Empire of the Tsars: Romanov Russia with Lucy Worsley

To me this "documentary" was more biased, rather than a documentary. On top why would Lucy make faces as if she's considering Russians a lower class nation, as is the typical mindset in Western World?

The series represents especially England as a great inspiration for Peter the a Great. The Dutch, however, are seem to be marginalised. Make no mistake: Saint-Petersburg is inspired by Amsterdam, The Netherlands, as the tsar lived there for some time. Not that either of them states should be trumpeting about it, because tsar Peter did horrible things, as we all know by now. However, it does feel a little wobbly, and uneven; it's only the English (not even British) angle one gets to see. More information about it all would be brilliant.

Also, this 'documentary' can't seem to find its way between being serious or funny. So it mashed up both. Most BBC series are one or the other, and they usually shine in their own way. I can name millions of documentaries from both BBC or foreign broadcasters that grabs you from the moment you start watching; so intriguing, so exciting, so brilliant to watch! However, this is mismatched, and one can't understand whether to take this seriously or as some sort of satire.

Make no mistake: this could've been a brilliant documentary, with a significant impact on how to see Russia today compared to how it was with the Romanovs. But it just doesn't bring it home. It stays between the lines of 'interesting' and 'funny'. It doesn't do anyone or anybody any favour; there's much more to tell. In the best case, it might bring people to get inspired to do research about this dynasty (and the Russia before and after that). But other than that, it's pretty much the same of how Discovery Channel or NGC are making their documentaries right now. Easy on the facts, much more action or, as in this case, humour. And that's a pity, because how many moments are there to investigate this all?

All and all: rather pleasant to watch, but not a 'must see'.

My husband and I got so tired of Lucy Worsley, and her two red dresses with matching lipstick, that we quit halfway through the second episode. A great commentator is either invisible or compliments the subject. Lucy was just annoying. Which is too bad, because the material was interesting. We'll look elsewhere for information on the Romanovs.

The way Romanov was pronounced bothered me throughout the 'series'. She kept saying /Románov/ instead of /Rómanov/.

Definitely not for scholars but for those with an armchair interest in this history and those seeking to visit Russia. For example, I was surprised the Potemkin Mutiny during the 1905 uprising was not mentioned.

I, too, disagree with the criticism of the host Lucy Worsley. Maybe her red dresses were to make her stand out in the scenes. Her commentary on the cartoon of Catherine was quite a giggle. She's cute in my opinion.