De troon

I am a great fan of historical TV series. I love Hornblower, Sharpe, the Tudors, Band of Brothers and many more.

Recently, I was pleasantly surprised by the new Dutch drama 'Bernhard, Schavuit van Oranje' about Holland's former prince Bernhard. Mere weeks later, another series emerged only this time telling a story about Dutch royalty in the early 19th century, a time when the Netherlands became a real monarchy after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo.

The show looks great to begin with. Decent cinematography, costumes and sets. The actors have been cast nicely and really feel authentic. There is, however, one problem with this series. I know it has been only one episode, but it feels... rushed. Many years go by without actually feeling like many years. It feels like two or three episodes, cut down to one.

But, like I said, it is merely one episode and it is supposed to launch the series on television. Unlike many countries and TV-stations, we have no pilot-episodes. Every time a series gets released, it runs for at least a whole season or is made to last only one season. The subject 'De Troon' is based upon however, should be spread out over at least two or three seasons to make for a well told and complete series.

Highly recommended so far, as good as Dutch TV gets.

I've just seen this series and I must say it is quite pleasant to watch: the acting is fairly good, the subject is interesting, the sets and costumes are beautiful...

However, it is not always accurate. It was never proved that Willem II was gay, Maurits actually died of meningitis, Alexander died when Wilhelmina was only four, and he probably never phoned her. In fact, his relation with his father was so bad that he didn't want to meet his little half-sister. It was never proved either that Wiewil and his love interest were really brother and sister, and she wasn't with him when he died. He actually was with a mistress. I don't think this should be a problem, if it adds drama to the story. Besides, Wilhelmina says in the very last scene something like: "This was our family history, and I also added some of my imagination." In other words: the makers of the series admit they added some drama at some points, and that not everything is to be taken seriously. I don't think this was a bad thing, but there were also some "basic" things (not historical facts) that they got wrong. They called Willem III "your majesty" when he wasn't king yet, for example. They should have called him "your highness". And when Willem II married Anna Paulowna, his family said Russians were catholic. They are orthodox. I think the makers of this show could have made a little effort to get that kind of things right, as this had nothing to do with filling gaps with imagination.

Also, some things seem a bit rushed. Sometimes they just skip 10 or 20 years at once. I understand there aren't always interesting things to tell, but it's just not very well done. At one point they skip the period from 1830 to 1840, and none of the characters seem to have aged. At this point Willem II seem to be as old or even younger than his own son! Then, just a few months later, Willem II and Anna Paulowna look instantly 20 or 30 years older. They could have let them age between 1830 and 1840. It would have been more believable.

So all in all... This show sure does have some flaws, but I still recommend it for what it is: a show with a large amount of drama and romance. If you don't know a lot about the subject it would still be interesting to watch.