vixescape

British royal history has been my passion for the past 40 years, so naturally I love anything like this & I have enjoyed Mr Jones work very much in the past, however this series, although quite engaging in parts, is a bit of a let down for many things, including accuracy. Firstly I enjoyed the historical enactments, although the costumes spoke more of Lord of the Rings as opposed to actual British history. The acting was good but the costumes lead a lot to be desired. Mr Jones narration is good also, but just occasionally he comes across as if he is giving his own version of events, rather than historically accurate ones. There is a fair amount of bias too which makes much of this series sound like his personal opinion. What really lets this series down is just how badly researched it was. For instance the events surrounding the poor Princes in the Tower. Jones states they were downed in a vat of wine, when it was the Princes uncle the Duke of Clarence (Father of Margaret Pole) who suffered this fate. To this day nobody knows what happened to those poor children imprisoned in the Tower of London & I was hoping to find some answers here, but not only are there no answers, it is as if Mr Jones is making it up as he goes along, which really lets this series down.

All in all old history hacks like me will find this series a rather irritating & frustrating ride. However, it is rather well made & apart from the lack of research, it has high production & entertainment values. If this series inspires the younger generation, & fires their interest in British royal history, then it has done a good job. Because British history today, the real version, has taken something of a battering by collectivists in the media establishment, which is so very sad. There are so many fascinating stories to tell, with strong moralistic warnings from centuries past. They are an education & we should learn from our ancestors, but there is a very fine line between reimagined collectivist myths & our genuine historical royal heritage.

Before I say anything I must let parents know that this is not a series I would show to anyone under 18. Yet it is rated a 14 years plus.

This could have been brilliant if the makers had followed the very witty book it is based on, which is really very good. But instead it is packed with adult themes, sex scenes & very bad language, where child actors have been scripted to say the "F" word, which is really not on. This all lets this series down, badly. This is sad because it has high production values, the acting is fine & the costumes are superb. However the comedy is dreadful. Comic timing is very off. The only comedy for me was when I laughed when it was revealed that Edward VI, was not the sickly son of ginger Henry VIII. He was a fit, handsome black man. Very funny! Also is it really fair (in the age of women & girls empowerment) to take the tragic story of an intelligent & educated young woman & to turn her murder into a comedy? The actress who played Jane was very good but far too old for the role. Lady Jane Grey was about 17. Something is missing somewhere?

Anyway, this is absolutely fine for late teens to about the age of 25. It is very much made for this age group! Young people will enjoy the silliness, & giggle at the adult themes, so My Lady Jane certainly has it's place. However, parents beware. This series has very strong adult themes that are not suitable to anyone under the age of 18 & the bad language comes thick & fast. Also avoid this if you are educated & love British history as this, for you, is a complete waste of your time & will insult your intelligence. Please watch "Lady Jane" 1986 instead.

I first saw this stunning series about 2 months before I was due to go backpacking around south east Asia, some years ago & by goodness did it scare me!

This is the story of a young woman searching for her father, who gets caught up with a Mr Nasty who plants drugs on her, which are found at Bangkok airport. Sounds simple? But the story is so much more than that. This could have easily been made into a many part series. In fact it seems a shame it is just about 3 hours as the story telling is sublime.

Nicole Kidman is absolute perfection as Katrina Stanton, well before she joined the Hollywood red carpet crowd. But the supporting actors give stunning performances also. Joy Smithers who plays Katrina's cell mate is a stand out. Her performance is sublime & her penultimate scene is absolutely spine tingly good. In fact there is not much to fault here, apart from the music, which today sounds very dated. However it is very refreshing to watch Nicole Kidman in her natural, pre surgery beauty, displaying her full acting talent, worthy of respect.

It is sad though that this will more than likely never be repeated on tv today. At best this would be worth a remake, but it would never match this excellent late 80's mini series.