Will

I like to state, as someone growing up within my local punk scene that emulated the early punk scene (late 70's/early 80's) and has a history of art, I love this series. It tries to show the story the early days of Shakespeare as if Elizabethan England is going through a punk phase. And does so amazingly without it being overbearing, and is something you can see back in the clothing, music choice, hair styles, posters, etc. this all to the point that, seemingly, a lot of other reviewers actually haven't noticed it aside from the music.

Take the clothing for example: most major characters wear something like leather jackets that are studded with patterns, this all without it being terribly out of place within Elizabethan England. Or a more obvious example are the posters, they look nothing little to nothing Elizabethan era posters however do look like cheap punk concert posters with some Elizabethan flair thrown in for good measure. And lets be frank in what late 1500's world would they have used, what looks like, cut out photocopied letters for a wanted poster?

But I could continue to list all the small details and how amazing it works within the setting.

The story as of yet has also been top notch in my opinion, not to shallow but not so deep that it requires art history major to understand. It also doesn't, if you notice the punk elements obviously so, to be historically accurate.

All in all, great show.

As you might have guessed by now, Will makes practically no attempt to be historically accurate.

Critics everywhere have cried out in collective grief. But who cares? Da Vinci's Demons had very little to do with the real-life Leonardo -- that didn't stop it from running for three seasons!

Like Demons, Will is "historical fiction". Not a biography; not a serious reconstruction of the life of The Bard. It's a drama loosely based on characters loosely based on vague descriptions of people who lived at some point.

It's entertainment. And in that, it does a pretty good job. There's your usual cable TV "must-haves": violence, sex, backstabbing -- general depravity. Everyone's a little greasy, one way or the other. There are crazy sub-plots. If they hadn't called the main character Shakespeare, the critics would have been much happier with it.

But, alas, Shakespeare appears to be sacred. And maybe, that's the cow Will is trying to slaughter. Set the table, we're having steak.

It saddens me that people are complaining that London is too colourful, that the characters are too simple and clownish, when that was exactly what Shakespeare himself did. He was bright, sexual, crude and clever and so was this. Maybe it's a little messy but it has so much spirit, so much fire. Every moment is interesting, and that was exactly how the man himself wrote.

Who cares if historically accurate, it is a good story line and 100 percent worth watching. Mixes modern and old together and I love it. The story is set in 1589 in London, with the Protestant church rallying against the Catholics. You have your good guy, who makes mistakes, the girl or love interest, the villain and all the rest. It's just entertainment, don't take it as fact.

Just watched the first episode last night. Aside from the garish colors and the punk overtones, I was enthralled. Like Shakespeare's stage directions, the bio for historical Will is sparse leaving ample room for dramatic embellishment. I thought it was clever the way the writers wove ideas and fragments of speeches from the plays throughout the first episode. Especially enjoyed the "duel" of words between Robert Greene and Will in iambic pentameter. If the rest of the episodes prove as entertaining and engrossing as the first, this series will be a treat! Oh, and after about the first 10 min I was over the garish colors and punk overtones.