THE CROWN

I have been wondering why it is that I dislike "The Crown" so much. I am not an ardent monarchist by any means, and it's clear from the history of the past thirty or so years that the family has been somewhat, um, dysfunctional. I think what disturbs me is the undisguisedly negative portrayal of people who are still living. As represented in this soap opera, they are universally unpleasant in their emotionally removed and snobbish contempt for their inferiors--and each other.  None of them so far as I can tell, is blessed with any redeeming qualities. People, even royals, are more complicated than this, and more deserving of our compassion. The characters in this voyeuristic blend of fact and fiction are too easy targets for scandal-mongering such as this.