I knew that one day, something would come along that would inspire me to such a degree that I would feel compelled to resurrect this blog, if only for the day. That thing, that great font of inspiration has come. I have seen it, and it is beautiful.
The Ruf is on fire.
Oh, my dear Lord M. The ITV series “Victoria” is airing now in the US on PBS. I missed the first two episodes on TV but caught up on Roku over the weekend before episode three last night. I can’t say I have been totally amazed by Victoria so far. It has been good but not great for me. By far the best part of the show is Rufus Sewell as Lord Melbourne. Holy heck, Rufus Sewell. This man is aging like fine wine classic literature a vampire. I wish the show spent half the time on Rufus’s face that it spends on Jenna’s. I mean, I get it, she has a beautiful, symmetric face. I don’t need 30 minutes of close-ups.
I was a bit disappointed that by episode 3, we’re already watching Lord M retreat into the shadows while Albert takes his place in Victoria’s heart. I am not a fan of this portrayal of Albert. On a scale of 1 to Twilight, how emo is this guy? Who wants angsty, dour, judgy, and floppy-haired after maybe age 15? He reminds me of the new kid that showed up at my middle-school in 7th grade. All the girls thought he was so DEEP because he was “serious” and had “thoughts” and “read books” (Oliver Twist?). But within weeks, he was dating a beautiful, ditzy girl, and all the smart, normal-looking girls groaned inwardly. But perhaps I digress? Memories…
I can’t get over the Captain Von Trapp green jacket he wears in this scene. How do you solve a problem like…unresolved sexual tension? I’d like to climb every Melbourne. Rufus Sewell is definitely one of my favorite things. I’ll stop now.
Back to Melbourne! My curiosity was piqued by the off-hand comment from Victoria about Melbourne’s wife running off with Lord Byron. I’d never heard that story, so off I went to my Victorian Encyclopedia for some research. Lady Caroline Lamb carried on a very indiscreet love affair with Lord Byron after meeting him at a ball, and devoted William defended and supported her for years, even after she was repeatedly spurned by Lord Byron, and after Caroline and William’s legal separation. According to Wikipedia, Caroline was so crazy about Bryon that she attempted to cut her wrists with a broken wine glass in the middle of a ball because Byron publically insulted her. No one needs that level of drama in their lives, M. I feel for you.
I don’t know ya’ll, I know Byron is some kind of hotness archetype, but Mel is dishy for an old dude, and Byron seems like a jerk.
I am not sure how long I will keep up with Victoria once Sewell bows out. I am just not that interested in the downstairs storyline, and there isn’t enough political or other court intrigue going on to create a larger story beyond Victoria and her romances. We’ll see how the rest of the season shapes up.
Also, please listen to this interview with Rufus discussing the show and his character. He’s utterly charming.
