1970s TV yet again
Feb. 17th, 2013 09:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thisbluespiritOr: I am all excited!
Somebody has put all of Shadow of the Tower up on YouTube! (I know, copyright etc., but I had to buy a Dutch edition, because there's no UK version, thanks 2Entertain for that. There is a Region 1 version). Also, because unlike some things also up there (the amazing Elizabeth R which everybody should watch unless they really hate old TV and Duchess of Duke Street, which features another 1970s actress being awesome all the way through. Glenda Jackson and Gemma Jones, both so amazing in different ways. ♥) Shadow of the Tower isn't something I could honestly recommend anyone buy. Because I think I liked it because I'm me. Other people probably wouldn't.
But, eeee, okay, if you want to see the only film/tv dramatisation of the life of Henry VII, a much-overlooked period of history, understand why I suddenly had a thing for James Maxwell (well, you may just wonder at my strangeness) and why the last episode went and made me ship Henry VII/Elizabeth of York (damn you 1970s BBC, how could you do that to me?) or, as some people on my flist who aren't me (honestly) would appreciate, you want to see David Collings be yet another deluded Tudor traitor who gets tortured in the Tower (it happened to him in Elizabeth R as well), here it is!
So, before someone takes them away:
1. Crown in Jeopardy & you can find the rest easily from here, or select from the user's uploads.
However, it's done in what really amounts to 13x 50 min one-act plays, so, here are some recs for individual eps:
3&4 (the Schooling of Apes/The Crowning of Apes are the two with David Collings in, but are also generally v good, covering Lambert Simnel and Lincoln's betrayal).
5. The Serpent and the Comforter. This was a really weird episode and I'm not quite sure they pulled it off, but I liked how they experimented and didn't just do a straight-forward BBC historical, so this one has Peter Jeffrey as a non-conformist about to be burned at the stake in a sort of battle with Henry for his soul. It's done as a morality play (everyone is just "The Prisoner", "The Guard" and "The King").
6. The White Hart (this one is Stanley's downfall, and one of the best episodes. Also the one where Margaret Beaufort tells Henry off because he can't go round executing all his in-laws. Ha.)
9. Do The Sheep Sin? (Perkin Warbeck/The Cornish Uprising. Cue shades of grey everywhere.)
11. The Strange Shapes of Reality. Another experimental one (although in this case, this means CSO everywhere; this is Not Good, although if you can see past that it's pretty clever). But if you didn't believe me about the 1972 gay kissing at the BBC, you can watch it here. I tell you the truth, honest.
13. The King Without A Face. (And then the BBC broke my heart and stamped on it. Thanks, BBC. It was a good episode, though. 12 is as well, but I'm getting to the point where I'm listing them all.)
Also, 7 & 8 are the really duff episoes, but 7 A Fly in the Ointment is the one where Peter Bowles is a Tudor spy-cum-assassin. It is a duff episode, though. Not enough Henry and I'm sure there's a whole scene where the guest cast are fighting hysteria. (I can't think of any other explanation for it).
You'll probably think I'm mad. You've all been watching shiny, pretty new TV that moves faster than the speed of mud. It spoils you for proper appreciation of stuff. ;-)
I should do a proper and sensible review of all my old TV watching at some point, instead of just flailing wildly and misleadingly about stuff, because there is a difference between things I liked for reasons and things that are really good and worth putting up with old TV limitations for. However, today I'm just flailing again, sorry. For some reason, I loved this one. Really, really, but I've no idea why.
Although not for everyone (justice_turtle, you would probably not be able to cope with all the 1970s/Tudor Bad Hair and Bad Wigs, sorry ;-p).
Somebody has put all of Shadow of the Tower up on YouTube! (I know, copyright etc., but I had to buy a Dutch edition, because there's no UK version, thanks 2Entertain for that. There is a Region 1 version). Also, because unlike some things also up there (the amazing Elizabeth R which everybody should watch unless they really hate old TV and Duchess of Duke Street, which features another 1970s actress being awesome all the way through. Glenda Jackson and Gemma Jones, both so amazing in different ways. ♥) Shadow of the Tower isn't something I could honestly recommend anyone buy. Because I think I liked it because I'm me. Other people probably wouldn't.
But, eeee, okay, if you want to see the only film/tv dramatisation of the life of Henry VII, a much-overlooked period of history, understand why I suddenly had a thing for James Maxwell (well, you may just wonder at my strangeness) and why the last episode went and made me ship Henry VII/Elizabeth of York (damn you 1970s BBC, how could you do that to me?) or, as some people on my flist who aren't me (honestly) would appreciate, you want to see David Collings be yet another deluded Tudor traitor who gets tortured in the Tower (it happened to him in Elizabeth R as well), here it is!
So, before someone takes them away:
1. Crown in Jeopardy & you can find the rest easily from here, or select from the user's uploads.
However, it's done in what really amounts to 13x 50 min one-act plays, so, here are some recs for individual eps:
3&4 (the Schooling of Apes/The Crowning of Apes are the two with David Collings in, but are also generally v good, covering Lambert Simnel and Lincoln's betrayal).
5. The Serpent and the Comforter. This was a really weird episode and I'm not quite sure they pulled it off, but I liked how they experimented and didn't just do a straight-forward BBC historical, so this one has Peter Jeffrey as a non-conformist about to be burned at the stake in a sort of battle with Henry for his soul. It's done as a morality play (everyone is just "The Prisoner", "The Guard" and "The King").
6. The White Hart (this one is Stanley's downfall, and one of the best episodes. Also the one where Margaret Beaufort tells Henry off because he can't go round executing all his in-laws. Ha.)
9. Do The Sheep Sin? (Perkin Warbeck/The Cornish Uprising. Cue shades of grey everywhere.)
11. The Strange Shapes of Reality. Another experimental one (although in this case, this means CSO everywhere; this is Not Good, although if you can see past that it's pretty clever). But if you didn't believe me about the 1972 gay kissing at the BBC, you can watch it here. I tell you the truth, honest.
13. The King Without A Face. (And then the BBC broke my heart and stamped on it. Thanks, BBC. It was a good episode, though. 12 is as well, but I'm getting to the point where I'm listing them all.)
Also, 7 & 8 are the really duff episoes, but 7 A Fly in the Ointment is the one where Peter Bowles is a Tudor spy-cum-assassin. It is a duff episode, though. Not enough Henry and I'm sure there's a whole scene where the guest cast are fighting hysteria. (I can't think of any other explanation for it).
You'll probably think I'm mad. You've all been watching shiny, pretty new TV that moves faster than the speed of mud. It spoils you for proper appreciation of stuff. ;-)
I should do a proper and sensible review of all my old TV watching at some point, instead of just flailing wildly and misleadingly about stuff, because there is a difference between things I liked for reasons and things that are really good and worth putting up with old TV limitations for. However, today I'm just flailing again, sorry. For some reason, I loved this one. Really, really, but I've no idea why.
Although not for everyone (
justice_turtle, you would probably not be able to cope with all the 1970s/Tudor Bad Hair and Bad Wigs, sorry ;-p).
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 10:09 am (UTC)(and you've given me a bloody huge crush on Poul... thanks for that!)
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 01:05 pm (UTC):lol: He's had practice - he started his TV career as Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment, so he got pretty solidly typecast for ages as mentally/emotionally disturbed.
I can't possibly take the blame for Poul; it's the BBC's fault. If they didn't want people to have crushes on Poul, they shouldn't have made RoD.
:-)
(OH, and, btw, I'm sorry - ages ago when you first friended me, I temporarily defriended you while you uploaded a multi-part fic (it just overwhelmed my flist for a few days) but to my shame, I just realised I never put you back after! I've fixed that now.) *blush*
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 03:54 pm (UTC)Oh, it is SO your fault.... I kinda got into him via the spams of him you've done and suddenly... instant crush on Poul... even if I spend half the time wanting to mother him... IDEK.
I... may steal that GIF.
(Oh!! THAT's where you went!! oops...)
If I ever do another multi-fic I'll make sure to PM you when I'm done eating people's timelines. :)
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 08:11 pm (UTC)Ha, okay. That was me... But don't worry, that's the usual pattern for liking David Collings. It's all fine and dandy till suddenly someone or something makes you notice him. (If it gets any worse, never fear, you can join us strange people over at
:-)
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 08:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 10:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 12:59 pm (UTC):-)
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 01:08 pm (UTC):D
(It's not like I've been counting down the days until its release, or anything!)
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 01:14 pm (UTC)(No, I'm sure it came as a complete shock to you when you realised its release date. ;-p)
Oh, and more relevant to your interests than Henry VII - did you ever see this scene from an old 1960s BBC Henry V - with Robert Hardy as Henry doing the wooing scene with an incredibly young Judi Dench? (She looks much too young for being kissed like that. :lol:) other half of it here)
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 02:20 pm (UTC)And I knew you were teasing...
Really? She was 25 so not *that* young! (Though I admit she looks younger!)
no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 08:12 pm (UTC)And apparently Robert Hardy still rates it as his best screen kiss ever. :lol:
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Date: 2013-02-17 08:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 12:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 12:59 pm (UTC)Oh, I'm sure you'll like Duchess. It's not perfect by any means, but it's mostly a lot of fun (although S2 goes very dark/sad, mainly because of WWI, be warned) and Gemma Jones's character is so fierce and amazing!
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Date: 2013-02-17 03:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 06:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 07:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-18 10:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-18 09:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-19 10:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 03:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 08:13 pm (UTC)Oh no? Was the Ruth rendell up? And gone? I looked for it ages ago but with no luck. I don't really like RR, but I'd like to see a bit of it, for obvious reasons, but also out of curiosity because he's married to his wife (again) in that one, I think.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-18 04:07 pm (UTC)The title was hidden something like RRTST. Youtube keeps taking David Collings clips off, is there a conspiracy? ITV3 show the odd Ruth Rendall occasionally, I'll have to keep my eyes peeled.
no subject
Date: 2013-02-19 12:24 pm (UTC)(I think you're probably right. Heh.)
You are very dedicated. It makes me feel much less worried about myself. :lol:
no subject
Date: 2013-02-19 03:05 pm (UTC)But not dedicated enough to watch RR when I had the chance, oops.
Bit miffed David Collings isn't in 'Edward II' now I've finished watching 'The World Without End' (set during Edward III's reign). Oh well, the 14thC it's not nice.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-18 03:51 am (UTC)Sorry, missed this post first time around. ;)
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Date: 2013-06-18 11:31 am (UTC)(And I never mind belated comments.)
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Date: 2013-06-18 06:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-19 07:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-19 02:59 pm (UTC)