ORDINAL

posted by James Reel

    This morning, the guy who reads the underwriting credits for NPR newscasts has been promoting a TV show about a famous queen of England; he calls it "Elizabeth One." I suppose it could be the first in an unimaginatively titled series ("Elizabeth Two," "Elizabeth Three"), but really, shouldn't we be referring to the Virgin Queen as "Elizabeth the First"?
    It reminds me of when the now defunct Catalina Theater was showing one of Kenneth Branagh's Shakespeare adaptations, and listed it on the marquee as "Henry the V."