Versailles: Is lavish costume drama really a stinker?

BBC Two's new blockbuster Versailles has received mixed review from critics, with some calling the tale of life in the court of Louis XIV an enjoyable romp and others condemning it as a "stinker".

The ten-part series, created by former Spooks and Criminal Minds screenwriters Simon Mirren and David Wolstencroft, focuses on the reign of the young Sun King as his new court in Versailles becomes a hotbed of political intrigue and sexual hijinks.

"This X-rated stinker is as rotten as an 18th-century Camembert," complains Christopher Stevens in the Daily Mail. He gives it one star and goes on to speculate that Versailles is "the most lavishly rancid television ever screened".

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If "legendary posh-porn film director Ken Russell had been given a billion dollars to remake Les Miserables with the cast of the Australian soap opera Home And Away, it wouldn't be half this awful", Stevens adds.

But he admits there is "a perverse delight in shockingly bad TV" - and looks forward to seeing if Versailles "can maintain its truly abysmal standard".

Not every costume drama can be Wolf Hall or the Hollow Crown, says Gabriel Tate in The Times. But like The Tudors, "Versailles was neither smart enough to be serious nor dumb enough to be silly".

Poor George Blagden does his best as Louis, continues the critic, and the sets, costumes and lustrous hair provide handsome distractions.

But the "breathlessly trailed pile-up of blood, sex, rape, torture and orange juice" outdoes Game of Thrones and is "gratuitous" when it isn't "downright tiresome".

"Torture, espionage, wet-look camisoles, slavering wolves, adultery, self-flagellation, incest and an epic gardening project, Versailles has got the lot", says Jasper Rees in the Daily Telegraph, saying the show follows the Tudors' recipe: "historical era with box-office brand value", with tedious bits about canon law and excise duties removed to focus on the sex, violence and intrigue.

"The entire attention-seeking souffle looks suitably splendid," continues the journalist, but it's lacking "characters worth keeping your eyelids open for".

It's not all about sex, argues Sam Wollaston in The Guardian. There are noblemen plotting against the king and tax avoidance, prompting paranoia and document interception and "modern relevance all over the place, Snowden and the Panama Papers!"

But, he adds, "if it's nuance you're after, depth of character, or meticulous authenticity, then you may be in the wrong place… Wolf Hall this isn't."

Nevertheless, concludes Wallaston, Versailles is enjoyable. "It is a trashy, extravagant romp that takes liberties with the actuality. It is also, undeniably, quite a lot of fun."

Versailles: BBC's new 'naughty, trashy' historical drama

31 May

The BBC's new drama Versailles airs this week, but its racy take on life in the court of Louis XIV has already raised eyebrows - and not just the sex scenes.

The £21m production, created by former Spooks screenwriters Simon Mirren and David Wolstencroft, focuses on the decision by 28-year-old Louis to control his rebellious nobility by forcing them to move from the court in Paris to his new home in Versailles. Trapped by their king's "invitation", the aristocrats soon realise that the palace is a gilded cage where lusty intrigues are rife, and they must resort to vicious tactics to survive.

The series has already prompted outrage from Conservative MPs and family rights campaigners, who described it as "porn" earlier this year, reports the Daily Mail. The first episode, the newspaper noted, includes gay sex, cross-dressing, a queen with a liking for dwarves and the king, played by British actor George Blagden, burying his head between his mistress's thighs.

"There are channels where, if you wish to view this sort of material, you would have to pay for it," Tory politician Andrew Bridgen said. "BBC viewers don't have a choice. They have to pay for it whether they approve or not."

This sort of programming represented a "race to the bottom" for the BBC, he added.

Meanwhile, Sam Burnett, of Mediawatch UK, said: "Dressing up pornography and violence in a cravat and tights doesn't make it cultural."

BBC dramas are certainly "getting raunchier by the week", comments Jack Shepherd in The Independent. After Aidan Turner going shirtless in Poldark, steamy affairs in War and Peace, and Tom Hiddleston showing off his body in The Night Manager, we now have what is being dubbed "the most graphic sex scenes ever on British TV", adds the journalist.

Ryan Gilbey in The Guardian calls Versailles "naughty, trashy and very knowing" and says it "mixes historical fact, scandalous rumour and outright fabrication". In the first five minutes alone, there is "sex, violence and an unorthodox use of oranges", he adds, while by the second episode, someone gets "knifed in the eye by a chap in a dress".

The French press has taken great delight in the British outrage. Le Figaro mocked the Daily Mail for its sensationalist coverage of the new series, writing: "It's a porno broadcast in prime time. Oh my!", while Le Huffpost called it a "porno for conservative Brits".

However, the drama did cause some controversy in France, although not for the sex scenes. Instead, it was the perceived "dumbing down" of the history of France's most famous monarchs that ruffled feathers. Commentators were also annoyed that the series, a French-Canadian co-production, was filmed in English.

Sue Deeks, the BBC head of programme acquisitions, has assured viewers that Versailles will be a "delicious treat".

"The historical setting is magnificent, the costumes are stunning and the series tells a fascinating story with intelligence, wit and stylish Gallic flair," she said.

Versailles begins on BBC2 on Wednesday 1 June at 9.30pm.