World Without End

[Sheilawisz]

Today I read that there is a new canadian TV series based on Ken Follett's famous book of the same name, and even though it's more like a historical series and not really Fantasy, I wanted to start a thread here because I am very curious about this!!

As some of you know, I have a great interest in all things Plantagenet (the legendary, awesome royal family that ruled England and parts of Western Europe for centuries) and I am even more interested because my super favorite historical character, Edward III's mysteriously lost daughter Joan, is part of the series =)

She is played by an actress called Elinor Crawley, so I really want to watch this World Without End series.

Have you watched it?

 

[CupofJoe]

It has been on TV here for a few weeks. I'm recording the whole series to watch at once so I have nothing to offer on content.
Except that people [okay maybe just 1 letter in a TV magazine] have complained about the frank and modern language [you know; the words we shouldn't write out in full on this site...] not being accurate to the period.

 

[Jess A]

I've seen the first episode and eh, it didn't draw me in much. I know I need to watch more before making a judgement - I enjoyed Pillars of the Earth (Follet's first book in that series), but it also took me time to get into it, and I was glad I kept watching.

That said, often I start watching shows and I'm not in the mood for that particular genre or whatever. I get the feeling that might have been the case. I think you will quite enjoy it. I might give it another go tonight (episode 2)

 

[PlotHolio]

I enjoyed Pillars of the Earth, both the book and the mini-series. I haven't read (or seen) this one, but I would imagine it would be similar.

I would recommend Pillars of the Earth, for those who haven't seen it.

 

[Sheilawisz]

Thanks for your comments =)

@CupofJoe: Well, we could say the same about other historical-themed TV series like The Tudors. They speak modern language, because it would be really complicated for the actors (and the audience as well) to deal with an accurate depiction of the language of past centuries...

The same happened in Spain with the super hit series Aguila Roja, set in the 17th Century. Some people criticized it for the modern Castilian spoken by the characters, but when I read Don Quijote de la Mancha with its original 17th Century Castilian I was having trouble to really understand what the characters were saying.

My Quijote even comes with a special guide to help the modern-Castilian reader grasp all the language confusion... Just imagine what would happen with a TV series like that!!

@Jess: Yeah, I hope I will enjoy it. I want to see how they depict Edward III and the Black Death outbreak, but to be honest, my real interest is all about Joan.

After all, I am writing an entire Fantasy trilogy about her =)

 

[Sheilawisz]

Today I have watched the sixth and seventh episodes of World Without End, and even though I appreciate the high quality of this production, there have been things that are quite wrong from the historical point of view:

First, I disagree with the portrayal of the Black Death outbreak in England. The series falls very short to depict the sheer terror, awe and desperation that the outbreak caused in the real world, but I can understand why they chose to diminish the real thing and portray a much softer version of the Plague...

Also, I was very surprised to discover that Elinor Crawley is not the actress playing Princess Joan!!

The Joan that appears in the series looks nine or ten years old at most, while the real world Joan was fifteen and a half when she departed in her travel to Castile... Then, her father tells her that the Prince of Castile is a wealthy man (that's what the King said in the dubbing, I do not know if he says the same in the original sound) and that was really strange:

Joan was not engaged to marry a man but a boy of her own age, and actually Peter of Castile was younger than she was!!

I want to watch now the first episodes of the series, let's see if I get hooked enough to watch it all =)

 

[SeverinR]

Thanks for the title, so here it is, what you put in my head:
The song that never ends - Bing Videos

Bet you can't make it to the end...10 hours~!

 

[Sheilawisz]

I am sure that I could not listen to the same song for ten hours...

Well, today I have watched the first episode of World Without End, with the intention to follow and watch the entire series. I really like the setting, the characters, the 14th Century clothing (even though I do not know how accurate that is!) and in general the good quality of the production, it's very entertaining =)

Something else that I forgot to mention about the seventh episode (I think) is that I was surprised to see tiny Joan's body back at London for her funeral, while the real life Joan was lost in a terrible fire that destroyed her castle after she died at Bordeaux.

Her body was never recovered, and even though the theory of the fire has been accepted by some, there are other possibilities and her real fate remains a mystery.

My Joan of England trilogy gives her a very different turn of events =)

 

[SeverinR]

It has been on TV here for a few weeks. I'm recording the whole series to watch at once so I have nothing to offer on content.
Except that people [okay maybe just 1 letter in a TV magazine] have complained about the frank and modern language [you know; the words we shouldn't write out in full on this site...] not being accurate to the period.

World Without End Miniseries

My persona in the SCA was 1270 era, clothing did not make drastic changes and appear in photos on this website much like what I found when researching for my clothes.
I am no expert, but they do appear to be close to the right period.

1300 circa 1300-1400

1400 circa 1400-1500