Troy : Fall of a city.

[LeadAsbestos]

Well I must say that yet again Im disappointed. Some people seem to think that they can be ''creative'' or ''improve'' something that withstood the pass of millenia and still is considered a classic tale. E
And anyway if somebody wants a really interesting version of the Iliad why dont they give Eric Shanower a budget? His Age of bronze comic series is simply magnificent.

All of this is true. Age of Bronze is a great series, and Shanower really did his research.

The only version of Homer worth the trouble (including Homer's) is Pope's translation.

I really appreciate the Stanley Lombardo translation. Very enjoyable, and that is something most translations are certainly not.

[swiftnick]

I thought it was ok and nice to see some bronze age exposure on TV. The costumes were the usual guff but what we saw of the armour eyc so far looked reasonable.
No likeable characters but was well acted.

[MartinR]

Another sword and sandal bonk fest? I'm sure it will be hilarious.

Where is Uthred when you need him?

[charla51]

This is not a version of the Iliad; that's avoided by giving the Trojan view of things. Although, for some reason the first episode reminded me of the late '60s film, The Graduate.

As for historical accuracy, the acts of fornication seemed plausible ... well, as far as I remember.

[Harry Faversham]

As for historical accuracy, the acts of fornication seemed plausible ... well, as far as I remember.

When Herself explained to me wot they were up to...
I too had a vague recollection.

    

[levied troop]

I thought fornication was invented in the 1960'S?

The overall effects looked very good. It’s a scene-setter and therefore a bit slow (did think they missed an opportunity with Paris and the Priam’s advisor on the slow boat to Greece to do quite a bit of exposition). Also, despite the Trojan emphasis, they seem to be sticking to the source - that may not necessarily be a good idea, its a strong enough story to stand a bit of fiddling.

Did like Helen’s character though. She got the best lines and a good sense of how someone given away twice, first as a prize and then as a gift, might be thinking. Paris is definitely an objectionable little bugger and I’m firmly on Cassandra’s side.

[LeadAsbestos]

Who decided Achilles should be black? There are plenty of opportunities to insert black characters in the Trojan War, so why Achilles?

I"ll still check it out when I can, but that is a bit of a stretch...

[dinohunterpoa]

Did like Helen’s character though. She got the best lines and a good sense of how someone given away twice, first as a prize and then as a gift, might be thinking.

I'm only downloading the series because of her! Bella Dayne rules! 

[Coenus Scaldingus]

By Zeus, that was poor. With Britannia I was wondering whether or not to bother with more than two episodes, here I'm sure it's a "no" after just the first one.

Helen has the only thing approaching a character, the rest is all very flat. Dialogue isn't great, nor is the delivery. Visuals are.. fairly decent. Sadly, the storyline isn't: many supposedly dramatic flashbacks (on repeat) and the chronological bits seemed to jump certain periods of time too. The casting seems to be diversity for the sake of diversity (yet even such a pool of actors seemingly contained barely a single one capable of the profession). And for a story in the age of heroes riding chariots, they sure like to ride horses. Using stirrups. Which isn't even the worst part: Helen mentioned Actaeon who saw the goddess Diana bathing. Diana. Yeah.

[charla51]

"Who decided Achilles should be black?"

Achilles appears as black on some of the Classical Age Greek vases.  Maybe the casting department took it literally?


Oh! The topless titties of Ilium.

[Lysandros]

As a lover of diversity l was disappointed.  Why stop with black actors for Hellenes . Adding a few Chinese,
maybe as Hermes, Paris played by a Korean actor would have been less wooden .
It makes it's point but not enough .
I can't understand why the Greeks are agitated by the casting , it may be there story/myth/history but the BBC have a duty to enlighten us .

Saying that l thought it was rather dull , somewhat boring.

[carlos marighela]

Who decided Achilles should be black? There are plenty of opportunities to insert black characters in the Trojan War, so why Achilles?

I"ll still check it out when I can, but that is a bit of a stretch...

Presumably the director or the casting agent.

Yeah, absolutely no reason to have a black actor playing a mythical character in a fictional work based in turn on a on a work of fiction that features mystical deities and improbable heroes. Bloody political correctness gone mad eh? They should probably take all of the other non-white actors out too.

[Irregular Wars Nic]

Presumably the director or the casting agent.

Yeah, absolutely no reason to have a black actor playing a mythical character in a fictional work based in turn on a on a work of fiction that features mystical deities and improbable heroes. Bloody political correctness gone mad eh? They should probably take all of the other non-white actors out too.

Yeah, I kind of agree (with the tongue in cheek answer). I had a raised eyebrow to begin with, but then I just settled into it. If you went to the theatre and saw a black actor playing Macbeth or Shylock, would you complain to the theatre company? I'm not suggesting that it is historical for the BA Aegean, but this is TV drama.

To be honest, a beardless Zeus unsettled me far more.

After the first episode, I'd say it was better than any other Trojan War stuff seen on screen. A low bench mark for sure, but worth continuing to watch.

And as said above, nice to see more of the Trojan perspective. Homer gives some really nice domestic scenes to the Trojans, but they don't usually get much screen time do they?

[swiftnick]

Who decided Achilles should be black? There are plenty of opportunities to insert black characters in the Trojan War, so why Achilles?

I"ll still check it out when I can, but that is a bit of a stretch...

Nobody, an actor who is Black is playing a character.

[charla51]

Are any of the Greek characters played by Greeks?  And I doubt any of the Trojans are played by, well ...