historium | favorite historical tv shows

There was discussion about making a post where people could share their favorite historical TV shows, so I thought I would go ahead and do that: I'd love to hear people's favorites, and I'm always looking for recs.

A few of my own favorites, to start us off--I'm undoubtedly forgetting many, but here are a few off the top of my head that I love:

Black Sails - Early 18th century pirates. The first season starts out somewhat trashy, but the show quickly matures into a fascinating and beautifully-done meditation on the stories we tell--about history, about others, about ourselves--and what stories get preserved and remembered and what stories are forgotten or destroyed. Excellent LGBT rep. Four seasons.

The Hour - 1950s BBC news reporters. The cast here is stellar--Ben Whishaw, Romola Garai, Dominic West--and the production and writing utterly stunning. This isn't an era or a subject I would be naturally drawn to, but everything about this show is just so extraordinarily well done. Two very short (six-episode) seasons.

Deadwood - 1870s gold-mining town in South Dakota. The one, the only. A cult show for a reason--you either love it or you, well, don't--this show is incredibly well-acted and written like nothing you're likely to hear on television before or since. Three seasons.

North and South - Victorian England. The most goddamn romantic thing you'll ever see in your life. Based on the Elizabeth Gaskell novel, this follows a woman from the south of England and a man from the north, and deals with social and class issues in the mid-Victorian era while telling a nuanced and compelling love story. Also contains the best refusal of a marriage proposal scene ever. Miniseries.

ETA: I knew I was forgetting something important--the HBO John Adams miniseries. It's absolutely wonderful--the acting is incredible (almost everyone's perfect, but their Jefferson is especially perfect), the production is stellar, and it's for the most part quite remarkably historically accurate. A definite recommendation.

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From:

thisbluespirit

I love a lot of historical TV shows! Unfortunately, they're mainly also historical themselves, being from the 70s/80s.

In modern times, I also love North & South (and many other classic lit adaptations), The Hour, Ripper Street, and for candyfloss value (they're both very pretty) Victoria and Downton Abbey.

I also enjoyed HBO's Rome when I finally watched it a couple of years ago.

Otherwise I really do love the old-style BBC stuff that's theatrical and unafraid of being historically accurate or ambiguous and ironic and am hugely fond of:

Enemy at the Door (ITV 1978-80 serial on the occupation of the Channel Islands in WWII)

Duchess of Duke Street (1970s BBC drama with Gemma Jones running an Edwardian hotel)

The House of Eliott (1990s BBC drama about two sisters setting up a fashion house that was on when I was a teen and I still love)

Poldark (1970s version, as I fell grudgingly but badly in love with Robin Ellis and Angharad Rees; I watch the new one but have extremely mixed feelings about some of its decisions, although it wins on the Best Aunt Agatha front at least)

The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Elizabeth R (landmark BBC Tudor dramas; Eliz R features Glenda Jackson being amazing)

and also The Shadow of the Tower which was technically the BBC prequel to the above, about Henry VII, but is far cheaper, weirder and random, and so is of course my favourite.

Oh, and The Onedin Line, which I watched half of on TV lately (BBC 1970s Shipping line shenanigans, it's great because it's set in Liverpool but filmed somewhere quiet in Devon which also doubles up for everywhere else in the world, but it has a brilliant marriage-of-convenience couple at the centre of the first 2 series).

And more, like WWII dramas, Wish me Luck, Tenko and Manhunt and probably others. Also the BBC Shakespeare.

From:

sea_changed

This is such an interesting list, thanks for putting it together—I’ll definitely have to check some of these out. I’ll admit I tend towards newer dramas, so it’s good to be reminded of earlier ones (and watching/reading interpretations of the past from eras that are now the past themselves is always interesting.)

From:

thisbluespirit

(and watching/reading interpretations of the past from eras that are now the past themselves is always interesting.)

Yes, sometimes they can be pretty strange! I find, though, that a lot of our current historical dramas seem scared of the past - if they have the correct costumes or facts, it'll somehow drive away the viewers, whereas oldtime BBC things are much more interested in chewing over the issues and aren't afraid of accurate costuming. Even if it's all very theatrical. I don't mind that if you give me something that isn't just trying to be candyfloss, or cool, edgy and dark or whatever it is. (I hope we get over this phase soon - classic lit adaptations are generally way better at representing the past than many of our historical series seem to be.) I mean, there's nothing wrong with pretty! I just want a bit of substance as well that preferably isn't added violence or something.

(Now I sound grumpy. I love stuff with good writers, like Abi Morgan with The Hour and Ripper Street was doing interesting stuff with men-as-monsters, so those were great and I watched DowntonVictoria because everyone needs candyfloss sometimes.) There was To Walk Invisible last(?) year, too, which was great (on the Brontes) - but it's one off or short serial things that seem to do that.

(I'm probably still just grumpy from having sat through The White Princess earlier this year which didn't even manage to be entertainingly bad, which something so ahistorical and terrible on that level really ought to have been!)

Edited Date: 2018-12-20 07:12 am (UTC)

From:

sea_changed

I know, the seeming fear of historical accuracy is so bizarre to me. (Especially when it comes to costumes—you can plenty of beautiful stuff that’s appealing to a modern eye without blatant anachronism.)

To Walk Invisible! I loved that, it was really wonderful. All three of the sisters were excellent.