YMMV / Upstart Crow

• Genius Bonus: The show has quite a few of these, for anyone who really knows their Elizabethan culture and society.
  • The depiction of Thomas Morley as a rock star who's more interested in maximising his profits and taking care of his business ventures than he is in music, is in reference to the way the real Thomas Morley (1557-1602) was not only a composer and songwriter but also a highly successful music publisher.
  • Emilia Lanier in the show is rather good at analysing Will's poetry. The real Emilia Lanier (1596-1645) not only wrote poems herself, but was the first English woman to identify herself as a professional poet.
• Magnificent Bastard: Kit, in "Beware My Sting!" Robert Greene wants to prevent Will's new play The Taming of the Shrew from ever reaching the stage, so he points out to Will that Queen Elizabeth will surely regard a play in which a spirited young woman is tamed and humbled by a man as an insult to herself. Will has an Oh, Crap! moment and decides that the play can't go on: Greene is delighted. Then, Kit (in his capacity as government spy) points out to Greene that it's far more serious than that: the play is potentially treasonous. Greene is even more delighted, and shows the play to Elizabeth. However, she thinks it's a hilarious masterpiece. To the horror of Greene, it gets produced and is a huge hit. Kit points out to Will and his family that Elizabeth doesn't actually care about women in general, only herself in particular, and would certainly have revelled in the story of one uppity woman getting put in her place.
• Narm: How most of the people interpret Shakespeare's synopsis of Hamlet.
• Spiritual Successor: To Blackadder. Specifically Blackadder II since they are both sitcoms set during the Elizabethan era and have Elizabeth I making an appearance.

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