016 |
| Production company |
Noho Film and TV |
| length | Episodes: 23-25 minutes Specials: 48 minutes |
| Episodes | 18 + 2 in 3 seasons ( list ) |
| genre | Britcom , parody |
| Director | Adam Miller |
| idea | George Jeffrie , Bert Tyler-Moore |
| script | George Jeffrie, Bert Tyler-Moore |
| production | Izzy Mant |
| music | Ian Masterson |
| First broadcast | May 6, 2016 (UK) on Channel 4 |
First publication in German |
December 15, 2017 ( OmU ) on Netflix |
| occupation | |
The Windsor is a British parody - television series to the British royal family (the Mountbatten-Windsor ) in the form of a Britcom , written by George Jeffrie and Bert Tyler-Moore and directed by Adam Miller , on since May 2016 Channel 4 will broadcast and since December Appears internationally with subtitles on Netflix in 2017 . It currently consists of 3 seasons as well as a Christmas special and a wedding special for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle , which are included on Netflix in the second season.
Figures and themes
While the Queen and her husband Prince Philip do not appear themselves (Philip merely sends vulgar messages on their behalf, which are read out by others), the figural consists of their descendants and heirs to the throne. Central is the branch of their first son Charles with his wife Camilla, his sons William (called Wills in the series) and Harry, as well as the sisters Kate Middleton, Wills' wife, and Pippa. From the branch of the Queen's second son, Prince Andrew, and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson (called Fergie), their daughters Beatrice and Eugenie are particularly in focus. Finally, the Queen's other children, Edward and Anne, also appear, as well as Harry's future wife Meghan Markle from the second season. Topics are, for example, the question of succession to the throne between Charles and Wills, the power and importance or insignificance of the British monarchy , royal ceremonial and representative duties against the attempts of various members to do real work, partly to be close to their citizens, partly to get money ( especially for the less high-ranking members in the succession to the throne who benefit less from the donations for the royal family).
Camilla and Charles
The Queen's eldest son, Charles, and his wife, Camilla, are and insist on being first in line to the throne as their importance and influence are based on this position. Charles keeps saying to Wills, for example, “But first me, not you. Me! ”(But it's my turn first, not you. Me!) Instead of difficult decisions, the socially awkward and slightly senile kilt wearer merely pursues representative ceremonies and hobbies such as architectural planning, his garden and the construction of nonsensical machines with alternative energy sources he is mistaken for a weirdo and has no relation to what the people need and want, which is why he would not be a good king. At the same time, however, he believes that he and the monarchy are still powerful, important and, because of the honors they receive, popular with the people, without realizing their actual irrelevance.
The smoker and drinker Camilla wants to become queen and establish her own Parker-Bowles house. Since she herself is not popular with the British people, which she often tries to change through stagings in the media, she is afraid that they should be skipped in favor of the popular couple Kate and Wills. Therefore, she intrigues strongly against Kate, later also against Meghan and wants to break up the "Fab Four". She tries to kill other people who stand in her way more often with assassinations. The marriage of Charles and Camilla is portrayed as a rather loveless coexistence, even if deeper feelings are sometimes shown under the surface, but above all they still have lustful sex in old age.
Kate and Wills
Kate and Wills are shown to be particularly nice, close to the citizens and loving each other, which makes them the most popular royal couple among the people, who they would rather have before Charles and Camilla as the throne. They are preparing to become king and queen after these people, but they are not actively striving for this position and are critical of the monarchy as a whole, which is actually irrelevant and not in favor, but in many cases rather to the detriment of the citizens so that Wills sometimes demands the abolition of the monarchy or they try their hand at bourgeois life. While they are pursuing their royal duties, they are primarily concerned with finding a fulfilling task for themselves. For Wills this is especially being an air ambulance pilot ; for Kate it is very much about finding a role and position within the royal family, as she herself comes from a middle-class family. Sometimes it is also an advantage for her to know both worlds. About her family and cultural background it is as a gypsy shown - in German subtitles this is called gypsy translated, but are meant Pavee , Traveling road of Irish origin.
Pippa , Harry , Meghan
Kate's sister Pippa, who is an expert in party planning from her family background - a reference to the mail order business of the Middleton parents - is always extremely jealous of Kate, because she has always got what she wanted first and was preferred. The only thing Pippa excels at is her bum. In order to have what her sister has, she turns to Wills' brother Harry. The prince is, on the one hand, a lover of parties where he gets drunk and on the other, a stupid and naive illiterate . The two develop feelings for each other and are briefly together in the first season. In the second season, Pippa is because of the money with a billionaire, whom she eventually marries, after which she often rubs his fortune under Kate's nose ("Billions, not millions"; German subtitles: "No millionaire. A billionaire."); Harry, in turn, is with Meghan, whom he marries in the Wedding Special. The American is an actress, known from the television series Suits , until her wedding . She repeatedly sprinkles their title into conversations and compares life in the royal family and Kate with her role in the series. She tries to cultivate Harry, literate and get rid of alcohol; and is interested in modern hip things like superfood and mindfulness . After the wedding, Meghan and Harry, Kate and Wills become the popular "Fab Four" but their relationship is fragile and Meghan and Harry eventually leave the royal family for the United States. However, this does not process their actual resignation as high-ranking members (also known as Megxit), as the season had already been written and filmed beforehand.
Beatrice and Eugenie , Fergie and Andrew
The sisters, who do everything together, enjoy the superficial world of royal luxury with fashion and fine drinks and are themselves bland and without depth or any talent. When they try to become active on their own and start their own businesses, the focus is on topics like makeup, social media and vlogging ; they cannot cope with real work. Her divorced parents are both scandalous from their past. Fergie had been pushed by Prince Philip from the royal family after exposing her breasts on television and now lives in debt in a barren one-room apartment. She is not invited to royal celebrations, but is always looking for ways to sneak in, also with the help of her daughters, who always stand by her, even if she sometimes stands in the way of her endeavors. On such occasions she also tries again and again to advertise her juicer. Andrew is a wealthy and patronizing businessman who closes shady deals and uses tax tricks that sometimes bring him legal distress. He's also constantly playing less successful pranks on others and downplaying inappropriate behavior as fun. Season three deals with his involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and Eugenie is married to her husband, entrepreneur Jack Brooksbank , in the series Tequila Ambassador for George Clooney , while Beatrice first meets and then meets her partner, Count Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi get married.
Edward , Anne
After failed projects in the theater and television, Edward is a failure in constant financial need, which prompts him to stay afloat, to take badly paid jobs without reputation, such as window cleaners and for a moving company, sometimes for other royals like Wills and Kate as Clients who tip him larger for it.
The Queen's only daughter, bunny-toothed Anne, is portrayed in black clothes and with her hair pinned up as frigid and joyless, as she almost never smiles and shows particular severity towards others. She resides in Sandringham House , where she follows the traditions of the Queen Mum without electricity or heating . Her almost only joy is the love for horses and the television series Black Beauty , which is also expressed by the fact that she neighs when cheering.
Episode list
occupation
Royal family
| role | description | actor |
|---|---|---|
| main characters | ||
| Charles | eldest son of the Queen , heir to the throne | Harry Enfield |
| Camilla | Charles' wife, Crown Princess | Haydn Gwynne |
| Wills | Charles' older son, Prince | Hugh Skinner |
| Kate | Wills' wife | Louise Ford |
| Pippa | Kate's sister | Morgana Robinson |
| Harry | Charles' younger son, Prince | Richard Goulding (Seasons 1 & 2) |
| Tom Durant Pritchard (Season 3) | ||
| Meghan note | Harry's future wife | Kathryn Drysdale |
| Beatrice | elder daughter of Prince Andrew | Ellie White |
| Eugenie | younger daughter of Prince Andrew | Celeste Dring |
| Minor characters | ||
| Fergie | Beatrice and Eugenie's mother | Katy Wix |
| Andrew | second son of the Queen | Tim Wallers |
| Edward | third son of the Queen | Matthew Cottle |
| Anne | Daughter of the queen | Vicki Pepperdine |
Former kings / queens
In every episode up to the first of the third season, a former king or queen (rarely others) appears as a ghost or speaking portrait of Will (one time Kate or Harry) to give advice.
| role | actor | consequences |
|---|---|---|
| Alfred the Great | Howard Lee | 1.1 |
| Elisabeth I. Note | Lucy Montgomery | 1.2 |
| Edward VII | Michael Howe | 1.3 |
| George VI. | Clive Hayward | 1.4 |
| Oliver Cromwell Note 2 | Gareth Tunley | 1.5 |
| Arthur | Tim FitzHigham | 1.6 |
| George III | Paul Whitehouse | Christmas special |
| Richard the Lionheart | David Newman | 2.1 |
| Henry V. | Jolyon Coy | 2.2 |
| Richard III | Al Roberts | 2.3 |
| Charles I. | Stephen Harvey | 2.4 |
| James I. | Dickie Beau | 2.5 |
| Henry VIII | James Doherty | 2.6 |
| Prince Albert | Michael Rouse | Wedding special |
| Victoria | Miriam Margolyes | 3.1 |
| Francis Willis Note 3 | Andrew Bridgmont | 3.4 |
More real figures
reception
| Rotten Tomatoes Critic Ratings | |
|---|---|
| total | 92% [1] |
| season 1 | 70% [2] |
| season 2 | 100% [3] |
| Wedding special | 100% [4] |
| season 3 | 100% [5] |
Sam Wollaston reviews the series for the Guardian . It is a caricature to the highest degree, with extremely amusing representations across the board; he finds her brave and naughty. It also makes him patriotic and proud of the characters who are "their" gruesome monsters. He gives the wedding special four out of five stars and says he didn't have to worry that it would be too long. His favorite characters are Beatrice and Eugenie, who dust off every scene, and he suggests a spin-off for them.
Ben Dowell reviewed the first season of the "extremely crude cartoon-like soap opera " for RadioTimes . He decides that the quality will be maintained and sees a politically subversive subtext. For the third season, which he gives four out of five stars, he writes in the Times that the comedy works better when it accepts its imagination than when it tackles issues of reality.
Web links
- Website at Channel 4
- The Windsors in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The Windsors at Fernsehserien.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mariana Cerqueira: The Windsors creators actually predicted Megxit long before it happened . In: What's on TV . February 4, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
- ^ A new Prince Harry for The Windsors . In: British Comedy Guide . December 16, 2019. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
- ↑ Sam Wollaston: The Windsors review - Harry Enfield demolishes the monarchy . In: The Guardian . May 7, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
- ↑ Sam Wollaston: The Windsors review - you'd watch this riotous parody if you were them . In: The Guardian . July 6, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
- ↑ Sam Wollaston: The Windsors Royal Wedding Special review - gloriously brazen satire . In: The Guardian . May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
- ↑ Ben Dowell: The Windsors is very funny and will be music to the ears of republicans everywhere . In: RadioTimes . May 6, 2016. Accessed May 19, 2020.
- ↑ Ben Dowell: The Windsors review - still more ridiculous than the real thing (just) . In: The Times . February 26, 2020. Accessed May 19, 2020.