History Series / ElizabethR

** After Robert Dudley - who is the only person the Queen could have ever genuinely been ''happy'' with - dies, his step-son swaggers into Elizabeth's rooms. She asks him if he knows that his step-father is dead and he, ''smiling'', replies that he does because his mother told him. Elizabeth's face visibly ''twists'' with rage and she proceeds to ''absolutely lose her shit'' at him, shrieking ''"INGRATE!"'' at the top of her lungs before, she hurls a plate across the room at him, and chases him from the room for his heartlessness.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Essex seems to suffer from something resembling bipolar disorder.

This series isn't just about Elizabeth's life and loves as a young woman. Her reign lasted for more than 40 years, with her greatest achievements (most notably, the defeat of UsefulNotes/PhilipII's [[UsefulNotes/AngloSpanishWar15851604 Spanish Armada]]), occurring near the end of her life. Along with her triumphs, there was also tension and tragedy--the early loss of her mother, her imprisonment by her militant Catholic sister Queen Mary, her inability to marry the man she truly loved and her near-death from smallpox.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: While a common mistake, Elizabeth is shown to learn Mary is dead when a courtier (Nickolas Throckmorton) brings her a ring Mary never takes off. In real life Throckmorton was two days behind the first official messengers (as the whole nation knew Mary was dying for some time, they were ready to send the message instantly), though Elizabeth was still pleased by his dedication.

** Elizabeth's household staff play very little parts after the first episode. Elizabeth's ladies in waiting were actually quite important to the court and Elizabeth was very protective of them and careful to arrange good matches. Lettice Knollys was actually one of her ladies in waiting, which is never directly acknowledged in the series (she was also Elizabeth's cousin, as Anne Bolelyn's grand-niece).

** TheChick: Hatton and Heanage, two more courtiers who mostly serve to back up the others.

->''"I have such cunning, that if I were turned out of my realm in my petticoat, I would prosper anywhere in Christendom!"''

This series isn't just about Elizabeth's life and loves as a young woman. Her reign lasted for more than 40 years, with her greatest achievements (most notably, the defeat of the Spanish Armada), occurring near the end of her life. Along with her triumphs, there was also tension and tragedy--the early loss of her mother, her imprisonment by her militant Catholic sister Queen Mary, her inability to marry the man she truly loved and her near-death from smallpox.

* BlatantLies: The Spanish Ambassador in the first episode, when dealing with Mary who is deeply upset to hear Phillip has mistresses and bastards. Mary even calls him on it at one point, though is eventually convinced anyway that Phillip is "as chaste as ice."

* ControlFreak: Phillip of Spain in regards to the Armada--he chooses the commanders despite doubts (sometimes from the chosen men themselves!), wants it to sail by a certain date despite advice from everyone always telling him they cannot be ready so soon, ignores things like not having enough seasoned wood for barrels...

* FeedTheMole: Dudley lets out a rumor that the Queen will marry the Archduke Charles. The Spanish Ambassador DeQuadra learns this information and tells the Queen he will set in motion the marriage plans. Elizabeth mistakes this for presumption and angrily declares her intentions to not marry anyone. The Council is aghast at this setback; now their chances to interest the Queen to marriage have been dashed. They realize Dudley's culpability in this.

* GeneralFailure: The man Phillip appoints head of the Armada after the previous commander dies is certain he will be this, citing that he runs orange groves and has no military experience.

** Phillip of Spain towards Elizabeth, jealous of how the Pope considers her a heretic and yet considers her a great ruler, often disparaging Phillip in comparison.

** Elizabeth's sister Mary also has her moments, particularly when she finds out that Phillip has had mistresses and bastards.

* ThePeepingTom: Prince Phillip of Spain in the first episode, peering in on Elizabeth and her ladies while Elizabeth gets dressed.

** Phillip of Spain in the Armada episode, utterly certain of victory even as his own men warn him of extra considerations that must be taken into account that he is all too happy to ignore.

* OneHundredPercentAdorationRating: Invoked by Elizabeth, who works to keep the goodwill of the people and is often rewarded for it.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Walsingham is practically the {{Deuteragonist}} of the fourth episode, while almost none of the rest of the council is present for most of the run time as the focus is on Walsingham's handling of the Babbington Plot to prove Mary Queen of Scots is plotting against Elizabeth.

* SuccessionCrisis: Engineered by the Duke of Northumberland after Edward's death by disinheriting both Mary and Elizabeth, Edward agreeing in order to prevent the Catholic Mary from taking the throne (while Elizabeth was a known Protestant, legally it would be impossible to declare Mary a bastard without it also applying to Elizabeth) and giving it instead to Lady Jane Grey who was conveniently married to one of Northumberland's sons. Undone when the people rise for Mary and overthrow the forced regime.

* TokenEvilTeamMate: Richard Topcliffe comes across as this. He ''is'' a professional torturer, after all.
* TokenGoodTeamMate: Sir Henry Bedingfield, during Mary's reign. He is made Elizabeth's jailer at Woodstock after the execution of Thomas Wyatt, but is deeply offended by the suggestion that he is taking Elizabeth away to be assassinated. While he follows his orders it is clear he is doing so because they are his orders, not from any sort of malice. This is fairly concurrent with historical record, where Elizabeth considered him "trusty and well beloved" after her ascension to the throne and granted him a manor.
* TooDumbToLive: As portrayed here, the Earl of Essex's behavior ranges from thoughtless (partying after his stepfather's death) to idiotic (his attempted rebellion). It's implied that some kind of illness made him even worse, to the point that toward the end he was probably mentally ill.

* WeAreStrugglingTogether: Elizabeth's council. Cecil is the calm, cautious, mediating influence; Walsingham is a militant Puritan who advises strong action; Leicester is less zealous than Walsingham with the added bonus of being very jealous over Elizabeth; and Sussex, Hatton, and Heanage are either rivaling Leicester or siding with Cecil. Or both. But all of them want Elizabeth to keep reining and England to prosper.

Released in 1971, ''Elizabeth R'' is a sequel series to ''Series/TheSixWivesOfHenryVIII''. (Many of the same actors in that production reprised their roles in the first episode of this one, giving it a nice sense of continuity.) Glenda Jackson plays the title monarch, and she does an amazing job of capturing the woman's swagger and vulnerability. The production itself decently balances historical accuracy with the mythos which surrounds UsefulNotes/ElizabethI--and in that regard, it's a bit more restrained than other media portrayals of the character (which often like to include at least one steamy sex scene between Elizabeth and Robert Dudley, the man with whom she was reportedly in love with her entire life. The closest the two characters come to consummating their relationship in ''Elizabeth R'' is a long, lingering kiss which takes place in Elizabeth's bedroom as her Ladies-in-Waiting look on in horror. That one scene, however, does more to express the passion, tension and danger of their relationship than any artfully choreographed sex scene ever could).

* PeepingTom: Prince Phillip of Spain in the first episode, peering in on Elizabeth and her ladies while Elizabeth gets dressed.

Released in 1972, ''Elizabeth R'' is a sequel series to ''Series/TheSixWivesOfHenryVIII''. (Many of the same actors in that production reprised their roles in the first episode of this one, giving it a nice sense of continuity.) Glenda Jackson plays the title monarch, and she does an amazing job of capturing the woman's swagger and vulnerability. The production itself decently balances historical accuracy with the mythos which surrounds UsefulNotes/ElizabethI--and in that regard, it's a bit more restrained than other media portrayals of the character (which often like to include at least one steamy sex scene between Elizabeth and Robert Dudley, the man with whom she was reportedly in love with her entire life. The closest the two characters come to consummating their relationship in ''Elizabeth R'' is a long, lingering kiss which takes place in Elizabeth's bedroom as her Ladies-in-Waiting look on in horror. That one scene, however, does more to express the passion, tension and danger of their relationship than any artfully choreographed sex scene ever could).

* FeedingTheMole: Dudley lets out a rumor that the Queen will marry the Archduke Charles. The Spanish Ambassador DeQuadra learns this information and tells the Queen he will set in motion the marriage plans. Elizabeth mistakes this for presumption and angrily declares her intentions to not marry anyone. The Council is aghast at this setback; now their chances to interest the Queen to marriage have been dashed. They realize Dudley's culpability in this.

* GoreDiscretionShot: Babbington's Drawn-and-Quartering is implied by a blood-splattered crucifix lying on the scaffold.

* AwwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: No matter how much Elizabeth unloads her rage on Kat Ashley, Kat is one of the very few people Elizabeth can truly be herself with and, more importantly, on most subjects Kat can actually get away with talking back to the Queen and telling her off without being carted off to the tower. Kat has suffered through it all with Elizabeth, and Elizabeth is ever thankful to her for it.

** Essex is the ((Deuteragonist}} of the sixth episode, which focuses on the Ireland campaign for long stretches and as he was the commander and Elizabeth was not there, the focus is on him. The episode is also about his downfall in general before segueing to Elizabeth's eventual passing at the end.

''"I have such cunning, that if I were turned out of my realm in my petticoat, I would prosper anywhere in Christendom!"''

Released in 1972, ''Elizabeth R'' is a sequel series to ''Series/TheSixWivesOfHenryVIII''. (Many of the same actors in that production reprised their roles in the first episode of this one, giving it a nice sense of continuity.) Glenda Jackson plays the title monarch, and she does an amazing job of capturing the woman's swagger and vulnerability. The production itself decently balances historical accuracy with the mythos which surrounds UsefulNotes/ElizabethI--and in that regard, it's a bit more restrained than other media portrayals of the character (which often like to include at least one steamy sex scene between Elizabeth and Robert Dudley, the man with whom she was reportedly in love with her entire life. The closest the two characters come to consummating their relationship in ''Elizabeth R'' is a long, lingering kiss which takes place in Elizabeth's bedroom as her Ladies-in-Waiting look on in horror. That one scene however, does more to express the passion, tension and danger of their relationship than any artfully choreographed sex scene ever could).

Elizabeth was also forced to execute her cousin, [[UsefulNotes/MaryOfScotland Mary, Queen of Scots]], when the latter joined in an assassination plot against her. Yet through it all, Elizabeth remained stalwart--and yet, vulnerable. Competent in wielding her power, yet weary of the struggle in keeping everything she had built from crashing down. Because of her colorful life and personality, Elizabeth I is a highly desired role by many dramatic actresses. (Of course, it one of the ONLY really ''good'' roles a middle aged actress can play, seeing as how in most media productions of ''any'' kind, middle aged women simply do not exist unless they happen to be a main character's mother, aunt, or grandmother.)

* TimeSkip: The episodes skip between the main events of Elizabeth's reign. The first and second are closely connected while the third takes place some years later to Elizabeth's courtship by Anjou. The Fourth episode is the most egregious about it, as it focuses on Mary Wueen of Scots when last we'd heard of her she had just married Lord Darnley (near the end of the second episode) and we then cut to over a decade later where Darnley had been murdered, Mary forced to marry the Earl of Bothwell and then fled him and her country for England where she has been a prisoner ever since. There is also implied to be some years between the fifth and sixth episodes, given the conditions Elizabeth and Burghley are in by the latter.

* TheDandy: Several, as it was encouraged for younger courtiers to be this way in Elizabeth's court. Leicester, Sussex, Hatton, and Heanage are all of the older generation as is the French Simier, and the younger generation has Essex.

* OneSteveLimit: Averted. There are two Marys, Elizabeth's sister "Bloody Mary" and Mary Queen of Scots. There are also several Roberts, though this is less obvious due to most of them going by their titles or surnames instead (Dudley/Leicester, Essex, and Cecil) though that still leaves a chance for Robert Cecil to be confused for his father, William Cecil.