The Pillars of the Earth
Ξ July 18th, 2010 | → Comments Off | ∇ Interesting |
Starz is coming out with another HBO/Showtime knockoff, this time of the Tudors. It’s called The Pillars Of The Earth, and it looks quite promising.
Starz last knockoff, Spartacus (basking in the afterglow of Rome) turned out to be a decent series despite the rocky start, but it emphasized the wrong things in Rome. Instead of focusing on history, themes and culture, it emphasized sex and violence.
I worry about Starz taking a similar tact with The Tudors, and focusing on personality disorders and sex at the expense of history and themes. But the cast looks to be top-notch, with Ian McShane (Lovejoy, Deadwood, Kings), Matthew Macfadyen (MI5, Pride & Prejudice), Rufus Sewell (Dark City, The Illusionist, Tristan + Isolde). Most promising, however, is the fact it’s creating a beautiful package to present a murky and relatively overlooked period of English history known as The Anarchy.
My knowledge of English history has fits and starts until Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror, and then fades into the background until Henry II and the Plantagenet dynasty, nearly 100 years later. Pillars of the Earth tells the story of the turbulent decades that make up that gap in knowledge. That is historical docu-drama at it’s best – even if it takes liberties with history, it will provide context and interest to learn about that time period. I’ll be able to put images, voices, faces to the events. When I read about them, I’ll be able to better understand the context.
I can’t wait. July 23rd.
