Bene Watches: Historical Series

The wonderful thing about being on a university holiday break is that I can watch a bunch of tv series and then talk about them to you guys! The following is in no particular order and contains series which have been renewed, completed or cancelled, with varying degrees of success. I'm trying my best to be non-biased but that tends to be a bit hard sometimes. Please note that I often do not know where to live-stream these series but if I give it a good recommendation, buying the DVD is probably not going to be a waste of money. Light spoilers ahead.

Status: Renewed for a second season

Reign:

Reign, how do I even begin? Usually I'm a sucker for a good history show, but gosh, did I overestimate this one. Reign follows the story of Mary, Queen of Scots (Adelaide Kane) and her budding rule and marriage to Francis, the Dauphin of France (Toby Regbo). If you're expecting historical accuracy and get angry about it, I'd suggest avoiding the show like the plague, historical accuracy is nearly non-existent here. It's a teen drama, and you get lots of it. Originally I did rather enjoy the show to begin with, because it was bad in a good way, but towards the mid-season things just started getting out of control. The love triangles were a major negative for me, I can't stand them. Also parts of the writing were becoming gaping plot holes or they glossed over things that were fairly serious, and the drama. It got to the point where it was so unnecessary and the character relationships stopped being believable. Literally everyone either hate each other, or fall in "proper love" after an episode. What??? I can understand wanting to have an action packed series, but sometimes you need to work on how much you're cramming in. One plot point in particular could have started being foreshadowed at least three episodes into the season and carried over, instead of being a sudden thing that was dropped on the viewer. Which is why, occasionally, I'm a big fan of having shorter seasons where writers are forced into planning everything to the minute detail. My favourite character ended up being completely made up and never actually existed in history, which was disappointing to learn, but I guess at least he didn't end up dying of syphilis.

I'd give this one 5/10. This is a 'catch-on-tv-if-you-can' show.

Status: Renewed for a third season

Ripper Street:

I first discovered Ripper Street when it was being advertised on TV. I've had a long fascination with the Victorian period and so I instantly wanted to get my hands on it. Ripper Street has the benefit of having short seasons, and to begin with, they didn't refrain from pulling any punches when it came to content. This show, unlike Reign, actually tries to base the story with as much historical accuracy as possible and for the most part it does quite well. The show centres around Det. Insp. Edmund Reid, who was a police officer working on the Ripper cases, and how he enforces the law in Whitechapel. To aid him in this task is his second-in-command, Det. Sgt.Bennet Drake and an American physician, Captain Homer Jackson, who helps him investigate the deaths and determine the causes. In addition to this, the show also follows the stories of Long Susan, a brothel madame and Rose, one of her prostitutes and their relationships with the police force. I quite enjoyed both seasons; the style was intriguing and the characters all had their own issues, no one was perfect. Ripper Street is unapologetic in making decisions for its characters which add to who they are, I like that I don't particularly care for Reid, and that being unlike-able doesn't prevent him from doing his job. I also enjoyed that it did have basis in history and tried to be as historically accurate as it could, in particular with some famous people and events that were happening at the time are mentioned or included. I was horrified to learn that it had been cancelled after two seasons, but thankfully, it's been picked up by another network for a third season.

Ripper Street gets 8/10. Definitely worth getting on DVD if it tickles your fancy.

Status: Finished (mini-series)

Labyrinth:

Labyrinth is a mini-series based on the book by Kate Mosse. I discovered this one sometime last year, when I was curious as to what Katie McGrath was doing with herself after Merlin; it soon had the added bonus of having Sebastian Stan and I finally got around to watching it. The series fluctuates between the past and the present in Carcassonne as two stories are being told; that of Alais (Jennifer Brown Findlay) in 1299 and Alice (Vanessa Kirby) in 2005/2013. The novel and series relies on past historical events to tell the narrative and the desperation that the characters in 1299 feel before connecting it with the present. The beginning of the series outlines exactly what the premise of the story is about, focusing on reincarnation and the beliefs of the Cathars. It has a slight Da Vinci Code vibe as it moves into the present, where the modern character of Alice attempts to discover the truth behind the mystery she has stumbled upon. The series itself was quite enjoyable, I had no problems with adjusting between the two timelines, and soon figured out which character was meant to be who in what timeline. I felt like Katie McGrath may have been a bit typecast in this though, which disappoints me a little, but she plays the part well. It's only about four hours, so it's a good way to spend an afternoon. I haven't read the book, so I can't compare whether or not the series is faithful to the book, or if it's a good re-imagining, so fans may have a different viewpoint from my own. It has some romance aspects to it, but they aren't really central to the characters or the story in any way. The thing I like the most is that (SPOILERS) the heroine is more or less rewarded at the end after saving the day and also gets her guy, who gets saved by her. Shocking, I know. It also in no way impacts on the believability of the story by having her do so. Of course she chooses love over infinite life but it definitely feels like living forever is a big downside to it. Also, her guy was super attractive and I don't blame her at ALL.(END SPOILERS)

All-in-all: 7/10.

Status: Renewed for a third season

Vikings:

I'm about halfway through season 2 of Vikings, so there are things I'll probably be missing. When I started watching Vikings, it took me a few episodes to get into. I'm not a massive fan of blood and violence and Vikings is not lacking in either. I found it interesting, particularly since I studied the first encounter between the Vikings and the English at the Monastery for a history report, so seeing it portrayed on TV was actually a bonus. It does give some depth to the legend of the Vikings and to show that there was more to them than the barbarians who sailed around on longships, but it doesn't shy away from the fact that they were, apparently, excessively violent and enjoyed pillaging. It seems like the show is trying to be historically accurate as well, as much as it can be by exploring the saga tales of Ragna Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel). Again, much like Ripper Street, Vikings doesn't apologise for the way the characters are portrayed. They all have different motivations and emotional relationships, and there are consequences for their actions. The main reason I've been continuing with the show is because of one reason: Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick). Lagertha is amazing and I absolutely love her character to bits. She's everything a "strong" female character should be. She has layers, and she isn't defined by her gender or role. She has equal time of being both a warrior and a mother. She's able to protect herself and still be vulnerable. I was so excited in the first episode of season 2 because she wasn't going to settle for being second best, she didn't like the situation and told it exactly like it was. It was beautiful. She honestly makes the show worth watching in my opinion.

While I can only watch it in short bursts: 8/10. Worth getting on DVD.

Status: Cancelled - two seasons.

The Bletchley Circle:

I've been obsessed with World War Two heroines at the moment, so watching The Bletchley Circle has definitely been up my alley. It was a disappointingly short series, cancelled after two seasons and nine episodes. It follows four women who used to work in Bletchley Park for the S.O.E. as code-breakers. The series begins in the 1950s, the women have all moved on from their time at Bletchley Park and had lost contact. When Susan Gray (Anna Maxwell Martin) begins to notice patterns in a series of women's murders, she enlists her ex-colleagues to help track the culprit down. It was so refreshing to watch a series where the men are only really a peripheral part of the show and the women are out solving crimes and looking after each other. There really needs to be an increase in shows like this, where women are the central focus of the show. They all keep secrets from their partners, they all have different jobs and circumstances but they all play a pivotal role in solving the crime and each occupy a special niche in the group. The women also aren't defined by their romance, some have partners and others don't but there isn't any sort of judging from any of them. By the end of the series, they had all been affected by their work in different ways and they all dealt with things different. They weren't portrayed as being weak, although the men involved looked down on them, they eventually prove that they're just as capable as the opposite gender. There's also allusions to historical events, and there seems to be historical accuracy when it comes to the portrayal of the code-breakers and the events they went through. The Bletchley Circle is an enjoyable crime/mystery series that should have been renewed for a third series.

Definitely find some way to watch this series: 9/10.