Sissi

The cast is excellent, a viewer can really feel the chemistry between Franz and Sisi. But unfortunately the plot lacks historical accuracy. Franz Joseph is depicted as the most horrible, emotionally unstable husband, healing every personal tradegy or political defeat by escaping into heavy drinking and having sex with prostitutes, leaving his wife suffering alone (for example, after the death of their daughter).

Season 2 started very promising but lost track soon after part 1. The character of Marie doesn't seem to have a logical place there; it is somehow forced and innatural to the development of the story. And when the "Hungarian" part of the story kicks in, the imagination of the screenwriters went very very very wild (here, they got completely off the track as far as the historical facts go).

On the flip side, the scenery is beautiful and some shots are breath-taking. I feel really sorry for the actors, they would deserve a better-written story. The public as well.

This show probably has very little to so with the actual lives of the emperor and empress. If the characters were names to fictional persons, people might have given higher ratings. As the story is entertaining, the decor and costumes are beautiful and the acting is good. So if you are looking for more insight in the imperial couple watch a documetary, if you want an entertaining costume drama, this is a good watch.

Make sure you read up on Emperor Fran's Josef and Elizabeth to learn their true story, because this series is not it.

That being said, it was a very good TV series, well done and entertaining. If you're a stickler for history it will grate for sure, but hopefully will spur viewers to do some research on these characters and the times, and that would not be a bad thing.

The true story of Sisi is actually far more tragic than this portrayal. She did influence her husband in certain matters, particularly in relation to Hungary but her experience as Empress was nowhere near that depicted in this show. She was beloved by the people but spent little time even living in Vienna, and she herself was assassinated when she was in her 60's.

Also interesting is that the Emperor Franz Josef would later be responsible for setting the wheels in motion that resulted in WWI, after his presumptive heir, Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, were assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serbian.

To me, the true story -or history - is almost always better than what these writers and producers feel they need to conjure up for whatever reasons. That's disappointing.

But it's a good TV series, "based on a true story", with good acting, and beautiful direction in a beautiful country. You'll just have to bear with the alterations of fact, something I'm not fond of watching happen but as I said hopeful folks will be intrigued enough to do some research and find out the true story.

I'd recommend watching it but with those caveats.

I saw this already the third time. It is Not a Romy Schneider remake. It is a completly new fiction series. Yes it is fiction, But Shows more complex charakters- more like the real Sisi was. You can feel how many passion was put into this.

I definetly Love it. As a kid I loved the Romy Schneider films. You have to be open minded to really enjoy this Show- But then I promise you will:)

Season One: 5.5/10

Themes: Costume Drama, History, Royalty, Court, Marriage, Nineteenth Century, War, Feminism & German.

Review: I'm not sure how I feel about this series. The main emotion I felt while watching this was frustration or indignation. I think the series harmed itself by naming it Sisi: everything about this plot and the characters were different from what I was hoping or expecting them to be. The love story was also not a love story at all: Franz and Sisi were absolutely horrible together and I still do not know if either of them even knew the other. Franz treated Sisi like dirt and Sisi let him walk all over her. Gone was the strong and beloved woman we associate with Sisi, and instead we had this pathetic girl, desperate to get the attention of a man unworthy of her love. I did think Sisi grew into herself more in the later episodes, especially with how she got involved with the politics, but I still wasn't a fan. Overall, I did enjoy watching the series quite a bit, but it simply wasn't all that great. It could be fun from time to time, but it was ultimately very flawed.

Least favourite character: Franz Jozef.