King & Conqueror

I wish this had been a reasonably historically accurate show. Sadly, it was not. The factual telling could be as dramatic and better told. Instead loads of people will think they know the history but they know only this. Some great actors. Like the costumes. A missed opportunity in my opinion. Maybe someone else will tell the real story of this place and time.

There is a distinct lack of material within tv or cinema based around late Anglo Saxon England, specially the and of Anglo Saxon England. There have been a good few straight to DVD movies over the last 15-20 years which on the whole have all been garbage. The BBC's King and Conqueror series offered a real chance to do it right. Sadly it has not.

There will be people who aren't so historically minded that will enjoy this series as a period, sword and shield, kings and queens type show but the reality is it's just not been done well. Even taking out the constant liberties it takes with the real history the script, costume and acting are on the whole just bad. At times the acting feels wooden, forced and not believable. The writing again at times, not always, lacks imagination and is plain boring. There are no moments that cause you to take any real notice of the show.

The racially diverse cast does also take away from the ability of a show like this to immerse you in the period. When you watch a period piece you want to feel like you are watching that time period. There are some shows from the last 20 years that do this, HBO Rome, the earlier seasons of the Last Kingdom, even The Tudors all all its historical liberties. These shows actually make you feel like you could be watching the period it's trying to recreate. But King and Conqueror, with a black Earl of Mercia and a black Thane Thomas, it detracts from the ability of the show to pull you into the time period. Whilst I do not doubt there were black people present in Anglo Saxon England they would have been extremely rare and in some parts of the country almost a myth. I do not take away from the skill of Jason Forbes and Elander Moore who on the whole act well along with Nikolaj Custer-Waldau but again just make it at least a true reflection of society at the time.

It is a shame that this show was not done better. I've anticipated it for the last year and it's fallen flat in my opinion. Edward the Confessor was also portrayed as a weak puppet. I don't doubt he was a very pious and indecisive man but there is evidence he enjoyed hunting and other more manly, kingly pursuits of the time. I would not feel the need to go back and rewatch/enjoy this series again.

I so wanted this to be great but immediately you can tell its been knocked together on a budget.

The locations are unconvincing. Scenery is non existent. Journeys that would take days or weeks are made in what appears 10 minutes.

Heavy with exposition because its so poorly written nobody can tell who's who and what the plot is until episode 3 The acting is hammy and bordering on Horrible Histories. Juliet Stevenson thinks she's in Game of Thrones.

Tired old comical clichés like: "we ride out at dawn"

King Edward is a cartoon character and far from the real personality who was on the contrary a very astute , well respected and pious King who established Westminster Abbey and his tomb takes pride of place in it.

William has no charisma whatsoever and the Godwin's dialect is an anachronistic 2020's Estuary English.

This should have been the quality of Wolf Hall or the Hollow Crown.

Its more like Carry on in Normandy.

If you want to disappoint the history buffs, late Dark ages enthusiasts and spin it all with inappropriate casting then this production has succeeded. This subject has long been sought after as far as a full length epic feature and to treat it with an over abundance of artistic license is flat out disrespectful...particularly given the historical significance of Anglo-Saxon England.

The details, timeline, armor, helmets and a couple of the main characters cast diversely are all so obviously incorrect as to beg the question, "We're any of the producers or historical advisors on set, ever?" The hope lies in the resurrection and resumption in producing the feature length film Godwinson 1066. It showed promise and now certainly has a blue print of how not to proceed.

Having watched the first episode, I was very distracted with the cast selection. Most of the characters do just not seem to fit. Maybe it will improve as the series progresses, but I will await the TV airings. A shame as it's obvious a lot of work has gone into the series. Good sets and costumes. For me it just doesn't work.