TV Series (Resource List)

[Ankari]

I thought I'd ask the community to provide a list of TV shows/Documentaries/Movies that provide good source material for fantasy writing.

Below is a list of shows I've seen:

Full Metal Jousting: I enjoy this show. It's a glimpse into the world of jousting. You see the blood, pain, horse panicking, and so much more that goes into a jousting competition.

Man vs Wild: I know they have been some critics about Bear Grylls, but I find his show fascinating. A great show that tackles how to survive in the wild with moderate tools.

The Colony: This TV show deals with post apocalyptic survival, but you can use much of the material for any era. This was my favorite show while it was on. The third season is on permanent hold for some reason.

Vikings: I've been meaning to watch this series, but only managed to watch a few fragments. From what I can tell, it's a decent representation of the Viking era.

What other shows are out there?

 

[CupofJoe]

Frontier House: 'Have you ever wondered what life was really like for pioneers living in the American West during the late 19th century? How did they fare without the modern conveniences we take for granted? Could a modern-day family handle a pioneer family's lifestyle? Join us as we try to answer some of these questions.'

Victorian Farm: Victorian Farm is a historical documentary TV series in six parts, first shown on the BBC in January 2009, it recreates everyday life on a small farm in Shropshire in the mid-19th century, using authentic replica equipment and clothing, original recipes and reconstructed building techniques. [There are a whole bunch of other series by the same team: Tales From The Green Valley [1620s], A Tudor Feast at Christmas, Victorian Pharmacy, Edwardian Farm, Wartime Farm]

[And right now there seems to be 4 or 5 documentaries a week on the BBC about royalty/politics in the 15/16th Centuries - I think they are building up interest for "The White Queen"]

[Sorry but I can't stand Bear Grylls - he makes it all look too hard and dangerous - Ray Mears makes it look so much easier...]

 

[wordwalker]

Battleplan is a favorite of mine. It's modern-military (WWII and later) and larger scale than the battles and skirmishes that fantasy uses most, but it's a great perspective on what a strategy needs and how many things can affect it. For instance, each episode picks two examples and compares them.

 

[Devor]

Battlefield Detectives is one that I've just started and it seems kind of cool. They pick battles, explore the battlefield, and compare the official account with the evidence they find on the ground.

 

[Penpilot]

Guns Germs and Steel - There's also a book. Both cover the same stuff, how societies develop, and why one society becomes dominant while another doesn't.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

Barbarians - History Channel

Covers the different tribes and clans of barbarians through history...lifestyles, war & weaponry, cultures, etc.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Warrior Graveyard - Basically along the same lines as Battlefield Detectives, but from a forensic science perspective, this 3-part documentary series is wonderful not only for looking at small snippets of time during the Crusades, the British Navy in the 19th century, and feudal Japan, it is also good for studying sharp and blunt weapon damage as well as crude ballistics.

 

[Athena]

I think animes in general are great resources for fantasy writing.Although there are too many of them to name them all on here I'll name a few.

Naruto:An anime about a magical ninja world based on middleage japan with some modern elements mixed in.The magic here is based on an energy stored in every humans body called chakra.Everyone has different amounts of it and you can increase the amount through training.Then everyone has a chakra nature.A natural element they can use more efficiently than the others.There is also something called kekei genkai(hope I spelled it right).That's when a person has 2 chakra natures.This is really rare and also really powerful because they can combine those natures to form new elements.The chakra is released through the use of finger signs.

One Piece:An anime about a pirate world.There are 2 lines on the planet,1 being the only thing close to a real continent and the other being lots of islands sided by 2 calm areas without any wind and therefore difficult to get through with ships.There is also a type of more or less passive magic present in that world.So called Devilfruits that give users abilities of different elements.Elements not only as in natural elements but also things like rubber.The price for that is that devil fruit users can't swim and lose their powers in water.There is also a substance called seastone that is like solid sea water and also makes devil fruit users loose their power when touched by it.

 

[wordwalker]

For anime, I have a special reason for recommending InuYasha: for about the first 80 episodes, follow the hero's changing mastery of and dependence on his sword. I think it touches on almost every main type of magic-weapon plotline there is!

But, I think the OP was more about factual research.

 

[Lohengrin]

Weapons that made Britain is a great show. The guy puts a full plate armor and demonstrate how mobile it is, the effectiveness of the longbow, how swords were used and the decline of shields. You can learn a lot, if you dismiss the obvious biased point of view.

One piece is a great anime, but I don't think it is a great resource, I mean, most of the time when they are on ships they are drinking/fishing/training etc, but never doing real work.

 

[skip.knox]

A couple of comments here. One, the History Channel is generally pretty awful, at least when it comes to the Middle Ages. I am not the only medievalist who cringes at it. I've been on the mediev-l discussion list for 20 years and pretty much all the professionals cringe.

OTOH, I'm finding more and more good material on YouTube. I don't have any specific nominations, but I would like to suggest to the OP that we broaden this thread to include YouTube (and other sources).

 

[Scribble]

My favorite show ever for SF and Fantasy, Prisoners of Gravity!

Each show had a theme, such as immortality, war, dreams, magic, Tolkien, or utopias. The host would interview authors such as Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Joe Haldeman, Spider Robinson, Samuel R. Delany, Alan Moore and many, many others. Focus was on SF, and Fantasy movies, books, and comics. This little known Canadian show from the 90's had incredible.

Most episodes can be found on Youtube. The quality is a little grainy, it was likely originally recorded on VHS then later transferred to digital.

Wikipedia: Prisoners of Gravity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Youtube playlist: Prisoners of Gravity: Immortality (Part 1 of 3) - YouTube

 

[karim]

there is a great medieval documentry series called medieval lives it has episodes about the knight,king, philosopher,damsel,minstrel,peasent and outlaw