Tag Archives: Medieval

TV

Robin of Sherwood

2 Comments

Robin of Sherwood

1984 – 1986

Program creator and writer: Richard Carpenter

Recommended? Definitely


Bechdel Test? Probably not.

England is a paradox. It’s repressive, class bound, notoriously racist, and practically synonymous with colonialism. It’s also a hot bed of left wing intellectualism, the adopted home of Kropotkin, and the country that made punk global. Its not surprising then, that at the height of Thatcherism, with The National Front killing South Asians on the street, one of the hottest shows of television was about an unrelenting anarchist militia fighting colonial power in the name of an indigenous nature spirit.
Continue reading Robin of Sherwood →

TV

Vikings, Season 1

Leave a comment

Vikings Season 1

Vikings, Season 1

2013, The History Channel

Recommended? Yes

It’s a show called Vikings. It’s a drama. The protagonists are vikings. They hit people with swords and axes and they sail around in longships and kill Christians and take slaves. The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous and the acting is remarkable. The writing wavers from good to great. The historical accuracy is not particularly high but is better than some people are giving the show credit for.

And it’s about vikings.

You’re either going to want to watch the show or not based on that. There’s little I would want to do to convince you otherwise.

What’s the show about? As I watch it, it’s a show about death. It’s not gory like a war film. The death in it is not by large glorious, not even gratuitous. But the show is about death, and the emotional toll of death, viewed from outside the Christian/Atheist lens chosen by most of the media we’re presented with.
Continue reading Vikings, Season 1 →