Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Medieval Adventures => Topic started by: 3 fingers on February 20, 2015, 07:44:57 PM
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Just getting kids settled upstairs then going to start watching it can't wait. :-*
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Enjoyable episode. It's an entertaining program that's for sure. The only liberty they take that I cannot let go is the way they portray the Saxons. Their arms, armour and sheer ineptitude really grates and I find I spend the battles feeling annoyed. What the hell is with those cavalry helmets?!
All in all though, fun! :D
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I'm bit fed up its one episode a Friday,and yeah they won't be 100 percent accurate,but it's enjoyable.
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Just watched it and it is great fun...........now I am no expert but what are those helmets and the shiny scale mail the saxons are wearing ? If they are appropriate perhaps somebody could provide a link.
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I'm sure someone was wearing a sort of 16th century helmet.
It's massively ahistorical in places, but it's an enjoyable romp!
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As a historian and as a Dane I absolutely and utterly hate the series.
But if I watch it as a fantasy show I can tolerate it.
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I must admit, I have really enjoyed it, but the Helmets and armour on the Saxons I find hugely annoying, but then its something you see a lot in these pseudo historical series. Happened in the Borgias too which I thought was also particularly good.
dodge
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Yeah, I am by no means a snob when it comes to history and Hollywood, or movies would all be un-watchable. That said, seeing a helmet from the Renaissance was really jarring, and it honestly made it kind of hard for me to focus on the show's story. Someone in the production had to have told someone in costuming "hey, loads of costume errors, but that helmet is, you know, *really* wrong..."
As long as they don't make a lot of claims to be documenting history I enjoy it well enough, like Dr. Zombie said, as a fantasy.
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Yep, pretty sure those were the very same mid C16th burgonets they used for The French army in The Borgias - the two series come from much the same stable, albeit not the exact same production company...
I suppose that for the Borgias, set around 1500, it's forgivable licence. For Anglo-Saxons in 8th Century Wessex, it's clearly a complete abandonment of any semblance of the historical accuracy which was supposedly the aim of the series in the first place... How the vikings really lived, realistically portrayed.
Obviously our Scandanavian friends here on LAF have been pretty sceptical from the beginning, but I must say I very much enjoyed the first two seasons.
But the glaring 'couldn't give a toss about historical accuracy' on the wardrobe front in episode 1 of season 3, does make me question somewhat, all that has gone before...
The whole thing also felt a bit lame and laboured to me. Slightly disappointed... Let's hope it picks up.
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Yep, pretty sure those were the very same mid C16th burgonets they used for The French army in The Borgias - the two series come from much the same stable, albeit not the exact same production company...
Oh dear..... lol
I know we can never expect anything near full historical accuracy in a film of TV series but that's just mad!
Having said that, I haven't personally seen the series since getting rid of Sky (an event that causes me more distress over the coming Cricket Test series than watching TV!!) but in all honesty I'd probably watch it all the same o_o :).
If things got too much I could always desist!
Darrell.
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I agree Anglo Saxon portrayal is really really annoying, and I agree its fantasy so i treat as such. I get annoyed as well as they claim to have done allot of research.......
I wonder who they talked to!
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Why does anyone in an historical drama, no matter what the period, wear armour? They fall like flies to sword slashes, knife thrusts or even a heavy punch while the hero, at the first opportunity divests himself of his helmet and/or shield, usually the only protections he has.
I like how the small number of Vikings slay every warrior they come across at almost no loss to themselves, but when the village was attacked by just such supermen, the women, old folks and children held them off, or at least slowed them down for a long, long time.
Shades of Braveheart there, but an enjoyable romp, just remember to put your brain back in when it is finished.
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Why does anyone in an historical drama, no matter what the period, wear armour? They fall like flies to sword slashes, knife thrusts or even a heavy punch while the hero, at the first opportunity divests himself of his helmet and/or shield, usually the only protections he has.
I like how the small number of Vikings slay every warrior they come across at almost no loss to themselves, but when the village was attacked by just such supermen, the women, old folks and children held them off, or at least slowed them down for a long, long time.
Shades of Braveheart there, but an enjoyable romp, just remember to put your brain back in when it is finished.
True.
In reality chainmail or mail as it was actually called could be penetrated by direct sword thrusts. It was of much more use of the chap wearing the mail was moving, this created a glancing blow which the mail would deflect if you're with me?
Darrell
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Let us hope when the Bernard Cornwell series Last Kingdom arrives, be more historical than Vikings.
Although i like the series as an entertaining one. :)
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I must admit I didn't like a thing about this show.
One funny note though, was that I found it really annoying that they spoke English. Of course they have to do that. I understand, but it actually (as a native of these Northern parts) ruined the illusion more than any custome or weird hair cut did. :D
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I expect to see you sporting one of those Viking haircuts in October ;)
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Just bumping this thread up the board, as we just had another thread started on the same topic, so we might as well all use this one...
For my part, I'm finding series 3 a lot less engaging than seasons 1 and 2. Feels like it's run out of puff already. All pretty uneventful and predictable so far.
And as discussed above, C8th Anglo-Saxons wearing late Tudor helmets is really a crime against wardrobe, that undermines any claim this programme makes to be a seriously historically accurate portrayal of the period. A very poor effort... :(
I'm still avidly watching it though ;)
(But Black Sails is much better)
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I agree,not finding it as riveting as the first two.
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1/2 way through season 2 on Amazon, not sure I actually like it much although hanging in there. I did however like Constantine which I waded through in just over a week ;D. Its the costumes on the English I cant ignore that and the shield maidens.... rather fanciful and the costumes remind me of the old Curtis/Douglas film the Vikings
I am holding out for the Bernard Cornwell Uthred saga from the BBC
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I am holding out for the Bernard Cornwell Uthred saga from the BBC
Now that I would watch
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Vikings is a great show, and I'm completely engrossed. Black Sails is possibly the most boring TV I've ever tried to watch. Outlander is more engaging.
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It's on History Channel.... That should tell you everything you need to know.
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The trouble is that any show that arrogates to itself the historical mantle is assumed by the average viewer to have passed some kind of standard of authenticity.
It's a reasonable assumption. After all , until an infamous IBA ruling a few years ago, I assumed that documentaries had some duty to tell the truth; as it turns out, they have no such duty. Their only strict duty is not to overtly offend.
Whatever the legal requirements, however, there are many who will watch these programmes and assume that at least the basics are correct. And in that at least, there is some element of harm. This kind of sludge has a terrible tendency to stick.
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I've been a fan of the first two seasons....season 3 is not grabbing me just yet. Episode 3 in particular was a snoozer... ::) the fight at the top of the mountain was just silly...and tactically flawed on pretty much every level.
Here's hoping that it improves as the season moves on.
Cheers,
Blue
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1/2 way through season 2 on Amazon, not sure I actually like it much although hanging in there. I did however like Constantine which I waded through in just over a week ;D. Its the costumes on the English I cant ignore that and the shield maidens.... rather fanciful and the costumes remind me of the old Curtis/Douglas film the Vikings
I am holding out for the Bernard Cornwell Uthred saga from the BBC
Oh Yes! And that it is a huge success and they do the Warlord Chronicles afterwards.
And a motion picture of 'The Fort'
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Documentary?!? Seriously! Have you watched the show! for the 'average viewer' to confuse a tits and axe show with a historical documentary on viking life they would be doing all their breathing orally.
Ha! What a thought! No, sorry, I was just mentioning the IBA ruling on documentaries a few years ago as an aside.I was trying to say that just as people should expect a documentary to show the facts of the issue, so a historical drama, even an action melodrama, should respect historical fact or at least be up front about any revisions. They don't, which annoys me, but they should, because people expect those standards to be in place.
If they just want to do Noggin the Nog with extra tits and gore, they shouldn't pretend otherwise. Hell, make a full-blown low fantasy out of it with black magic and an occasional troll, and I'll probably eat it up with a spoon. Just don't pretend otherwise.
Yes, I am being a bit priggish about it, and I'm even worse about the science standards in SF, but that's me. I just don't see the point in not bothering to check a fact or two when writing these things, especially when it's not even central to the plot.
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Was on SBS here in Australia last night. The Tudor helmets were painful to watch (and I kept mentioning it to the wife).
We also had a 'Philomena' moment where we said "well I didn't see that coming" at the same time to Princess Judith professing her love in confession. A little weak. Bring on burning Paris.
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I am up to episode 4 on this series now and its beginning to draw me in quite nicely now, apart from those stupid helmets.
dodge
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Yep. Getting a little better now, I agree.
I did nearly weep when they had Ragnar wearing one of the bloody things though >:(
;)
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I'm just pretending the Saxons have imported some unusual forms of Carolingian helmet. :D
(http://th08.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2012/363/2/c/carolingian_knight_by_danbrenus-d5pjk37.jpg)
(http://www.reocities.com/egfrothos/Frankish.jpg)
Helps with my blood pressure!
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I just ignored Ragnar in that helmet and pretended it didn't happen.
The toast after the poisoning was funny though ;)
dodge
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I've always wondered about just how 'historical' those Carilingian helmets really are and how much is an artistic convention/mistake. They just don't seem practical.
I remember having the same conversation with Darren from The Beast in agreement for an hour or so few years ago.
Darrell.
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For Sky folks, this on the History channel first episode at 10 next Thursday :)
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Who doesn't love a crazed Scandinavian female wielding a sword?
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One of the search terms that found my blog was "Lagertha coiffure," so I think people are fascinated by the haircuts.
The helmets and shiny West Saxon armour did drive me a little mad -- although they're still less ridiculous than the armour Ragnar wears in S3, which appears to be made out of some kind of braided leather. I get why they're doing it, which is to create a uniform, distinct appearance among the troops of the various factions. This was a thing in Game of Thrones as well, where the show invented these weird uniforms for each nation so they'd be easier to tell apart visually.
(I actually really struggled with this in Band of Brothers -- a bunch of skinny white guys, all covered with dirt and all wearing the same clothes and haircut, can be hard to tell apart for the first few episodes until you've got to know them. There are a handful of easily recognisable actors and then everyone else is just some guy.)
But yes, the history is just ... I can't believe that people are objecting to the helmets but not stopping every five minutes to shout "WHEN IS THIS SET?! Horik died in 854, Aelle didn't become king until some time in the 860s, Rollo wasn't born until the 840s, and the siege of Paris was in the 840s but the Lindisfarne raid was in the 790s. Alfred the Great was born in 849, but anyway Judith wasn't his mother (although she was married to his father) and also she was 12 and not from England. So the helmets seem like a small matter by comparison.
And why do they say AY-thel-wulf but ATH-el-stan? It's ATH-el-wulf.
And yet I really enjoy this show. Such lovely cinematography, and Gustaf Skarsgard is fun. I like the kid that plays Bjorn, although I miss his authentically stupid 11th-century haircut.
The thing that really jarred me that I should have noticed before someone pointed it out was the towering mountains and rocky fjords of, er, southern Denmark.
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Or that Ragnar Lodbrok is a fictional character from Sagas..
Or that the name "kattegat" was invented in the 16th century by dutch sailors. And it is not the name of a settlement but the name of a strait of water. That the Dutch sailors felt was as tight to navigate as - well - a Cats arse...
There are soo many cringeworthy historical inaccuracies in that show that as a scandinavian and a historian I have given up on it completely.
I am hovever looking forward to seeing the Bernard Cornwell Uthred series. I do hope they don't screw that up.
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It's not history is it?
It's based on a set of sagas, it's like Lord of the Rings but with some place names and people names that are recognisable or ring bells. It's a story you're being told.
Personally I found the helmets annoying because it seemed an unnecessary thing but it's a very tiny annoyance.
I prefer to enjoy the characters and story, accept that the Gods are real, and learn about a time of high adventure...
If I didn't like it I wouldn't watch it I guess.
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I am hovever looking forward to seeing the Bernard Cornwell Uthred series. I do hope they don't screw that up.
I am very much not a fan of those books (although I've read them all because of my weird compulsion to read things about the 9th century), but honestly I imagine they'll make not bad television.
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It's not history is it?
It's based on a set of sagas, it's like Lord of the Rings but with some place names and people names that are recognisable or ring bells. It's a story you're being told.
Personally I found the helmets annoying because it seemed an unnecessary thing but it's a very tiny annoyance.
I prefer to enjoy the characters and story, accept that the Gods are real, and learn about a time of high adventure...
If I didn't like it I wouldn't watch it I guess.
Oh, sure. And like I say, I like it. But sometimes I'm not sure what they're trying to do with the historical elements of it.