Versailles

This king was a showman, not an insecure philosopher, spectacularly controlling, not a bit shy. To him the only crime was to be a bore. You might start with a makeover of the look and let the acting follow. Please do a better job with the men's hair and costumes. This is France, not dowdy old England. Although I do like the Mark Farner '70s rock star chevelure imagined for the king (who is very well cast with a short actor), all portraits of him show a cloud of curls from cradle to grave (wigs, of course). The fabrics are couture, but too neutral. That little red bow tie over the white lace cravat would have been three times as wide and multiplied by seven, like a holiday bottle of cognac. (Again, look at the portraiture.) Conspicuously absent: the fabulous music of Marc Antoine Charpentier and Lully, the Paintings of Le Brun, Mignard and Le Moyne, the solid silver furniture that nearly bankrupt the nation. Look to the movie, Vatel, for better food and fete inspiration. Monsieur said it best when Louis chided him about the 50,000 ecus shoe note with: "But you haven't seen the shoes!" No, we haven't.

This drama is about the rise of Louis xiv, the Sun King, Louis the Great, who moved the executive from Paris, the centre of the known world to Versailles, a great bog.

With his father long dead, his mother recently dead, he was alone except for his brother and those he trusted. His political marriage to a Spanish princess was not happy.

He is primarily concerned with how to rule a growing French Empire. This French court evolved into something strange - where dancing and etiquette were critical politically.

This is made in English (to ease it commercially) but by the French so it is made with taste. There are attractive actors, lavish costumes, special effects (to pretend it was shot in the Palace itself) and of course scenes of violence and sex. After all, its good to be the King.

Looking forward to Season 2 !

We do not expect historical accuracy from a series featuring French royalty. Rather, we expect opulence, much action and intrigue, with a fair amount of sex and decadence. Well, Versailles has that in spades, and not knowing much about the France of that period, I am taking much of it with a pinch of salt, but I think this is really good television.

The plot meanders a bit at times, and of course Louis was building his nation, and at times Versailles seems more important than his country, but of course it represents France and all that we associate with it most splendidly, even today.

Beyond the nation building, Louis had to deal with a troublesome group of noblemen who seemed to spend all their time plotting against him and killing off people to whom he was attached. No wonder the poor French got rid of their royalty eventually, it must have seemed very troublesome to those whose lives were harder and less important.

It is superb television and I think the scriptwriters can take real credit for building a series where Louis plays members of his court (and even his own family) off against each other with skill and aplomb. He was clearly born to be a king.

This is great TV and I can't wait for Series 2 which I am told is in the pipeline.

Mary Gumsley

Forget about the sun King Louis XIV, this show introduces us to his eccentric, fabulous, incredibly smart brother often under the shadow of the sun. The actor perfectly delivered the emotional dimension, complexity of the character, and I couldn't help but be a fan. I also ended up searching historical facts about Philippe, what a truly interesting character he was! Alexander Vlahos deserved a grammy for this.

Based on historic deeds about intrigue and power-fight in Louis XIV court . This costumer movie is partially based on real events and starts in 1667 , with 28-year-old all-powerful king of France, Louis XIV . It toplines two rising British stars , Georges Blagden ("Vikings") in the role of Louis XIV and Alexander Vlahos in the role of Monsieur , the Sun King's enigmatic as well as gay brother whose couple is the scheming Chevalier , Evan Williams . His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monarch of a major country in European history , he married Marie-Thérèse (Elisa Lasowski) and being son of Anne of Austria (Dominique Blanc) and Louis XIII (David Stanley) . It's developed in the court of Louis XIV who decides to build the greatest palace in the world - Versailles . This well-known monarch governed in domains where the sun never set ; as Louis continued his predecessors' work of creating a centralized state governed from the capital . We should have the same intelligence as this monarch and take advantage of the power of this story and of its marvellous renaissance background . He sought to eliminate the remnants of feudalism persisting in parts of France and , by compelling many members of the nobility to inhabit his lavish Palace of Versailles -formerly a hunting lodge belonging to Louis's father- , succeeded in pacifying the aristocracy , many members of which had participated in the Fronde rebellion during Louis's minority . However , his brother Monsieur Philippe d'Orléans (Alexander Vlahos) has for some time been relegated to a lesser role in the Court , due to the growing power of the King' most influential secretaries , Bontemps (Stuart Bowman) , Colbert (Steve Cumyn) and especially the security chief , the relentless executioner , Fabien Marchal (Tygh Runyan) . Meantime , the situation of France is threatened by Holland ruled under charismatic William of Orange (George Webster) , being the situation of Louis XIV extremely dangerous and delicate . In the meantime , Louis decides to construct a big palace at an inhospitable place , but drained Budget , affairs and political intrigues complicate things . Louis XIV is in constant conflict with his workers and those traitors who possesses privileged information can acquire immense fortunes . During Louis's reign , France was the leading European power and it fought three major wars : the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession . Then , a dark conspiracy and the harassing by William of Orange make Versailles an uncomfortable place .

This upscale epic drama penned by David Wolstencroft ("The Escape Artist") and Simon Mirren ("Criminal Minds" , ¨Third watch¨) , The 10-episode show was big budgeted , developed and co-produced by Canal Plus' original creation division . The series was in development for five years before the cameras started to roll . As of 2015, this is the most expensive television show ever produced in France . Despite being a largely French-financed project, the series was shot in English with an eye toward a larger international audience. According to costume designer Madeline Fontaine, the production required the making of about 100 key cast member costume , and about 200 mass-produced extras costumes. The Emmy Awards hosted an exclusive screening of the series pilot for its members during a board meeting in Versailles . Produced by Zodiak Fiction and Incendo , bowed onseries broke ratings record for an original drama on Canal Plus since 2013 .

This TV series recreates faithfully the historical facts , as long time us separate from the events are to narrate , but the shadows still hide from the public this great historic moment , and the significance of such deeds . ¨Versailles¨ TV series is filled with those lights and shadows , gathers such a very important known event recreated in the artistic frame called French Golden Age , characterized and inspired by the ideas of an absolutism realm . The series contributes to historical , artistical and cultural memory of an era , with a look back to the past , offering us an interesting adaptation on important events . This is a lavish budget but slowly-paced costumer and full of nudism and simulated sex with a good cast who gives nice interpretations , it has Georges Blagden as authoritarian King . Personality and charisma of George Blagden's portrayal as one of the most remarkable European kings that ever reigned . His wife Marie-Thérèse is well played by Elisa Lasowski and his homosexual brother Monsieur Philippe d'Orléans by Alexander Vlahos , and married to Henriette performed by Noémie Schmidt whose gorgeous beauty is difficult to resist . And Tygh Runyan as Marchal gives his big opportunity to really shine . Amira Casar gives a convincing character as astute and mean Béatrice . Stuart Bowman plays with enormous distinction as Bontemps , the incorruptible as well as cunning adviser . The rest of the supporting cast is nice , such as the gay lover Chevalier acted by Evan Williams , Anatole Taubman as traitor Montcourt , Lizzie Brocheré as the doctor Claudine , Sarah Winter as Louise and several others . The series is marvelously photographed throughout as well as written and directed . Extraordinary costume design accompanied by colorful cinematography filmed on location . As the costume team consisted of about thirty people , including the series' main designer, her auxiliary design team, stitchers and fitters . Luxurious sets make excellent use of real locations in Versailles and it has a look of a great TV production . ¨Versailles¨ has been greenlit by the French pay TV giant for a second season (the first is set in the year 1667) that takes place four years after the events in season one.