King & Conqueror tv series

[Steve J]

With some trepidation, we watched two episodes last night, to see if it was truly awful, great, or something in between. SWMBO likes this sort of stuff, so it certainly ticked the boxes for her, but I did spend a lot of time hitting the pause button to explain who was who, what had happened previously off screen etc. For me it was OK and an easy watch and we will stick with it as it is perfect to switch off the old grey cells at the end of the day.

A few observations:
- As it appears to have been filmed in Iceland, we did laugh as Wessex, Kent etc looked completely wrong. Ditto Flanders!
- We kept spotting actors from previous Scandi dramas and spent time trying to remember which series they were in, rather than focussing on the plot.
- The costumes and general dirty look of the characters grated somewhat, but production budgets etc might have been an issue. I remember reading an article on the Cadfael series from years ago, where the producers explained that the viewers expected the Middle Ages to look 'dirty' and would not accept cleanliness and colour!
- The CGI was OK and again budget issues might be a factor.

Thoughts from fellow forum members?

[steve_holmes_11]

How about a clue: What's the theme, what's it about?

[Gordonsy]

BBC drama, 1066 and all that.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Its OK was rather slow moving for the 1st ep, but will persevere. Less inaccuracies than SAS Heroes...not that that would be difficult.

[mollinary]

I watched the first episode on iPlayer last night, and my low expectations were not exceeded. At least now it is clear why they were called the Dark Ages, as the sun does not seem to have reached 11th century England.  Still with everyone, even Kings, being so dirty and poorly clothed, the darkness was probably a blessing. Edward the Confessor would hardly have been recognized as a King by the peasant in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, for obvious reasons! 

The only thing that might keep me watching is the prospect of the big battles, which previews show to be quite impressive. 

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Well I didn't vote for him!

[d_Guy]

Well I didn't vote for him!

But some watery tart did apparently.

[hammurabi70]

I watched the first episode on iPlayer last night, and my low expectations were not exceeded.

Best summation I have seen.  I have long lost thinking of the film system producing semi-historically accurate material but even by the stretched imagination of anyone this is so loose with history it is difficult to know how to describe it.  In their defence I would suggest that they are trying to repackage history for people essentially ignorant of the base material, which they assume, probably rightly, will be the situation for most viewers.  However, I think it a difficult position to hold given they seemed to have made a mess of the attempt; not difficult to see how it might be improved.  Within a few minutes I was being asked who was whom, which was a bit tricky as people were not introduced.  I am reminded of the dreadful Owain Glendower that appeared on TV in the 1980s and which had virtually no basis on the historical figure; my good Welsh friend was disgusted with it and put it down to another English conspiracy against the Welsh.

[steve_holmes_11]

A friend reviewed it.

Terrible Prequel.
Not enough tits or dragons.

[pierre the shy]

But some watery tart did apparently.

I hope you are not being repressed Bill 

[Ithoriel]

I managed the first half of the first episode and dumped it to watch the reruns of Andromeda.

It seems to me to be BBC's Troy all over again. A gripping story not only made deadly dull but ahistorical to boot.

I can't be arsed to do a remake of my poem on the BBC's Troy - so, in the spirit of the media - here's a rerun!  

"The Oddity" by Ithoriel of Ionia

I tell a tale of heroes bold
It's setting is the days of old
In days when Noah was a boy
Our heroes set a course for Troy
What's the premise for our story?
Was it greed or lust for glory?
Or, is the cause of all this strife
Seduction of another's wife?
It started with the squabbling gods
Three godesses were quite at odds
So mighty Zeus bid Paris grapple
With who should have the golden apple.
Thus Paris, thanks to Aphrodite,
Wound up with Helen (rather flighty),
She was fed up with her old man
So off to Troy the lovers ran.
What follows is a tale of slaughter,
The sacrificing of a daughter,
The endless battles on the plain,
To walls, to ships and back again.
Of love, betrayal and deception
With meddling gods from the inception.
And crowning all, we have ,of course,
The story of the Trojan Horse.
All the excitement there could be
Made deadly dull, Dear BBC!
A story of so many splendours
Now Bronze Age version of Eastenders.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

That un deservesz a coat arm and leg chewing 

[Last Hussar]

I don't mind lack of dragons.