Gareth3

I've wondered if the series would end at Edward's wedding in 1999. It's after Diana dies, long enough ago that it's not "journalism", and the only successful first marriage of all the siblings.

I was trying to think of a pop culture equivalent for it, and I forgot the Mad Men dance. All I could think of was Bart's play on The Simpsons. "'Tis, replied Aunt Helga..."

Anyone know what Diana was watching on TV?

If Diana was Christine, who was the Phantom?

I'll still trying to decide whether the sheep were Australia or New Zealand.

Yeah, Anderson is a bit too General Grievous here.

Thanks for the feedback, this has helped me a lot. I know calling the first episode a reboot is silly, but it's more looking at how a new cast and story is introduced.

I've mostly watched the new version of Doctor Who, and I've become interested in the "reboot" episodes. That's where the whole cast including the Doctor is new, there's a new showrunner, and a new ongoing story. What's the closest equivalent to these in the classic series? From the new series, I'd count the TV movie, Rose, The Eleventh Hour, and The Woman Who Fell To Earth. The classic series is more episodic and I don't know how the showrunners changed, or even if there were "showrunners". But I'd count the first episode itself, An Unearthly Child, and Spearhead From Space, where there's a new Doctor and a new, Earth-based premise. Anything else?

Yes, those are the Counsellors of State, the spouse of the monarch and the next four adults in the line of succession. In the Queen's case it would be Phillip, Charles, William, Harry, and... uh-oh.

The plan is six seasons, two with Foy, two with Coleman, two with someone else. 1977 to 1999 is so packed with drama you could easily spend three seasons on it. As for more recent events like William's wedding, Peter Morgan has addressed that in a podcast. He say if the event is too recent, covering it is "journalism". Not that he has anything against journalism, it's just not what this show is about.

I've figured out what the last episode of this show is. It's Prince Edward's marriage to Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999. It happened 20 years ago, so there's enough intervening time for fictionalization. (Sorry John Goodman, but you won't be cast for a Prince Andrew-Epstein episode, that's too recent.) It's a natural end point, the last child of the Queen to marry. It's also a happy ending after all the marital chaos of the 1990s. The ceremony is deliberately modest, and results in the only stable marriage in the family since... well, the marriage that happened in the first episode. Also provides more Welsh content.

I'd nit-pick that they weren't Welsh in that episode, but you could replace "Wales" with "coal miners" and still be accurate here.

If the government had a negotiator who actually had worked in a coal mine, would the union listen to him? As for the other story, never get involved in a love rectangle with your own sister, it makes the partner notifications very awkward.

Now that we know that "My Way" is Lex's supervillain song, what's Lena's? Yes, actually making her a supervillain might be a bad idea, but it could be a villain Lena from another universe or she could be pretending to be a supervillain, or whatever. I suppose the Pretenders' "Brass in Pocket" is the female "My Way", but what other options are there?

What's the deal with the Prime Ministers? Three out of three have been seriously ill so far, to the point where they have to stop working. Even before the series is set, Edward VIII's Prime Minister had to take medical leave for months. Why do they keep electing sick people?

Right, I've read the same thing. You have to wonder whether the Queen can do anything if the Prime Minister lies to her, besides scolding.

In public, sure. But it's a waste of time for politicians to talk to her if she can't express an opinion in private. It actually applies more now than it did then. For example, she's been Queen for the entire history of European economic cooperation, so she probably can give good advice on the whole Brexit mess.

Is there any reason why Elizabeth couldn't have directly objected to the Suez thing, in private? She wouldn't be taking control of the military or undermining the government in public. Just saying it's a dumb idea and warning the Prime Minister about the consequences.

I've heard that she's referred to as "Kate Middleton" because of search engine optimisation - that's the name most people type in to search for mentions of her, so you'll get more hits if you keep repeating the old name in your article.

OK, that make sense.

I was just watching the first season, and I can't understand the bit where they have to move into Buckingham Palace. Clarence House is just as secure, and no further away from the government. Even the argument from tradition doesn't work - the monarchs have lived in several places in London over the last 900 years. Plus, forcing you to move your young family into a drafty old art museum really hammers home that you have no power at all. So why did the government insist on it?

On the glasses thing, I'm actually having a lot of trouble recognising Melissa Benoist in the Supergirl costume. Civilian clothes, even with the glasses, no problem. Supergirl- who is that? So maybe it's not that far-fetched.

I'm waiting for Hodor to do one of those. Maybe on giants...

I think it's Turner Syndrome, where you're missing an X chromosome. The patients are very short women who usually have to take estrogen. Most high schoolers wouldn't really understand the details, and she could easily be embarrassed about it. Although I do expect her to claim that the pills are "supressing her ice powers" - two pop culture references at once.