more historical telly please

[carmen_lj]

This is a shiny, shiny meme that makes me sad because I had six years of Lovely Historical Telly (Rome, The Tudors) and now I've got bloody Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Hmph.

fannish5: Name five historical characters whose lives you'd like to see adapted into movies or TV series.

1) Catherine de' Medici - This is the historical telly I want more than any other by QUITE A LOT. Mostly cause Catherine was amazing, partly because she gets a bad rep that I think's pretty much undeserved. (It's not her fault one tiny little political assassination went HORRIBLY WRONG.) Anyway, she was born into a merchant family, orphaned and imprisoned at a young age, and ended up ruling France as regent for fourteen years and exerting enormous political influence for another fifteen. During this time there were the French Wars of Religion, to which Catherine constantly sought a diplomatic compromise (despite, y'know, popular history) and kept the country from plummetting full on into the abyss.

(And so it's not all about the 16th century what I love maybe too much, I'll say here I'd totally be for a telly show about Marguerite de Valois or Marie de Guise as well.)

2) Empress Matilda - there are many, many things I loved about Cadfael and one of them was the little hints there'd be about what was going on in the struggle between Matilda and Stephen. Probably this telly would be like every time I watch a Napoleon thing and hope he wins and then AM V SAD that Waterloo always ends the same way. Apart from in Blackadder.

Anyway, here there was a nineteen year conflict because Henry I decided to die and leave A GIRL IN CHARGE. Some people weren't so keen on that and decided to support some dude called Stephen instead. Matilda wasn't going quietly, thus WAR. In the end, Stephen won, but he eventually made Matilda's son his heir.

3) Theodora - Empress of Byzantine, wife of Justinian II (he who's responsible for the Corpus Iuris Civilus and thus I love him influenced all civil law legal systems of today.) Comic, mimic, strip-tease artist and prostitute, Theodora first became Justinian's mistress and then, after getting the then-emperor, his uncle Justin, to make an edict, they were permitted to marry. She's responsible for saving the Empire during the Nika revolt - Justinian wanted to flee, she insisted they stay - and fought for changes in the law to allow women more power.

4) Isabella of France - married Edward II; not the most successful marriage ever, partially due to her husband being gay bisexual and ending up with a guy who was a bit keen on having Isabella killed. Isabella wasn't big on this plan. She went off to France, met up with her own lover, Roger Mortimer, set up an alternative government-in-exile and told everyone she was a widow. Got herself an army, invaded England, had her husband and his lover captured, then executed the lover, imprisoned the husband, probably had him murdered. Had her son installed as king and ruled through him. Her son, however, thought Mortimer might be a bit too keen on his death as well, so had his mother and Mortimer captured. Mortimer got the blame for everything and was hung, Isabella was forgiven, and spent the next thirty years in nice castles, spending lots of money. A heartwarming tale.

5) Tamara of Georgia - first Queen regnant of Georgia; presided over its Golden Age. Had lolarious relationship with her first husband where she kept on exiling him and he kept on thinking what a great idea it was to raise an army and try and usurp her throne. He never succeeded and, despite having more than one opportunity, she never had him killed.

She pursued a policy of aggressive expansionism for some twenty years and had a keen knack for military strategy. Alas, while she left the kingdom prosperous and whole to her son, it all ended a bit tragically some fifty years later with her daughter running from Ghengis Khan's invasion.

Comments

[airie-fairy.livejournal.com]

Oh, the Medici. I would pay quite a lot for an epic Forsythe Sage-esque miniseries spanning the heyday of that family.

Theodora and Tamara sound especially fun. =D

[faith-less-one.livejournal.com]

Oh, the Medici. I would pay quite a lot for an epic Forsythe Sage-esque miniseries spanning the heyday of that family.

Me too!!

[calapine.livejournal.com]

I'd also accept one about the Borgias, yo.

[airie-fairy.livejournal.com]

YESSS.

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Been there, done that (or rather, the BBC did, in 1981, with The Borgias.) It was truly awful, though a good laugh - I remember it well, rather like the equally ill-fated The Cleopatras.

Apparently, according to Wiki you are going to get your wish, in a US production.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Borgias_%282011_TV_series%29

Oh, and the BBC also included bits of the Anarchy of Stephen, in the first episode of their prestigious drama The Devil's Crown (1978) and have recently covered the same period in a radio drama.

[faith-less-one.livejournal.com]

RE: Empress Matilda - have you seen the recent mini-series "Pillars of Earth"? I've only managed to catch the first episode, but that begins with the death of Henry and the ensuing in-fighting. Matilda is played by Alison Pill (and called Maud).

[calapine.livejournal.com]

I haven't! I knew it was set in the era, but didn't know she was actually in it. Marvellous! I should probably read it too.

[fyrdrakken]

I read the book at least twice years ago and had forgotten most of the details by the time I saw the miniseries, so I can't remember how much of the Stephen-Matilda subplot was really in the book and how much their characters may have gotten expanded for the miniseries. But yes, she was in it.

[spiralsheep.livejournal.com]

Good choices all. :-)

4) While I'm partisan for Isabella, I think calling a man with at least one bastard child (Adam "Ade filio domini Regis bastardo", 1322) outside marriage, in addition to the FOUR children he had with his wife, "gay" is somewhat unrealistic and also the bisexual lobby might hunt you down, imprison you in an oubliette, and....

[calapine.livejournal.com]

Aye, true enough.

[spiralsheep.livejournal.com]

Also, I don't know if the Romantic stories about "Colonel" Anne Farquharson-MacKintosh are true or not but they'd make a perfect basis for a Romantic romance mini-series:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Anne_Farquharson-MacKintosh

[spiralsheep.livejournal.com]

And: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Damn-Rebel-Bitches-Women-45

[calapine.livejournal.com]

Oh god, Bonnie Prince Charlie. She's damn good though. I'd watch that telly.

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

No lie, I would watch ALL OF THESE SHOWS and then make icons.

[txvoodoo.livejournal.com]

This is an AWESOME post. I'm saving it :D

[lady-with-cats.livejournal.com]

OMG. Isabelle of France is one awesome lady.

[purple-smurf.livejournal.com]

Randomly, I named my computer after Isabella. Which was all well and good, until she decided to start treating me like Edward.

I'd still watch the hell out of a TV show about her.

[jaydeyn-sitari.livejournal.com]

Why aren't you a tv exec?? I would watch these shows VERY HARD INDEED.

:)
Jaydeyn

[oltha_heri.livejournal.com]

Have you seen Pillars Of The Earth yet? That has some good Matilda bits. And Cadfael, love so much.

And THERE ALWAYS NEEDS TO BE MORE HISTORICAL TELLY! History is hilarious, bloody, and full of adulterers with weird sexual practices, I thought this is what ratings people wanted?

[selenay]

I am right there with you on all of them, especially Empress Matilda. Nobody ever mentions her to kids at school despite her being rather damned awesome. It's a crime against awesomeness.

[calapine.livejournal.com]

The number of womens mentioned at school was DAMNABLY LACKING. I also loved how Henry VIII was this super awesome dude (presumably because he constantly called himself super awesome and everyone just eventually sighed and said "yes, course you are Henry" and history BELIEVED THEM) who had some 70000 dudes executed, never mind his war casualties born of PURE HUBRIS, and EVIL MARY burned 300 dudes and is thus the MOST MONSTROUS OF ALL.

Possibly I have A Lot Of Issues re how I was taught anything at all about the Tudors.

Ahem.