formerlyfreedom May 30, 2016 Share May 30, 2016 This is the spot to discuss Still Star-Crossed the television show AND the book. Spoiler tags are NOT required in here; also, if you don't want to know what happens in the book, this is a good place NOT to be! Link to comment
Katsullivan July 15, 2016 Share July 15, 2016 On 5/30/2016 at 5:58 PM, doram said: Yay! So, who is Team Benvolio and who's Team Escalus? Is this going to be a limited series? If not, how do you/we think that they're going to stretch a tightly contained story into an indefinite number of seasons? That is a big question and concern for me. Of course, I am Team Benvolio. I am a sucker for forced engagement turned true love trope. In addition, I appreciated that Escalus was doing what he felt was the best for his people, but I still felt he screwed Rosaline over when he duped her into accepting the engagement against her will. I want the love triangle to drag for a long time because both men are so attractive and I'd like to see more of them. That's probably how they'll drag the story across an indefinite number of seasons. They'll play up the Escalus/Rosaline arc in season 1, and end with her engagement to Benvolio. Season 2 will be about ramping up the mystery and bringing Rosaline and Benvolio closer together. They might add a few more murders and stuff. It might end with Benvolio be accused of the murders and kidnapping Rosaline. Season 3 will be Benvolio and Rosaline on the run and end with their marriage. I can't see how this story moves past 3 seasons. 1 Link to comment
AzureOwl May 30, 2017 Share May 30, 2017 (edited) I fully expect the other character form Shakespeare's plays set in Italy to start popping up the further the show gets from the play. They may even already have started sowing the seeds. Venice keeps getting mentioned by Escalus. I could see Shylock trying to regain his fortune by acting as agent for the Doge; or Lord Montague doing business with Antonio. And if it comes to war, Othello himself will lead Venice's armies. Iago may turn out to be the one who wrote "harlot" on Juliet's statue. The eponymous Two Gentlemen of Verona are bound to make an appearance, as is the cast of The Taming of the Shrew. If the show decided to take a turn to the supernatural, the Duke of Milan who worries Escalus might turn out to be Prospero himself. Otherwise a married Miranda might take up her father's mantle as a sorceress and meddle in Veronese affairs on behalf of her husband the King of Naples. Edited May 30, 2017 by AzureOwl 3 Link to comment
AzureOwl May 30, 2017 Share May 30, 2017 1 hour ago, doram said: Funny enough, in the book, the Princess Isabella was the Princess of Arragorn, married to the Prince of Arragorn from the Merchant of Venice and Benedick and Don Pedro from Much Ado about Nothing also showed up in the story. I believe you mean Aragon. Aragorn son of Arathorn belongs to an entirely different universe. Link to comment
legaleagle53 May 31, 2017 Share May 31, 2017 (edited) 12 hours ago, AzureOwl said: I fully expect the other character form Shakespeare's plays set in Italy to start popping up the further the show gets from the play. They may even already have started sowing the seeds. Venice keeps getting mentioned by Escalus. I could see Shylock trying to regain his fortune by acting as agent for the Doge; or Lord Montague doing business with Antonio. And if it comes to war, Othello himself will lead Venice's armies. Iago may turn out to be the one who wrote "harlot" on Juliet's statue. The eponymous Two Gentlemen of Verona are bound to make an appearance, as is the cast of The Taming of the Shrew. Wrong century and wrong genre. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (and this show, which is both sequel and spin-off to the play) is firmly set in 14th-Century Verona. The characters you mention, with the exception of Othello and Iago, are all from comedies that are set in the 16th Century -- in other words, "contemporary" comedies to the audiences of Shakespeare's time. And although it is not a comedy, Othello is also set in the 16th Century, so it would be a ridiculous anachronism to have Othello and Iago suddenly show up in a Verona that existed 200 years before they were born. Edited May 31, 2017 by legaleagle53 Link to comment
feverfew May 31, 2017 Share May 31, 2017 (edited) 8 hours ago, legaleagle53 said: Wrong century and wrong genre. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (and this show, which is both sequel and spin-off to the play) is firmly set in 14th-Century Verona. The characters you mention, with the exception of Othello and Iago, are all from comedies that are set in the 16th Century -- in other words, "contemporary" comedies to the audiences of Shakespeare's time. And although it is not a comedy, Othello is also set in the 16th Century, so it would be a ridiculous anachronism to have Othello and Iago suddenly show up in a Verona that existed 200 years before they were born. In a show where Rosalind is a POC and the costumes looks like something that came out of Reign's closet, I don't think tragedy -> comedy and anachronisms are a problem. Just fire up some handwavium and you're good to go ;) Edited May 31, 2017 by feverfew 2 Link to comment
legaleagle53 May 31, 2017 Share May 31, 2017 5 minutes ago, feverfew said: In a show where Rosalind is a POC and the costumes looks like something that came out of Reign's closet, I don't think tragedy -> comedy and anachronisms are a problem. Just fire up some handwavium and you're good to go ;) Color-blind casting is one thing. Deliberately mixing genres and eras is something else altogether. Hell, why not have Julius Caesar stop by? He lived in Italy, too, after all. So what if it was some 1300 years before Romeo and Juliet were even born? Or how about bringing in the characters from The Canterbury Tales or Dante's Commedia? Or, hell, bring in Lucrezia Borgia or even Mussolini to show Lady Capulet how it's REALLY done. Link to comment
feverfew May 31, 2017 Share May 31, 2017 (edited) 39 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said: Color-blind casting is one thing. Deliberately mixing genres and eras is something else altogether. Hell, why not have Julius Caesar stop by? He lived in Italy, too, after all. So what if it was some 1300 years before Romeo and Juliet were even born? Or how about bringing in the characters from The Canterbury Tales or Dante's Commedia? Or, hell, bring in Lucrezia Borgia or even Mussolini to show Lady Capulet how it's REALLY done. Well, first of all, there's nothing vis-a-vis costuming or set pieces that suggest this takes place in the 14th century. In fact, the women's dresses all look to be taking most of their cues from late 15th fashion - or 1980s in case of Lady Capulet. My guess is they're going for a Renaissance (14th to 17th century) feel. Or just don't care. So anything set during the Renaissance could be considered fair game. Second, I'm pretty sure the de Medicis and the Borgias will show up if the show goes on for more than a season. I mean, why not? This is pure fantasy after all. Edited May 31, 2017 by feverfew Arrg. Spelling. 1 Link to comment
ursula May 31, 2017 Share May 31, 2017 As a fan of the book where characters from other plays made cameos, I hope they do the same for this show. Does anyone know how the ratings for the pilot fared? Link to comment
feverfew May 31, 2017 Share May 31, 2017 It had a soft start, @ursula. according to tvbythenumbers. 0.5 in adults 18-49 and 3.44 million viewers. If it stays there, it'll be okay for summer, I think... 1 Link to comment
LydiaMoon1 May 31, 2017 Share May 31, 2017 On 5/30/2016 at 5:58 PM, doram said: So, who is Team Benvolio and who's Team Escalus? It's too early for me to pick. So far, I like them both (although I kinda wish they'd have switched the actor who played Romeo with the one that plays Escalus). Romeo was hotter. I would have liked for him to stick around. 2 Link to comment
LydiaMoon1 May 31, 2017 Share May 31, 2017 Yeah, he looked younger, but I still prefer his hotness. Maybe the show can introduce Romeo's long-lost twin brother. 2 Link to comment
AzureOwl May 31, 2017 Share May 31, 2017 7 hours ago, legaleagle53 said: Color-blind casting is one thing. Deliberately mixing genres and eras is something else altogether. Hell, why not have Julius Caesar stop by? He lived in Italy, too, after all. So what if it was some 1300 years before Romeo and Juliet were even born? Or how about bringing in the characters from The Canterbury Tales or Dante's Commedia? Or, hell, bring in Lucrezia Borgia or even Mussolini to show Lady Capulet how it's REALLY done. The show is already anachronistic. Everything we have seen on-screen so far clearly indicates that the setting of the show is the 16th century. Link to comment
legaleagle53 June 1, 2017 Share June 1, 2017 6 hours ago, AzureOwl said: The show is already anachronistic. Everything we have seen on-screen so far clearly indicates that the setting of the show is the 16th century. Such as what? Am I missing something? Link to comment
AzureOwl June 1, 2017 Share June 1, 2017 1 hour ago, legaleagle53 said: Such as what? Am I missing something? The clothing, the rapiers, the morions and plate armor on common soliders, the ruff Lord Capulet wears, the big lacy thingy the name of which I don't know that the Princess wears that's like what Queen Elizabeth wore... and that is just from the top of my head. 1 Link to comment
ursula June 3, 2017 Share June 3, 2017 (edited) Shakespeare was anachronistic. Romans were wearing doublets and using clocks, Scots dealt in dollars, and Cleopatra played billiards. Shakespeare was not historically accurate or expected to - he just told a good story. As long as this show does the same, I think it's living up to the bard's spirit. Edited June 3, 2017 by ursula 2 Link to comment
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