Elizabeth R

'I pity any student forced to watch this series', remarks a reviewer of this miniseries on this website. Well, I am a student and I certainly don't concur with this statement at all: having been fascinated by Elizabeth I as a child, (first watching this in my early teens) and having now studied Elizabeth and her reign at undergraduate level, I find it no less brilliant,charming, or committed to careful detail after many many viewings. It is, in fact, a tender and very accurate portrayal of Elizabeth's life, from the young queen to the aged one, treating her life with sympathy, insight, humour, and a heady dose of power and romance. The costumes and set are excellent, and in short, for many,Glenda Jackson really - and deservedly so - *is* Elizabeth I. Long after the film has finished, her portrayal will stay with you. Don't miss out on this, whatever you do, buy it and watch it, you certainly won't regret it.

I saw this over 30 years ago as a teenager and thought it was superb. I don't think I've seen it rerun since, but Glenda Jackson's astonishing performance has always stayed with me. I just got the DVD set and it's stunning, even better than I rememberedit. The research and writing are much more intelligent than almost anything currently produced (the BBC produced it).

I had a love/hate reaction to the Cate Blanchett Elizabeth a few years back; I loved it because the performances and cinemetography were great, but hated the many, many historical errors in it. If you like movies that are both well-made and historically accurate, you can't get any better than Elizabeth R.

One of the best mini series ever shown on television.

I am a lover of British costume drama and love that period of history and so must admit a bias

The series is written by depicting a significant event in Elizabeth's life in each episode - First as the young Elizabeth and the dangers she faced. The subsequent episodes show the early years on the throne and Elizabeth's early relationship with Dudley, her forays into the marriage game, the events surrounding Mary Queen of Scots' last days, the Spanish Armada and the last days of her reign and her relationship with Dudley's step son Essex

Unlike the movie Elizabeth, this series is highly accurate. Each time I watch the episodes I pick up more details of the research that has gone into the series. For example the costumes are based on portraits of the Queen and gowns depicted in them. The inside scenes are based on the actual make up of Tudor palaces relatively small wood panelled rooms, not large stone Gothic chambers.

Being a mini series the events of her reign can be given more depth. The actors and writers have more time to develop the characters and show the changing relationships between the characters. There is time to show the Queen's development from the young queen depicted in Elizabeth the movie to icon Elizabeth created for herself over time. The series is fascinating to watch for the transformation in each episode for the aging of the queen from the young puritanical princess, with simple clothes and no make up to the aged queen, who has to virtually put on a mask of make up to be seen in public.

The mini series shows the enduring relationships the queen maintained with Dudley and Cecil.

Glenda Jackson produces the definitive interpretation of Elizabeth, warts and all. Elizabeth was not always a "nice" woman, but she was a great queen and the series shows this.

For anyone who enjoyed Elizabeth the movie I strongly recommend that they watch this series.

I recently viewed this series again as part of my research for a play I am writing about Christopher Marlowe. I am pleased to say that serious historical sources - primary sources - were consulted by all six writers. Detail after detail in all of the episodes are supported with source material. Elizabeth lived such a rich and fascinating life that the facts provide more drama than a lazy writer could ever belch out of his imagination. Sound, lively history. One of the five best programs ever on television.

Only the BBC could produce such a historically correct mini-series on this fascinating character. Although Cate Blanchett did a very good job portraying Elizabeth, Glenda Jackson nails the character on a lesser set and with fewer flattering camera angles. Jackson becomes more Elizabeth and less Jackson as this very long series plods on. If you want lots of swordplay and action, pass on this one. This is for someone who enjoys reading history biographies, not historical novels. Although production values are a bit dated, you will not be disappointed by the detail of the story and the portrayal of the main character by Jackson.